Golden cream puff swans filled with rich, delicious pastry cream are a must-try baking project for kids and adults.
If you haven’t made choux pastry before, it’s easier than you think. And homemade tastes so much better than store-bought. It’s fresher and won’t have that stale flavor, with dried-out or soggy shells you sometimes get from store-bought eclairs and other pastries.
Update: I’ve updated this post with new photos of my cream puff swans, templates, and step-by-step instructions so you can make this elegant dessert at home.
I first made these elegant pastry swans for a Daring Bakers challenge in 2012. Then, I adapted the recipe for my e-cookbook Simple Sweet Dream Puffs. This is one of those stunning pastry recipes that’s as fun to make and present as it is to eat.
There are dozens more delightful cream puff recipes in the Dream Puffs cookbook and on my site linked below! Start with this how-to post, with step-by-step instructions to make cream puffs.
How to Make Cream Puff Swans
I recommend making the pastry swans in the following order:
- First, make the pastry cream base (before the whipped cream) and chill in the refrigerator.
- Next, prepare your cookie sheets with parchment and templates for piping.
- Prepare your piping bag and tip.
- Then make, pipe, and bake the choux pastry. Let the baked pastries cool completely.
- Once the pastry cream base is completely chilled, whip the cream and fold it into the base.
- Cut the cooled cream puffs into the swan bodies and wings.
- Finally, assemble by piping in the pastry cream and affixing the wings and bodies together.
You can print pastry swan templates to help you pipe the perfect shapes. Lay the templates under a piece of parchment paper and trace them with a pencil.
Or, I’ll usually just put the template under the parchment paper, pipe the shapes, and then remove the template before baking.
Making Choux Pastry
Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you’re mixing up the choux pastry for your swans:
Start by bringing butter, water, salt, and sugar to a boil. It’s very important that this mixture is evenly combined before continuing with the recipe. Next, mix in all of the flour. Adjust your heat as necessary and stir constantly to avoid burning. The batter will thicken up quickly.
When adding the eggs, you want to be sure the eggs don’t cook from the heat. Let the dough cool a bit first and mix constantly as you add the eggs.
The finished dough should be thick. It should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. The batter should NOT be:
- Slimy. This means the eggs are not fully incorporated––keep mixing.
- So thick it doesn’t stick to the mixing paddle. This means not enough egg––add one more.
- So runny that it oozes from the pastry bag or spreads out when you pipe it. This means too much egg, and you’ll need to make more of the dough.
How to Pipe Choux Batter for Cream Puff Swans
Use a piping bag fitted with a ½-inch tip to pipe the swan heads. Apply even pressure for a steady stream and keep the piping bag moving as you go. Follow the stencil/template.
To pipe the bodies, you can remove the tip. You will apply a little more pressure for the bodies.
The bodies should have a slight taper to them. I like to start at the thinner end. To do so, squeeze the bag lightly at first to stay in the lines of the template. As you move to the wider end of the body, press harder for a thicker stream.
Tip: The great thing about choux dough is that it’s very forgiving. If you mess up a body or swan head, simply scrape the dough off of the parched and back into your pastry bag.
Before baking, gently tap down any bumps with damp fingers.
Making Pastry Cream
You can fill the choux shells with your favorite filling or even lightly sweetened whipped heavy cream. I prefer to fill them with a simple, delicious vanilla pastry cream.
When mixing the pastry cream on the stove, be sure to whisk constantly to avoid burning. As the mixture thickens up, you want to avoid a thin layer that may stick to the bottom of the pan. If you feel this happening, just keep whisking. Do NOT scrape the bottom of the pan with your whisk. Doing so will cause brown bits (scalded/burned milk mixture) to float in your pastry cream.
When the cream is uniformly mixed, transfer it to a bowl to chill in the fridge. Place a layer of plastic directly on the surface of the cream to avoid a film.
Make sure your pastry cream is completely chilled before folding in the whipped cream.
