I went through a lot of variations of this recipe before I came up with these apricot and pistachio cream puffs. Apricots muffins topped with pistachio streusel, babka filled with candied apricots and a pistachio paste… All very yummy and promising but my husband fell head over heels for the apricot and pistachio cream puffs so I decided to focus on them right now (I might work on these recipes later though).

pistachio cream puffs on baking parchment

These pistachio cream puffs are absolutely oozing with well-balanced flavors. Apricots and pistachios are a match made in heaven and I have to thank Cafefernando for this discovery. The apricot curd is perfectly sweet and slightly tangy. It’s a perfect contrast with the nutty and earthy taste of pistachios. Plus the cream cheese in the pistachio glaze makes it all…very creamy. The cream puffs are filled and covered with fruits and nuts so I am gonna go ahead and pretend it’s a healthy dessert. But in all seriousness, these apricot and pistachio cream puffs are the perfect tea time treats.

APRICOT AND PISTACHIO

I had been thinking about combining choux pastry and apricots for months and when summer finally came I jumped at the chance. If you can still find beautiful ripe apricots then the level of sugar in the curd is perfect for you. But if your apricots are a bit bitter or acidic I would encourage you to add a little bit more sugar in the curd, as the glaze of these pistachio cream puffs isn’t very sweet. You should taste a piece of apricot before making the apricot curd to adjust the sugar level to what would work best for you.

I bought my pistachios the last time I was in Turkey and the color is much more vibrant than the paler/blander ones I am usually buying at the supermarket. Hence why I am only using so little in the glaze. More and I would end up with pistachio cream puffs covered in what looks like pesto sauce (yes it happened). If you want a stronger pistachio flavor you can add more but beware that it will affect the glaze’s color, especially with good quality pistachios.

MY CHILDHOOD TREAT

Choux are actually the first thing I ever baked. I was in primary school and my parents dragged me to one of their friends’ weddings who had what looked, to me, like a mountain of choux at the center of their dessert table (Ditching the traditional layered cake, I APPROVE). I had never seen a chou nor tasted one and it was a revelation. A delicate pastry filled with vanilla pastry cream covered with powdered sugar, I was hooked. I ate and ate and ate until I felt sick and it did not deter me from choux pastry, not in the least.

The week after I waited for my mum to be at work and for my dad to be at the shop to look for a choux recipe in his favorite cookbook. And I baked them. Alone without having ever touched a stove or oven before. When they came home my parents could not believe that I had baked them and were convinced that the neighbors had dropped them off. In a way, it was lucky for me cause I wasn’t really allowed to cook on my own. But there was something magical about baking as a child. I never questioned anything, always following the recipe to the letter and thinking that nothing could ever go wrong since I was following the instructions so dutifully.

Later when I moved to Turkey and was pretty dissatisfied with their profiteroles (too sweet and dry) I tried to make my own, thinking ‘I did it when I was 8 years old, I can certainly do it now’. How wrong I was. My choux shells were never rising properly and I ended up with tiny shells with undercooked centers. Because of my pride, I didn’t want to ask/look for help but I had to admit defeat after throwing yet another batch of pistachio cream puffs. Then I finally started to look deeper into choux pastry and ask my twin (who went to baking school <3) what I was doing wrong.

RUNDOWN OF CREAM PUFFS

➝ How to make sure my choux pastry is ready? Turns out that blindly following instructions (or in this case the ingredients list) isn’t always right. Choux pastry is a delicate thing and it’s important to understand when the dough is ready, without referring to the number of eggs written in the recipe. I would advise you to add the last egg little by little to make sure you reach the right consistency. If there is too much moisture in the dough, the pistachio cream puffs will collapse.

➝ How to make sure my shells are dry enough? I have baked choux with overly moist centers a couple of times before. In appearance, they look totally normal, golden and ready to be taken out of the oven. But later you find out that the center is soft whereas a crispy choux is required in order to hold the cream better. Plus the combination of crispy choux and a creamy filling taste way better than overall soggy pistachio cream puffs. I have tried many tricks to get crispy choux (starting to bake them at a higher temperature, drizzling the baking sheet with a little bit of water,…) but none of them have worked better than simply drying them in the oven. After baking them for half an hour, turn off the oven, slip the handle of a wooden spoon between the oven and the door to prop it slightly ajar. Let the choux dry out for 10 min. They should be golden brown when ready and sound hollow when the shells’ bottoms are tapped on.

➝ Can I prepare my cream puffs in advance? Never assemble them in advance or the pistachio cream puffs would become very soggy. Cream puffs really taste better just after having been assembled. For the best results, fill the pistachio cream puffs just before serving or 1 to 2h before serving (maximum). However, you can make each component in advance. The apricot curd and the pistachio glaze can be kept for 3 days in the fridge or 1 month in the freezer (thaw overnight in the fridge). Make sure to whisk them well before using them. The uncooked choux pastry can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days.

In the mood for another pastry? Here are some of my favorite recipes:

Apricot and pistachio cream puffs

Author: Amélie
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 10 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Oven
Cuisine: French

Print Recipe

Description

These pistachio cream puffs are the ultimate tea-time treats. The sweet but slightly tangy apricot curd is a match made in heaven with the nutty and earthy pistachio. And they’re soooo creamy!

