Salted Caramel Banana Cream Puffs – Homemade choux puffs are filled with fresh whipped cream, a slice of banana and covered in homemade salted caramel sauce.
We’re a couple days away from New Year’s Eve and it’s time to plan some fancy treats for your celebration menus. I love bite-sized treats for these events because they don’t require utensils and can easily be snacked on. A great treat that does the trick (and is super impressive) are cream puffs. I’ve made a few different kinds for you before but this one is super fun.
Say hello to my Salted Caramel Banana Cream Puffs!
Tips & Tricks
- Let it cool. When making the salted caramel sauce, make sure you let it cool before making cream puffs. If too warm, it will be too thin and will run off the puffs.
- Adding the eggs. The dough is made by adding eggs to a hot dough one at a time. Make sure to stir each egg vigorously into the dough to keep it from scrambling in the hot dough.
- Let the steam escape. To ensure the cream puffs don’t shrink after baking, you must poke a hole in the top to help the steam to escape.
- Do not make ahead. You should not make these cream puffs ahead of time. The taste best on the same day they’re made. So do not make ahead. However, you can make the caramel sauce and whipped cream ahead of time. Just refrigerate until you plan to us them. The caramel might be too firm so let it get to room temperature before using.
Salted Caramel Banana Cream Puffs
Servings: 24 profiteroles
Ingredients
For the salted caramel
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter salted, sliced
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the puffs:
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted, cut into pats
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup flour
- 4 large eggs
For the filling:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 bananas
Instructions
To make the salted caramel:
- Place sugar in medium saucepan and heat to medium. Stir occasionally with a silicone spatula (make sure it can handle high heat temps!). As the caramel begins to liquefy, scrape from the bottom and mix back into the granulated pieces. The sugar will clump but eventually it will melt again and turn an amber brown. Make sure you are still stirring so it does not burn.
- Once the sugar is melted, add butter and stir until butter is melted, about 2 minutes. Use a whisk to incorporate the butter with the sugar. Keep an eye on the color of the caramel. If it's getting too dark, remove from heat to cool down, and then add back to heat.
- Very, very slowly, add the cream to the sugar mixture while whisking. The mixture will start to bubble violently, but keep stirring and it will calm down. Allow it to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the salt. Let it cool until it's firmed up a little before using.
To make the puffs and assemble:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, heat butter, sugar, salt, and water together over medium-high heat until it boils. Immediately add all of the flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir over heat until a firm forms on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and transfer dough to a medium bowl to cool down for 3 minutes.
- Once slightly cooled, add 1 egg to dough and stir vigorously until combined into dough. Repeat with rest of eggs, one at a time.
- Transfer mixture to a large pastry bag fitted with a large piping tip. Pipe 1 1/2 inch rounds onto prepared baking sheets (about the size of a macaron). Make sure to space out about 2 inches apart.
- Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes and then rotate to bake for another 15 minutes. The dough should be puffed and browned on top. Remove from oven. Using a sharp knife cut a small slit in the top or sides of the puff to allow the steam to escape. Let them cool completely.
- Cut each puff in half. Dip the top of the top half into the cooled caramel sauce. Spoon the whipped cream (recipe below) onto the inside of the bottom half of the cut puff. Slice the bananas into 1/2-inc slices. Place one slice on the whipped cream. Top with the top half of the puff. Repeat with the rest of the puffs, salted caramel, banana slices, and whipped cream. Serve immediately or within 12 hours.
To make the whipped cream:
- Add cold whipping cream to bowl of a stand mixer, along with sugar and vanilla. Whip on medium-high until the cream is super stiff.
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More recipes you’ll love:
Raspberries & Cream Profiteroles
Banana Cream Pie Dip
White Chocolate Cream Puffs
OK I’m intrigued!! This looks absolutely amazing!
Oh my these little bit size treats look amazing! Perfect for a party or gathering what a great recipe!
These look so fancy, and so yummy! I think my whole family would gobble these down
Yes please, I would eat so many of these. They look amazing!
What a fun bite to eat! Banana + Caramel is a match made in heaven.
Banana and caramel are so good together. These were the perfect bite sized desserts.
I’m such a sucker for banana and caramel! These look and sound amazing. Can’t wait to try them! 🙂
Oh my goodness, these cream puffs are SO tasty and have all my favorite flavors! Love the combination of the sweet bananas with the salted caramel! Divine!
Added some caramel bits inside too and OMG