Assembling Cream Puff Swans
Once your cream puffs and pastry cream elements are cooled, it’s time to assemble your cream puff swans.
I recommend using a sharp, serrated knife to cut the cream puffs. Start by cutting the top third of the pastry bodies off. Next, cut the top third in half to make the wings.
Arrange your pieces (body, two wings, and heads) in groups to build each swan.
On the body pieces, pipe or spoon a dollop of pastry cream. You want enough to fill the length of the body but not too much that it spills over the sides.
Next, slide the base of the swan neck into the pastry cream at the thick end of the body. If needed, add a bit more pastry cream on top of the swan neck base to secure it.
Finally, firmly but gently affix the wings onto the sides of the swan. The pastry cream in the body will act as the glue to hold the wings in place.
There you have it: a stunning, elevated pastry dessert that’s ready to impress.
Serving & Storing Cream Puff Swans
Pate a choux is best the day it’s made, though you can freeze the pastry bodies in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Pastry cream does not freeze well, but you can store it in the fridge for up to three days and assemble the swans just before serving.
Refrigerate swans until ready to serve. Sprinkle on a dusting of powdered sugar just before serving.
Cream Puff Swans
Equipment
Ingredients
CHOUX PASTRY
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1 cup water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
EGG WASH
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon water
PASTRY CREAM
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk
- 3 egg yolks beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- ½ cup whipping cream
Instructions
- PASTRY
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place templates on baking sheets; line with parchment paper. Measure flour and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, bring butter, water, salt, and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour all at once. Stir quickly until all the flour is incorporated, about a minute. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute or two.
- Transfer dough to the bowl of an electric mixer, and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat until the dough loses its “slimy” look, and each egg is incorporated. (You may only need 3 eggs, depending on your climate.) The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl.
- Spoon dough into a pastry bag fitted with a coupler. Attach a #10 tip (½-inch) to coupler. Pipe dough to make 12 swan necks on a baking sheet, using template as a guide. Smooth out peaks and round tops with a moistened finger; remove template. (You’re aiming for something between a numeral 2 and a question mark, with a little beak if you’re skilled and/or lucky.)
- Remove the tip from the bag and pipe out 12 swan bodies on a second baking sheet, using template as a guide. These will be about 3” long, and about 2” wide. One end should be a bit narrower than the other. Smooth out peaks and round tops with a moistened finger; remove template.
- Egg wash: Whisk together 1 egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush tops of dough with egg mixture. Place swan necks on baking sheet in the freezer.
- Bake swan bodies at 425° for 5 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 375°, and bake 30 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to a wire rack, and cool completely.
- Bake swan necks at 375° for 15 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to a wire rack, and cool completely.
- PASTRY CREAM
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture starts to boil. Cook for 2 minutes until thickened.
- Remove from the stove. Slowly whisk ¼ cup of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add the egg yolk mixture to the hot mixture in the saucepan. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour or overnight.
- When pudding is chilled, whip cream to form soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding until evenly mixed. Cover and chill until ready to use.
- ASSEMBLY
- Cut swan bodies in half horizontally. Cut the top halves in half to create two wings.
- Dollop or pipe a small amount of pastry cream onto the widest part of the bottom halves. Fix the swan necks in the cream. After you’ve put the neck in place, fill the bottom halves with additional pastry cream. Place wings on each side.
- Chill until ready to serve. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving if desired.
Alice
Beautiful! My batch did not come out good at all I don’t know where I went wrong
Barbara Schieving
Hi Alice – I need more info to help you troubleshoot. Did they not rise up tall – you need to pipe them taller. Was the dough too thick – add more egg. There’s more information on my cream puff post https://www.barbarabakes.com/how-to-make-cream-puffs-video-and-easy-step-by-step-photos-and-instructions/ as well.
Ruth-Ann
These are gorgeous! Good to know they can be frozen. How should they be packaged for freezing? How long should it be thawed before filling? Could I make tomorrow, fill on Saturday and refrigerate uncovered to eat on Sunday?
