Frozen Mini Cream Puffs

These Frozen Mini Cream Puffs are inspired by the ones from Costco — light, golden choux shells filled with smooth vanilla custard cream that freezes into a soft, ice-cream-like center. The perfect bite-sized dessert for parties, gatherings, or an easy treat straight from the freezer.

Costco Mini Frozen Cream Puffs

Growing up, our freezer was always stocked with these huge white buckets of Costco mini cream puffs (also called mini porfiterols). My family would grab them straight from the freezer and snack on them whenever we wanted something sweet — they were that good. In Japan, there’s something similar called puchi choux (literally “mini choux”), which you can find in convenience stores and grocery stores in the refrigerated section. When we visited in the summer we would freeze them and have them like ice cream too. They come in all sorts of flavors, and that’s what inspired me to eventually make a matcha version at home.

When I set out to recreate them, I tried to make them as close to Costco’s version as possible — but I ended up making them even better. I upgraded the filling to a diplomat cream instead of just whipped cream, added real vanilla bean for depth, and made sure to fill each choux fully. No skimpy puffs here — each one tastes like a little ice cream bite. Honestly, I can’t stop making them!!

I’ve failed making choux more times than I can count, but if you follow my tips and tricks below, you’ll get perfect mini cream puffs every time. 🙂

Ingredients and Substitutions

Cream puffs are comprised of two components: Choux pastry (pâte à choux) and a filling, typically either diplomat cream or whipped cream. The frozen cream puffs from costco are typically filled with whipped cream but for this recipe I’ve filled them with a looser diplomat cream that makes them a bit more ~luxurious~.

The choux pastry requires the usual baking suspects: butter, water, sugar, flour and eggs. The custard cream is the same ingredients as my pastry cream recipe, just with slightly different proportions so its looser for that ice-cream-like texture when frozen. And for the diplomat cream, it’s just whipped cream folded in with the custard cream.

To make this recipe even easier, you can fill the choux pastry with some simple whipped cream.

How to Make Mini Cream Puffs

Once you get the hang of choux pastry, it’s actually super simple — just a few basic ingredients and a bit of technique. Here’s an overview of how to make the mini profiteroles:

1. Make the choux dough (1): Using a stainless steel or aluminum saucepan pan, heat butter, water, sugar, and a pinch of salt until butter is melted. Remove from heat and add the flour all at once and stir until a smooth dough forms.
2. Dry the dough (2): Place back onto heat and cook the dough, mixing continuously until it reaches 80°C/178°F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, cook until film forms on the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and cool for a few minutes. The cooked weight for this recipe should be 184-188 grams.
3. Add the eggs: (3-4) Mix in the beaten eggs a little at a time until smooth, shiny, and pipeable (it should slowly fall in a “V” shape from the spatula). It will look separated at first but will come together.
4. Pipe (5-7): Transfer to a piping bag and pipe 16 small mounds (about 16–17 g each) onto a parchment-lined tray. Smooth any tips with a damp finger and lightly mist the tops with water to help them rise evenly.
5. Bake: (8) Preheat to 450°F (230°C), then reduce to 400°F (200°C) and bake for 20–24 minutes until puffed and golden. Turn off the oven, crack the door open and close the door again. Let them dry out until cool.
6. Prepare your custard cream (9) and chill. You can read more about making smooth custard cream in custard cream recipe post.
7. Fold in heavy cream to make diplomat cream (10). Here’s my recipe with tips for smooth and silky diplomat cream.
8. Fill (11) each choux fully with the cream using a piping bag.
9. Freeze (12) until firm for that ice-cream-like texture.

VIDEO: Watch How to Make It

Variations

This is where it gets fun and creative! In Japan, you can find all kinds of puchi choux (mini cream puffs) in convenience stores — from matcha to chocolate and even seasonal flavors which inspired me to make matcha and hojicha versions. Here’s how and some more ideas:

• Matcha Cream Puffs: Add 1 tbsp matcha powder to the custard cream along with the flour. Swap with hojicha powder for a more roast-y flavour.
• Earl Grey Cream Puffs: Steep about 1–2 tea bags of earl grey in the milk while heating it for the custard base. Strain before adding to the egg mixture. You’ll get a delicate bergamot aroma that pairs beautifully with the buttery choux.
• Chocolate Cream Puffs: Omit the butter and add 1/2 cup (80 grams) of finely chopped milk or dark chocolate into the custard right after cooking (when the butter is usually added)— the residual heat will melt it smoothly.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Mini frozen profiteroles are one of those desserts that are meant to be stored so they’re the perfect dessert to batch make ahead of time!

• Freezer: Place on a parchment lined baking tray, cover with plastic wrap and freeze. Then transfer to a freezer safe ziplock bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
• Fridge: Can be kept for 1 day if you prefer a softer texture. Anything longer and they tend to get soggy. I recommend making the choux pastry and creams in advance and filling them right before serving.
• Serving: Let frozen puffs sit 5 minutes at room temperature before enjoying, or eat straight from the freezer for an ice-cream-like experience.

