The Story Behind My Grandmother's Strawberry Cream Puffs

When I bite into a strawberry cream puff, I am instantly transported to summers at my grandmother's house in Nova Scotia. Everything about Beatrice Collins (aka "Grammie," "Mum," "Queen Bea") was elegant yet practical and simple. Nothing was fancy or fussy, but everything she touched felt magical. She was a woman who knew how to enjoy life and her love of food was central to everything she did. Here she is with my mom, canning beans from her garden:

Summer visits at Grammie’s house were always graced by her classic strawberry shortcake, which we adored. But every so often, she would pull out all the stops and make strawberry cream puffs: pillowy French choux puffs filled with vanilla custard, whipping cream and freshly sliced berries. It just doesn’t get any better. It’s a recipe I especially love because it’s rich but doesn’t feel heavy, and there’s not much sugar in it yet it feels incredibly decadent. (At just over 1/4 cup sugar spread out among 8 cream puffs, that’s about 1/2 Tbsp of sugar per cream puff!)

When my grandfather was alive, the strawberries for the shortcakes and cream puffs proudly came from his garden. Strawberries were a sacred summer joy and we never really ate them at any other time of year though Grammie did make strawberry freezer jam to enjoy year round. After my grandmother died, my mom and I would take turns making the cream puffs during strawberry season. They have always felt to me like they straight up deliver my grandmother’s joie de vivre.

For my eleventh birthday, my grandmother gifted me a cookbook that she had meticulously hand written, with all her favorite recipes, family classics treasured by the family. I can’t imagine how long it must have taken her and although the cookbook now has lost its cover, and its pages bear some stains from years of usage, it is one of my most prized possessions. And one which I refer to again and again.

Choux pastry (what cream puffs are made of) is a French pastry simply made up of butter, water, eggs, and flour. It’s unusual in that the dough is cooked while you make it. It’s very similar to American popovers, and it’s the same dough used for making éclairs. Choux pastry is known to be a little tricky but really it’s not that complicated. I made it as a teenager with no problem and although my puffs were occasionally on the flat side, they were always enjoyed by everyone. Even a "failed" choux puff that didn’t quite rise enough in the baking is still delicious and beautiful once assembled with cream and berries. The dough should preferably be slightly more stiff than what was shown in the video though those turned out ok. Just follow my recipe instructions to the letter, approach it with confidence, and you should have no problem. If however you find yourself struggling with it, there are many great in-depth articles that have been written online about mastering choux pastry and they may help you troubleshoot. Main problems usually stem from an inaccurate oven temperature (use a thermometer to know your actual oven temperature) or not measuring out the flour accurately (ideally, you should weigh your flour).

A word about strawberries. Growing strawberries is hard work, but infinitely rewarding. I’m so grateful to be having a bumper crop and so far this summer, I’ve managed to put away over 50 pounds of strawberries in my freezer for year-round use. If you don’t have access to homegrown, try to find a strawberry "pick-your-own" or a farmers market near you. Local and seasonal strawberries taste so much better! And if you can, look for organic or unsprayed berries since strawberries are sadly one of the fruits most heavily contaminated with pesticide residues which do not wash off. They can contain up to 22 different pesticide residues, and are at the top of the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, please let me know in the comments below. Happy strawberry season!