Daisy Choux Puffs

Daisy choux puffs with a crispy craquelin topping, filled with vanilla pastry cream and finished with an edible fondant daisy.

Bring a touch of spring to your Afternoon Tea

These delicate little puffs are a delight to behold—perfectly suited for a refined afternoon tea stand or your prettiest plate. While they may appear daunting, here’s a little secret: most of the components can be prepared ahead of time, allowing you to fill and decorate effortlessly on the day of serving.

Inspired by the daisy entremets served at Claridge’s in London (yes, I’m thoroughly obsessed with the hotel), the fondant daisies are both beautiful and practical. They can be made up to a week in advance, providing the perfect garnish for these elegant treats.

Why You’ll Love These Daisy Choux Puffs

• Show-stopping presentation – Delicate, floral, and utterly charming—perfect for impressing guests.
• Make-ahead friendly – Pastry cream, craquelin and fondant Daisies can be prepped in advance.
• Foolproof method – Thorough testing, clear instructions, and supporting visuals make this recipe approachable, even for beginners.
• Inspired by luxury – A nod to the iconic Claridge’s afternoon tea experience, recreated in your own kitchen.
• Delightfully light – Crisp choux pastry with creamy filling and a sweet floral finish—balanced, not heavy.
• Perfect for special occasions – Elegant enough for bridal showers, baby showers, and Mother’s Day teas.

I tested this recipe four times to ensure it’s as straightforward and foolproof as possible. Every step has been carefully broken down, complete with photos (and, of course, a video on making the choux, filling them with the pastry cream and topping them with the daisies) so you can follow along with confidence.

For the fondant daisies, I’ve prepared a separate step-by-step post to ensure you have all the details you need to make these lovely flowers.

A stand mixer is essential for this recipe, saving you effort and ensuring the perfect consistency. Additionally, a digital scale is a must for accuracy—precision is key to achieving the ideal choux pastry.

Tips for Success

• Preparation is everything. Read through the recipe first, gather all necessary equipment, and have your ingredients prepped and ready to go.
• Choux pastry is simpler than it seems. Organisation is the key to success, and with the right setup, it will come together beautifully every time.
• Avoid sogginess. We’re using classic French pastry cream for the filling, which holds its texture far better than whipped cream. This ensures your puffs stay perfectly crisp—especially important for afternoon tea, where treats may sit out for a few hours.

Do-Ahead Components

To make the process stress-free, prepare the following components in advance:

• Choux Puffs (with Craquelin): Bake and store for up to one day in a sealed container (see recipe on how to crisp up) or freeze for up to one month.
• Fondant Daisies: Prepare up to one week ahead.
• Craquelin Topping: Make the day before baking the puffs.
• Pastry Cream: Prepare the day before assembly.

These steps will streamline your preparation process, ensuring your daisy choux puffs are both beautiful and delicious without any last-minute stress.

What’s the trickiest part?

When making the pastry cream I find I really have to think about adding half the milk to the egg mixture, then adding it back into the rest of the milk, so read this part a few times until it makes sense to you (or unlike me, you might just get it the first time!)

Bake like a pro – weigh your ingredients!

I use weight measurements not cup measurements in all my recipes as cup sizes are not universal – a cup in the US for example is different to a cup in Australia. This ensures accuracy and a far better result, especially if you are baking which relies on scientific principles. Yes it’s a bit nerdy, but ingredients are expensive and there’s nothing worse than following a recipe to the letter only to have it fail on you.

Pro tip: Always keep a set of spare batteries for your scales. You don’t want your scales dying halfway through a recipe!

How to make Daisy Choux Puffs

Make the fondant daisies

I’ve written a separate step-by-step post on how to make these pretty little flowers – click here to view. They will need to dry overnight so start them at least the day before the puffs.

Make the craquelin

Ingredients

Brown sugar – Contains molasses, which gives it its distinctive colour and flavour and adds a hint of toffee-like sweetness.

Unsalted Butter – However if you only have salted on hand then you can use that too.

Plain Flour – Also known as all-purpose flour, plain flour is a versatile, medium-protein flour made from a blend of hard and soft wheat varieties.

Mix

Mix the brown sugar, softened unsalted butter, and flour together in a bowl.

Roll out

Place a piece on baking paper on your bench, place the mixture in the middle then top with another piece of baking paper the same size.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the mixture as thin as possible (about 3mm / 1/12 in approx.)

Place on a baking sheet or board so it stays flat, and refrigerate until required.

Make the pastry cream (crème pâtissière)

Ingredients

Unsalted Butter – While unsalted is recommended, salted butter will also work if that is all you have on hand.

Milk – Use full fat / full cream milk, skim won’t work with this recipe.

Cornflour – White and superfine powder (not yellow and coarse). This is the brand of cornflour I’ve used in this recipe.

Sugar – White granulated sugar (the most common type of sugar) is perfect for this recipe.

Vanilla bean extract -This is vanilla extract with the tiny little beans kept in which adds extra flavour and gives a really nice look when mixed with the pastry cream. Of course normal vanilla extract will be just fine, it just won’t have the little specks (not a big deal..!) Try not to use Imitation Vanilla Essence as it is far removed from the real thing.

Egg Yolks – Use large eggs from a carton with the total weight of 700g / 24 oz. Separate the eggs into a medium bowl.

Set up your dish

Place a large sheet of plastic wrap / cling wrap in a shallow dish and set aside.

Whisk

Put the egg yolks and sugar in a medium sized bowl and whisk until incorporated. Add the cornflour and whisk again. Set aside.

Heat the milk

Place the milk and vanilla bean paste in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil.

Remove from the heat and pour HALF of the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk.

Add this mixture back into the saucepan containing the rest of the hot milk and place it back on a medium heat. Whisk continuously and from all over the pan including the edges until it becomes quite thick – about 1 minute.