Ingredients

Scale

For the apricot curd:

100g sugar (½ cup) (add more if your apricots are a bit sour)
50ml water (4 tbsp)
50g butter (4 tbsp)
8 apricots, stoned and chopped
3 egg yolks
40g butter (3 tbsp), cut in small pieces and at room temperature

For the choux pastry:

50g butter (4 tbsp)
1 pinch of salt
130ml water (½ cup)
75g flour (½ cup)
2 medium-sized eggs

For the pistachio glaze:

135g cream cheese (5oz)
35g raw pistachios (¼ cup), pulsed to a powder
35g powdered sugar (¼ cup)
15ml heavy cream (1 tbsp)
1 tbsp raw pistachios, pulsed to a powder or cut into small pieces to sprinkle on top (optional)

Instructions

FIRST MAKE THE APRICOT CURD: instructions for apricot curd

Cook the apricots. Put half of the sugar, water and butter in a medium heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir from time to time until the sugar had dissolved and the butter has melted. Add the chopped apricots, stir occasionally and cook for 5 to 10 min, until a knife can be inserted into the apricots easily and turn a bit mushy. Pass the apricots puree through a sieve into a medium-size bowl, pressing with a silicone spatula to get all the delicious juice. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the sieve. Discard the pulp and skin remaining in the sieve.
Make the curd. In a large heatproof bowl whisk the yolks and the other half of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 min. Add the apricot puree and whisk it into the yolk mixture. Now you are going to turn the puree into a silky smooth custard with a bain-marie over medium-low heat. Set the heatproof bowl over a medium saucepan filled with 5 cm (2 in) of simmering water. Continuously whisk over medium-low heat until the apricot mixture thickens and registers 75°C (170°F), about 12 min. The custard should coat your spatula. Be careful to cook it over low heat, if it’s too hot, the custard will curdle. The eggs in the custard will cook too quickly and you’ll end up with sweet scrambled eggs.
Finish up. Scrape the curd into a strainer set over a bowl and strain. Press hard with a spatula and Don’t forget to scrape any curd clinging to the bottom of the strainer. Add the butter and stir until combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd. When the curd has cooled down to room temperature, refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or overnight before using it.

THEN MAKE THE CHOUX PASTRY: instructions for cream puff pastry

Make the choux pastry. Put the butter, salt and water in a medium heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Slowly bring it to a boil and stir to ensure that the butter has melted. Add the flour in one go and vigorously stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Take off the heat and keep stirring for 3 min, pressing the dough against the pan so that the heat can dry it out. At this point, the dough should form a ball that doesn’t stick to the pan. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and wait 5 min for it to cool down a little bit. Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Line one baking sheet with parchment paper.
Incorporate the eggs. Start with 2 eggs: add them one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon until well blended after each addition. Break the last egg in a bowl and whisk it. Slowly add it to the dough until you reach a perfect consistency: thick, elastic and pipeable. After lifting your spoon from the dough you should get a bird’s beak (or bec d’oiseau as we say in France), meaning the dough should hold its shape and turn down in a curvy manner (as seen on the photo circled in red.) You might need all of the last egg or not, or you might need another egg. With choux pastry you should check the consistency not the number of eggs stated in the recipe. Every batch is a bit different. Be careful not to add too much, if your dough is too sloppy the choux will spread out on the baking sheet and won’t rise properly.
Pipe and bake. Transfer your choux dough in a piping bag with a 1.7cm (⅔ in) round tip (I don’t have one so I just cut the tip of my disposable piping bag with scissors) and twist to enclose the dough. Pipe 4cm (1 ½ in) mounds about 4cm (1 ½ in) apart. Gently smooth down the peaks with a wet fingertip. Bake for 35 min. Do not open the oven door while the choux are cooking or they will collapse.
Dry out the cream puffs shells. Turn off the oven. Slip the handle of a wooden spoon between the oven and the door to prop it slightly ajar and let the choux dry out for 20 min. They should be golden brown when ready and sound hollow when the shells’ bottom are tapped on. Transfer the choux to a wire rack and let them cool completely filling and glazing them.

MAKE THE PISTACHIO GLAZE:

Make the glaze. Put the cream cheese, pistachio powder, powdered sugar and cream in a large mixing bowl. With a hand mixer beat the ingredients until smooth and combined. Transfer the glaze to a small bowl.

LASTLY, ASSEMBLE THE PISTACHIO CREAM PUFFS: filling a cream puff

Fill the cream puffs with the apricot curd. Transfer your apricot curd in a piping bag with a 1cm (3/8in) round tip and twist to enclose the curd. Poke a small hole in the bottom of each choux pastry shell with a small knife. Insert the tip of the piping bag into the holes of the shells and squeeze the bag to fill them halfway with the apricot curd. If you put too much curd it will be a mess when you’ll bite into one.
Glaze them. delicately dip the top of the cream puff shells in the glaze bowl with a circular movement or just use a spoon. Sprinkle with the leftover pistachio powder and/or pieces.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1
Calories: 297

Keywords: apricot curd, pistachio glaze, choux dough, choux filling

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