PA-004Royal milk tea cream puffsPastry · Choux au craquelin
Rev 012026-09-261 / 3

Royal milk tea cream puffs

Craquelin choux filled with an Assam pastry cream, lightened with whipped cream. The tea opens in boiling water first, then steeps in the milk, the way royal milk tea is made.

SourceHouse formula · OriginalContainsWheat · Milk · EggLast changeRev 01 · First issue
Equipment2 half sheets, parchment · Piping bag, 12 mm and 6 mm tips · 4 cm cutter · Fine sieve · Stand mixer · Probe
Yield · puffs30
Filling · each≈ 33 g
Tea · % of dairy2.9%
Plan5 h
Oven · 375 °F190 °C

Formula

% · each part's flour = 100

Craquelin and choux each take their own flour as 100. The filling is made from card CR-001 and sits outside.

Tea: loose Assam, broken leaf (BOP) or CTC. Grind the craquelin tea in a spice grinder.

Eggs: stop when the paste falls in a V. Dry air can take all 240 g.

† Tea strength doesn't scale in a straight line; taste before trusting a multiply.

Ingredient%GramsScaled ×
A  Craquelin · % · its flour = 100
Unsalted butter · soft81.845
Light brown sugar90.950
All-purpose flour100.055
Assam † · ground fine3.62
Fine salt · pinch——
Craquelin276.4152
B  Choux · % · flour = 100
Water85.7120
Whole milk85.7120
Unsalted butter71.4100
Sugar3.65
Fine salt2.13
All-purpose flour100.0140
Whole eggs · ≈ 5, hold back 40 g171.4240
Choux paste520.0728
C  Filling · outside the formula
Royal milk tea pastry cream · CR-001—≈ 820
Heavy cream · cold, 36%—200
Filling—≈ 1,020
Continues on pages 2–3: schedule, method, trials, figures, done when, fixes, revisions →
PA-004Royal milk tea cream puffsPastry · Choux au craquelin
Rev 012026-09-262 / 3

Schedule

One day, about 5 h

Or make the cream and craquelin the day before; start at choux.

Hands-on Waiting
Start
Cream Cook Chill until cold Fold Puffs Craquelin Bake 2 trays, cool Fill 0 h 1 h 2 h 3 h 4 h 5 h

Method

Tick each step
  1. 01

    Cream. Make card CR-001. Film on the surface; chill until cold and set.

    Until cold
    2–4 h, 4 °C
  2. 02

    Craquelin. Beat butter, brown sugar, ground tea and salt. Add flour; mix until it clumps.

    2 min
    Low
  3. 03

    Roll, cut. Roll between parchment to 2 mm. Freeze flat until firm; cut 30 discs at 4 cm.

    30 min
    Freezer
  4. 04

    Panade. Bring water, milk, butter, sugar and salt to a boil. Off heat, add all the flour.

    —
    Rolling boil
  5. 05

    Dry. Back on medium, stir and press the paste until a film forms on the pan.

    2–3 min
    Medium
  6. 06

    Eggs. Paddle to cool. Eggs in four adds; stop when the paste falls from the paddle in a V.

    5 min
    Paste ≤ 60 °C
  7. 07

    Pipe. 4 cm mounds, 15 per tray (fig. 1), a frozen disc on each. Tray 2 to the fridge.

    10 min
    15 per tray
  8. 08

    Bake. Mid rack, one tray at a time. Door shut 20 min, then drop the heat.

    40–45 min
    190 → 165 °C
    375 → 325 °F
  9. 09

    Vent. Poke a 6 mm hole in each base. Back in the oven, heat off, door ajar.

    10 min

Trials

Change one variable per trial

Water boils near 95 °C at 4,700 ft, so the bloom pulls less. B adds tea; C tries a cold steep for less bitterness.

VariableTrial ATrial BTrial C
Date
Assam in cream16 g20 g16 g
Steep10 min, 85 °C10 min, 85 °C12 h cold, 4 °C
Tea taste 1–5
Staff rating 1–5
PA-004Royal milk tea cream puffsPastry · Choux au craquelin
Rev 012026-09-263 / 3

Method

Cool and fill
  1. 10

    Cool. On a rack until cold; the shell should sound hollow.

    Until cold
    20–30 min
  2. 11

    Lighten. Whip cream to soft peaks. Beat the cold CR-001 smooth; fold in the whip in two adds.

    5 min
    Soft peaks
  3. 12

    Fill. 6 mm tip into the base hole; fill until heavy (fig. 2). Serve within 4 h.

    ≈ 33 g
    each

Figures

Fig. 1 to scale
8.6 cm 10 cm
Fig. 1 Half sheet, 15 mounds of 4 cm; dashed = baked size.
6 cm 4.5cm Craquelin
Fig. 2 Fill from the base until the puff feels heavy.

Done when

And how it keeps
Done when
ShellGolden in the cracks
WeightLight, sounds hollow
CreamHolds a line, cold
Keeps
Shells1 day, airtight
Re-crisp5 min, 165 °C
Filled4 h, then 4 °C

If it goes wrong

Most likely cause first
Puffs collapsedUnderbaked or door opened early. Bake until the cracks color
Flat, spreadPaste too loose. Hold back more egg
Tea tastes weakWhole leaf or leaves not pressed. Use broken leaf; press hard
Cream thin once coldNot boiled long enough. Bubble a full minute

Revisions

Newest last
RevDateChangeFrom
Rev 012026-09-26First issue, house formula—