Do you like cream puffs?

I did not know that Japanese cream puffs were so popular in the U.S. When I searched for Japanese cream puffs, I found many articles like this and this. Cream puffs are originally French sweets and I think the U.S. has them already. I wonder if Japanese cream puffs are different from the ones in the U.S.? I know many Japanese who live in the U.S. have left comments in their blogs like, "it's nice to eat such 'light' sweets here." For me, they're sweet enough (not "too sweet"), but I can't say they're heavy. (Now I am afraid of Cold Stone Creamery -- even an American said it is too fatty and heavy!)

Anyway, we Japanese love cream puffs. We call it Choux-Cream (Choux means cabbage in French, maybe they call it because puff looks like cabbage). In Ikebukuro, there is a place called Choux-Cream Field. We can eat various kinds of cream puffs there. I love cream puff ice cream, and my favorite cream puff is Asakasa Shirotae, which has a slightly hard, crispy puff and a very light custard with a lot of vanilla beans. Here is the Choux-Cream fan site. She has a comment on each cream puff. Well, does sweet red beans (=anko!) and strawberry cream puff seem strange?

In Hawaii, there are not only Japanese cream puffs. Red bean bread (Anpan) is becoming popular, I've heard. Kimuraya is an old Japanese bakery which has their main shop in Ginza. They have a shop in Kahala Mall in Hawaii which sells over 1000 anpan a day. There are many Japanese and Japanese tourists in Hawaii, so I can't tell if Americans like to eat it, but for me it is a little amazing that is loved not only by people from Asian countries. Anyway, if you really like it, sooner or later you will see Anpan man on TV. This is great. Don't miss it.

Comments

[Meredith in So.California]

I lived in Yokosuka, Japan for two years and fell in love with the food, especially the strawberry cream puffs! I have tried to duplicate them but nothing compares to the real thing!! I was born and raised here in California, but would live in Japan again, in a heart beat, if the opportunity came.

[leo-chan]

cream puff is made from choux paste i.e. milk and butter is brought to boiling point and the flour is then added in and stirred vigarously. the mixture is then taken off the fire and stirred until slightly cooled. eggs are then added one at a time and the final paste like mixture is put into a piping bag.

it is then piped to shapes i.e. eclairs, profiteroles, puffs etc.. and baked at a high temperature.

it puffs up due to the expansion of water content in the mixture and also air incorporated during the mixing process...

hope that info helps! :D

leo-chan

[hodoree]

most of the french pastry places don't have a selection of cream puffs here in nyc. beard papa is one of the few places, and the cream puffs are pretty large, but smaller than when they initially opened up here.

[Joe]

Can't get enough of it.. eventhough I know it's full of fat.. ^^

[Mari]

Hi there.
Do you know I have been to the U.S for just 10 days, so i really don't know how sweet the U.S sweets is. Beard papa can be popular in the U.S. it meand people want more less sweet sweets?

[AzianBrewer]

True that, Grace. Fads come and go in HK. I recalled the short lived fame of Portugese Egg Custard Tart.

[cecile]

i love choux ice!!!

[grace]

hk has a few Beard Papa 2!!! when it first came to hk, it's big hit and we needed to wait a long quene for it!!
however, there is no one single thing in hk could hit over 6 months. so it's much quiet now. but still many ppl like it and i am one of them!!
i like it so much!!

[Jennifer]

I just went to Choux Factory yesterday and had a chocolate cream puff and I have to say, I think I like their cream puffs more than Beard Papa.

[Marie]

We have several Beard Papa locations in New York. My favorite is that matcha cream filling. You cannot compare Japanese pastries to American ones -- Japanese are much better. I think this is because the Japanese pastries are not too sweet. Maybe you'll come to New York one day and you will see!

[AzianBrewer]

Beard Papa is here in NYC and line is still quite long.