I’ve never made pastry before but would like to do this tomorrow and have it for Mother’s Day. The recipe indicates that only 3 eggs may be needed. How would I know if the dough is thick enough? Is 4 more typical than 3? Is it temperature-dependent?
Thank you!!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Ruth-Ann! Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44rbPtQXphA and you’ll see how thick the dough should be and tips on making them. You’ll just pipe them longer. It depends on the humidity where you live, you’ll probably only need 3 eggs, if the dough doesn’t fall from the beater, you can add an extra egg yolk or an extra egg white.
You can make them tomorrow and fill them on Saturday to eat on Sunday. The more time between when you fill them and the time you eat them, the softer the shell will be, so filling them late Saturday or early Sunday would be best. I usually freeze them on the tray and then once they’re frozen, put them in a Ziploc freezer bag until I’m ready to use them. They thaw quickly, so just get them out of the freezer before you start making your filling. Add powdered sugar right before serving.
Have fun!
Jean
My swan bodies didn’t rise very much, can you tell me what I did wrong.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Jean – if you don’t pipe the dough tall enough, there’s not enough dough to create an air pocket.
Ruth-Ann
How high should they be piped? Thanks.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Ruth-Ann – at least 1 1/2 inches high.
Edwin Sotomayor
I practically invented those. Lol. I use a lg open star tip to pipe body as if piping large shells on edge of cake. When done slice as if your gonna fill them. Then slice top half down center length wise creating 2 defined feathered wings. Fill and insert wings on opposite side they came from. For the beak, dip the tip in chocolate. Wish i could show you a pic
Barbara Schieving
Hi Edwin – thanks for emailing me a picture. You can share a picture on my Barbara Bakes Facebook page or Instagram 🙂
anne
my bodies puffed but then went flat when I took them out of the oven. What could have gone wrong?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Anne – sounds like they were undercooked. Try cooking them a little longer, or cooling them in the oven to dry them out. Do you live in a humid area of the country? If they have a pocket, you could still try filling them and the filling will puff them up.
sadie murray
I would like to know how long the swans will keep with out the filling, planning a party and would like to make them up ahead of time
Barbara Schieving
Hi Sadie – ideally I like to serve them within a day of when I bake the shells. However, the shells freeze very well, so you can make them several weeks ahead and freeze them. You can freeze the unbaked shaped dough as well, which for a large party I like to do because it takes up less freezer space. Then you bake them from frozen just adding a couple minutes to the cook time. Have fun!
Roberta Harrison
Wonderful recipe!! Thank you sooo much, first time I made these, they turned out lovely, looking
forward to trying more of your great looking recipes. Really like how simple and easy you make
it all to follow! Thanks again, Roberta
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Roberta! Such a great compliment. That really is my goal – to give everyone that I can do that feeling. I’m so glad your swans turned out lovely.
Sheri
Thank you for a wonderful Mother Day’s recipe! They turned out great!
Barbara Schieving
They look great! So fun for Mother’s Day.
Vilma
Thank you very much for an amazing recipe. I have done before this kind of pastry, but this recipe is the best. Next time I’ll have my friends over for dinner, for sure it will be on my menu. I tried and felt in love!
Maria Rosa
Podia me mandar a receita em português muito obrigada
Barbara Schieving
Hi Maria – Desculpe, eu sou incapaz de traduzir a receita para você.
Lora
These are gorgeous. You’ve inspired me to try them today!
moufida
tres delecieux tous les enfants adore
Barbara Schieving
merci!
nicky
so …cute…maybe..one day..i want to try
Jenni
Beautiful swans, Barbara!!
Elizabeth
How cute!
I’ve always wondered how the swan shape was achieved. Thank you for showing it so well.
I never thought about the fact that the filling could be sweet or savoury. Suddenly I have an urge for swans filled with creamy cashew chicken.