I call these Pikachu cream puffs but they are actually Pikachu choux au craquelin.
What is choux au craquelin?
The name may sound fancy but choux au craquelins are simply cream puffs with a crunchy cookie crust.
Choux au craquelin is made from choux pastry and topped with a cookie crust called the craquelin. The craquelin adds a delicious crunchy sweet layer to the cream puff.
There are a variety of options filling options for choux au craquelin but I kept things simple and filled mine with whipped cream.
How to make the choux au craquelin
Choux au craquelin consists of two components:
- The choux pastry (the cream puff)
- The craquelin (the cookie crust)
You make the craquelin first followed by the choux pastry.
How to make the craquelin
The craquelin is made with just 3 ingredients:
- butter
- sugar
- flour
First mix together the butter and sugar. Then you add in the flour and mix until a dough forms.
Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll out the dough. Refrigerate the dough until it is firm. This will take about 25 minutes.
Once the dough has firmed, take a 2-inch round cookie cutter and cut out circles. Keep these refrigerated until it is time to use.
Making the choux pastry
Choux is made with simple ingredients:
- butter
- water
- salt
- flour
- eggs
The steps to making them are simple as well.
You start off by adding the butter, water, and salt into a pot. You heat the pot on the stove until the butter is melted. Once the butter has melted, remove it from the heat and add in the flour. Mix and then let it cool for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, add in the eggs and mix until combined. You now have your choux batter.
Transfer the batter into a piping bag and pipe out 1.75 inch wide choux. Make sure you pipe them out at least 1 inch apart. You don’t want them to stick together or touch when they bake.
You want the choux pastry and the craquelin to be the same size or the choux slightly smaller than the craquelin. I chose to make my choux slightly smaller because I find the craquelin covers the choux better this way.
TIP: If you want evenly sized choux, place a piece of paper under your parchment with 1.75inch circles drawn on as a guide for how large to pipe.
Once your choux pastries are all piped out, add on the craquelin.
Bake these at 190C/375F for 25 minutes.
Allow the choux au craquelin to cool before decorating.
Decorating
All the decorating is done with royal icing. The face is draw on with royal icing and the ears and tail is made with what is called royal icing transfer.
Royal icing transfers are made by piping out royal icing out on parchment paper and then allowing them to dry. Once they are dried they can be picked up and used for decorating.
For Pikachu, pipe out the shape of the ears and tail with royal icing and then let them dry. Once they are dried, cut slits into the cream puff where you want the ears/tail to go and then stick the royal icing transfer into the slit.
Be aware that royal icing transfers do take a long time to dry. I piped mine out the day before and let them dry overnight.
Pikachu choux au craquelin
Ingredients
Craquelin (cookie crust)
- 60 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 60 grams all purpose flour
Choux (cream puff dough)
- 50 grams unsalted butter
- 130 grams water
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 70 grams all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
Whipped Cream Filling
- 240 mL whipping cream
- 25 grams granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
Decorating
- royal icing
Instructions
Craquelin (cookie crust)
- Mix together the butter and sugar
- Add in the flour and mix until a dough is formed
- Dye the dough a Pikachu shade of yellow
- Roll out the dough and refrigerate until the dough is firm
- Cut out circles using a 2-inch wide round cookie cutter and keep these refrigerated until ready to use.
Choux (cream puff dough)
- Add butter, water, and salt into a pot. Heat until the butter is melted
- Remove pot from heat and add in the flour. Mix until combined.
- Let cool for 15 minutes
- Add in the eggs and mix well
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe out 1.75inch wide choux. Make sure to leave at least 1 inch of space in-between
- Add the craquelin (cookie crust) from earlier on top
- Bake at 190C/375F for 25 minutes
Whipped cream
- Add the cream and sugar to a bowl and mix until you get stiff peaks
Filling the choux au craquelin + decorating as Pikachu
- Fill by poking a hole into the bottom and piping in the whipped cream
- Decorate by drawing on Pikachu's face with royal icing
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