Puff Pastry Cream Horns

If you've never made Puff Pastry Cream Horns, the best month to try it is March. Second best months are April through February. You get the idea. These are so good, and difficult at all. You just take strips of packaged puff pastry, wrap them around cannoli or cream horn forms, bake and fill. Even if you are klutz with dough, yours will turn out as pretty or prettier than these. This was my first batch, which I filled with a whipped white chocolate ganache. I used cannoli molds because those were all I had, then immediately ordered some conical shaped cream horn molds because I knew I'd be making these again and again.

So here's how you make these easy Puff Pastry Cream Horns.

Whipped White Chocolate Ganache Filling

First, you make a filling. There are tons of different types of filling options, including plain old sweetened whipped cream. You could also use the easy pudding mix filling from Eclairs, if you'd like. However, for these Cream Horns, I used a whipped white chocolate ganache. It's yet another recipe I learned from Dominique Ansel, and you won't believe how simple it is. You heat cream, add softened gelatin, then pour it over white chocolate. Add a little vanilla, then chill until ready to whip. I made it from start to finish in the microwave and whipped it right in the 1 quart Pyrex using the whisk attachment of my Cuisinart handheld mixer. The whipped ganache gets all its sweetness from the white chocolate, but I sweeten it a little more with powdered sugar.

The puff pastry horns are made by wrapping strips of puff pastry around a cannoli or cream horn form. As mentioned, I ordered the actual cream horn forms after the first batch. Here's what the dough looks like wrapped around a cream horn form.

Equipment Needed

You may not have the cannoli or cream horn molds yet, but it you enjoy being resourceful and not spending money on kitchen tools, you can fashion your own molds with foil. There are a lot of good ways to do it, with the best being one I saw on Reddit where someone wrapped foil around wine corks. The other equipment is pretty basic. Just for a change, I listed the equipment in the recipe card. I'm curious as to how people process that information. As a cookbook reader, I skip the equipment list, go straight to the directions and visualize what equipment I have and can use for the instruction. I asked my husband how he'd use an equipment list and he said he would just start taking things out. Maybe I'll start adding equipment lists.

A Few More Tips

• The only brand of puff pastry I've tested with is Pepperidge Farm. It's found in the freezer section near the frozen desserts. It's very easy to use and with this recipe, you won't even have to roll it.
• Aldi sells inexpensive white chocolate (Madagascar Vanilla) which works well in the filling.
• The filling can be made a day ahead of time.
• When heating the cream in the microwave, keep a close eye on it and don't allow it to come to a full boil.
• I bake puff pastry at 400 degrees F. and pull it after about 18 to 20 minutes. If your oven runs hot, you may need to bake at 375 degrees F. If you've never baked puff pastry before, you can bake a couple of practice horns.
• These freeze well. Store in a freezer bag and thaw about 30 minutes before ready to eat. The gelatin in the filling keeps it from getting too hard in the freezer.

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Recipe

Puff Pastry Cream Horns

Anna

An easy recipe for cream horns using Pepperidge Farm brand puff pastry. The filling is whipped white chocolate ganache, but you can use any cream filling you like.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 9 horns

Equipment

• 1 ramekin or custard cup for gelatin
• 2 microwave-safe mixing bowls or 1 microwave-safe bowl and a small saucepan
• 1 handheld electric mixer
• 10 cannoli or cream horn molds (I only have 6, so I had to work in batches)
• 1 small tray or 2 large platea that fits in the freezer
• 1 large baking sheet for baking the pastry
• non-stick foil or parchment paper
• plastic wrap
• piping bag
• large round or star tip for piping cream

Ingredients

 

• ½ box puff pastry
• 1 large beaten egg (for egg wash), you won't use all of it
• sparkling sugar (optional)

Cream Horn Filling

• 2 ½ teaspoons cold water
• ¾ teaspoon plain gelatin
• 1 ½ ounces white chocolate (you can go a little over) (45 grams)
• 7 ounces heavy whipping cream (210 grams)
• 1 teaspoon good vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar (optional)

Instructions

 

Filling

• Put cold water in a ramekin and stir in the gelatin. Let sit for 5 minutes to soften.
• Break or chop the white chocolate and put it in a microwave-safe glass bowl or a quart size Pyrex if you have one.
• Put the cream in a small saucepan or 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Heat the cream in the saucepan or microwave, watching it very closely, just until it is very hot but not boiling. Add the softened gelatin to the hot cream and stir to dissolve, then pour hot mixture over the white chocolate. Let stand for 30 seconds. Stir until smooth. If for some reason your white chocolate has not melted all the way you can heat it for 10 seconds, but the heat from the cream should do the trick. Do not add the powdered sugar yet.
• Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours until very cold.

Preparing Puff Pastry Horns

• Thaw the puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm brand) as directed on the package. It takes less than 40 minutes and there are microwave directions on the box if you're in a hurry.
• Unfold the puff pastry on a cutting board and lay it in front of you with the 9.75 inch horizontal and the 10.5 inch side vertical. Cut vertical ½ inch strips. Aim for about 20. You'll need two strips for each horn. You can also do thicker strips and use 1 strip for each horn.
• Have ready a parchment or nonstick foil lined tray or a couple of lined plates that will fit in your freezer. Also have ready a little beaten. For a little extra crunch, you can also sprinkle on sparkly sugar before baking, but that is optional.
• Grease your molds very well with butter.
• Take one strip of pastry and starting at the pointy end of the mold, coil/loop the pastry trip keeping sides touching. It will only go about half way, so take a second strip, pinching it to the first, and continue looping. The mold still might not be completely covered. Set the puff pastry wrapped mold on the tray and continue to make as many more horns as you cans. Set each one on a parchment lined tray or plate as you go. When done, put in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. When oven is hot, brush the frozen puff pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle lightly with sparkling sugar if using. Bake the puff pastry wrapped molds for about 18-20 minutes. Let cool, then carefully slide off the mold.
• Once cool, take your white chocolate ganache out of the refrigerator. Using an electric mixer, beat it until thick enough to pipe. It might take a little longer than whipped cream does to thicken, but it will thicken. Just as it's starting to form peaks, taste test. Add powdered sugar to taste or leave it as is.
• Fill a piping bag fitted with a round tip and squeeze the ganache into the cooled pastry. Sift powdered sugar over the pastries and serve. These so good when served fresh because the horn is puffy and crunchy and the cream is soft. However, you don't have to serve them immediately.
• Store in the refrigerator for a few hours or eat immediately. For longer term storage, store the horns in a freezer bag in the freezer.

Keyword Cream Horn, Puff Pastry

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