Recipe FAQ

Enjoy! If you make this Frozen Mini Cream Puffs recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and rating below, and if you share it on social media, tag me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen. I can’t wait to see your creations!

Frozen Cream Puffs

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4 from 2 reviews

• Author: Lisa Kitahara
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 16 servings
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

These frozen mini cream puffs are inspired by the ones from Costco — light, golden choux shells filled with smooth vanilla custard cream that freezes into a soft, ice-cream-like center. The perfect bite-sized dessert for parties, gatherings, or an easy treat straight from the freezer.

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Ingredients

Units USM

Choux Pastry

• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp (100 ml) water
• 3.5 tbsp (50 g) unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp (1.5 g) sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup (62 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
• 2 large (93-100 g) eggs

Custard Cream Filling

• 1 1/2 tbsp (22 ml) heavy cream
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) 2% milk
• 1/2 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla paste/extract)
• 2 large (36 g) egg yolks
• 1/4 cup (45 g) sugar
• 1 tbsp (8 g) cake flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp (28 g) butter

Diplomat Cream

• all of the custard from above or 3/4 cup of custard cream
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy cream
• 1 tbsp (9 g) powdered sugar

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Instructions

Choux Pastry

1. Preheat oven: 450°F (230°C).
2. Make the dough: In a small saucepan, combine butter, water, and sugar. Heat over medium until butter is fully melted and the mixture just begins to boil. Remove from heat, add all the flour at once, and mix with a spatula until a dough forms and pulls away cleanly from the sides. Be sure there are no chunks of flour.
3. Dry the dough: Return the pan to medium low heat and mash the dough down with a spatula. Once you hear sizzling start a timer for 2 minutes. Cook the dough, mixing consistently until you start to see a film form on the bottom of the pan and the dough reaches 80 C. Depending on your pan, you may not see film form on the bottom but as long as the dough reaches 80 C the dough is ready. Transfer dough to a bowl over a scale. It should be 184-188 grams. Let cool for 3–4 minutes.
4. Incorporate eggs: Add 1/3 of the beaten eggs and mix with a spatula until smooth. Repeat 2 more times. Add lesser amount of eggs first. Once smooth, the dough should fall off the spatula when lifted in 3-5 seconds leaving a V shape.
5. Pipe: Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe 16 mounds (about 16–17 g each) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Smooth the tops out with damp fingers. Lightly brush some water on each one or spray with water.
6. Bake: Place tray in oven, immediately reduce temperature to 400°F (205°C). Bake for 20–24 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Turn off the oven, open the door ones and close again. Allow them to cool in the oven, door closed for 15-20 minutes to continue drying.
7. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Custard Cream

1. Heat milk mixture: In a small saucepan, combine milk, 20 ml heavy cream and vanilla beans. Heat until just steaming (do not boil).
2. Whisk egg base: In a bowl, whisk together yolks and sugar until pale in colour. Add in the cake flour and salt and mix until smooth.
3. Temper & cook: Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture while whisking. Over a fine mesh sieve, return to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and smooth. Towards the end, switch to a spatula to scrape the pan for even cooking. Remove from heat and whisk in butter until melted in and smooth.
4. Chill: Transfer to a bowl (I like to do this over a fine mesh sieve for the smoothest custard), cover surface directly with plastic wrap, and place ice packs on top for quick cooling. Then cool completely in the fridge.

Diplomat Cream

1. Whip cream and sugar together to soft to medium peaks. Gently fold whipped cream into the chilled custard until combined. The texture should be looser than typical diplomat cream — it melts beautifully when frozen!

To Assemble

1. Poke a small hole in the bottom of each choux puff with a chopstick. Pipe the cream into each shell until it feels full. You may have some diplomat cream leftover, which is good so you can eat it with a spoon while you wait :). Freeze until firm (at least 2–3 hours). Serve right out of the freezer or thaw for 10 minutes and enjoy!!

Notes

• Extra mini cream puffs: If you want to make them even smaller for 24-28 pieces, you can pipe them into 10-12 grams and bake for 15-20 minutes.
• Cream filling: If you prefer to have something more similar to the ones from costco, you can simply fill them with whipped cream. Whip 1 cup (250 ml) cold heavy cream until medium stiff peaks. Add in 1/3-1/2 cup (40-60 g) icing sugar and seeds of a vanilla bean pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract. Whip until well incorporated to medium/stiff peaks. Pipe into the choux and freeze.

• Prep Time: 30
• Cook Time: 30
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cream puff
• Calories: 116
• Sugar: 3.2 g
• Sodium: 16 g
• Fat: 9.2 g
• Saturated Fat: 5.4 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 3.5
• Trans Fat: 0.26
• Carbohydrates: 6.5 g
• Fiber: 0.2 g
• Protein: 1.8 g
• Cholesterol: 68 mg