Add the butter

Remove from the heat and add the cubes of butter. Stir until all the butter has been incorporated.

Chill the mixture

Pour the pastry cream onto the baking sheet covered in plastic wrap and spread it out as much as you can then cover it with another sheet of plastic wrap making sure it touches the surface (important). Place in the fridge to cool while you make the choux.

Make the choux

Ingredients

Milk – Use full fat / full cream milk.

Water – Tap water at room temperature is fine.

Eggs – Use large eggs from a carton with the total weight of 700g / 24 oz.

Plain / All-purpose Flour – Also known as all-purpose flour, plain flour is a versatile, medium-protein flour made from a blend of hard and soft wheat varieties.

Salt – Fine table salt works well.

Sugar – White granulated sugar.

Unsalted Butter – If you use salted butter then don’t include the fine table salt.

Egg wash – One whole egg beaten with a fork then applied with a pastry brush.

Preparation

Cut two large pieces of baking paper to fit two large baking sheets and set aside.

Fit a stand mixer with a mixing bowl and paddle attachment.

Preheat the oven to 200 C fan / 390F fan.

Milk mixture

In a medium sized saucepan place the milk, water, butter, sugar and the salt on a medium heat on a hotplate.

Mix to combine with a wooden spoon then bring the mixture to a full boil before removing from the heat.

Add the flour

Important: Make sure you have your wooden spoon ready

Add the flour to the hot milk mixture in one go, then grab your wooden spoon and mix quickly until all the flour has been absorbed. There will be lumps when you start but keeping mixing and they will eventually disappear.

Place the saucepan back on a medium heat and cook while stirring the mixture for about 1 minute to dry it out. You will get a film on the bottom of your saucepan, this is normal.

The mixture is ready when it becomes a single blob that starts to stick to the bottom of the saucepan and makes a hissing sound.

Add the eggs

Remove the saucepan from the heat and tip the choux paste into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Mix on low speed for 45 seconds to cool it off, then add one egg at a time making sure to wait until each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. When all eggs have been incorporated, stop the machine and scrape down the sides. Mix again on low for another 20 seconds then turn off the mixer.

Check consistency

Remove the paddle attachment and pull up to check the consistency. It should hang from the attachment in a ribbon consistency V shape – not too loose, not too thick. (see photo / video). If you are happy with the choux paste, scrape the paddle beater and remove the bowl from the stand mixer.

If it is not looking as it should, add 1 tsp milk (maximum). Re-attach the paddle and mix on the lowest speed for 30 seconds. Check the consistency again – look for the V. Repeat until you achieve the desired consistency being super careful not to add too much liquid or it will be soupy and unusable. If that happens you can’t add extra flour – it just won’t work. You will unfortunately have to start over and that would be annoying and a waste of lovely ingredients.

Pipe the choux puffs

*You will need a large piping bag fitted with a 1A plain round tip measuring 13mm / 1/2 inch.

Place the piping bag in a tall glass and turn the top third over to make a cuff.

Using a spatula, fill the piping bag with the choux paste up to 2/3 full.

Pull up the cuff and remove the bag from the glass.

Holding the bag directly above the baking sheet pipe out blobs of choux 2.5cm / 1 inch diameter with 5cm/2 inch space between each one. Repeat with the second baking sheet.

Brush with egg wash

When finished piping, dip your finger in a little dish of water and gently press down to remove any tails. Brush each one with the egg wash.

Add the craquelin

Remove the craquelin dough from the fridge.

Remove both sheets of baking paper, then place the dough on a board or clean bench and using a round 2cm cutter cut discs then place them on top of the choux. If the craquelin gets too soft place it (and the board) in the freezer for 5 minutes to firm up.

Bake the choux

Place both trays in the oven then immediately drop the temperature to 160 C fan / 320 F fan and cook for 30 minutes. Don’t open the door to check on them or you may deflate the puffs! Trust the timings.

Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack and place a cut in the bottom for the steam to escape. Allow to cool completely.

Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to one day. When you are ready to fill and serve, crisp them up in a 160 C (fan) / 320 C (fan) oven for 5 minutes then cool again on a wire rack before fillng with the pastry cream.

Assembling the Daisy Choux Puffs

It is best to assemble the puffs no earlier than 1 hour before serving – add the daisy at the last minute.

Remove the pastry cream from the fridge and place it into a medium bowl. Give it a good stir.

Place a large piping bag fitted with a small open star tip in to a tall glass. Turn over the top to make a cuff.

Fill the bag ¾ full with the vanilla pastry cream.

Remove the bag from the glass, pull up the end and twist until a dollop of pastry cream escapes.

Fill the puffs

Take a puff, insert the piping tip into the slit on the bottom and squeeze until the puff feels full.

Repeat with the rest of the puffs. Refill the bag if you need to.

To finish the Daisy Choux Puffs

Pipe a little star of pastry cream on top of each puff then add a fondant daisy. Serve immediately or leave the daisy off and refrigerate the puffs for up to 1 hour before serving. Add the daisy at the last minute so it doesn’t go soft.

FAQs

Can I freeze unfilled choux puffs? Place in a ziplock bag then freeze for up to 1 month. To refresh, preheat oven to 160 C / 320 F fan. Transfer frozen choux to a sheet tray and reheat until crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack to prevent soggy bottoms.

I have some choux mixture left over, what can I do? Pipe another tray of puffs with or without the craquelin, then once your Daisy batch is ready, slip them into the oven as cook. You can then freeze them for another occasion or a weeknight dessert. Simply reheat (as above), cool, then fill with whipped cream and drizzle some melted chocolate over the top and serve immediately.

What can I use instead of the fondant Daisies? Fresh edible flowers or gold leaf will both work equally as well as the Daisies.