Hungarian cream puffs are so amazing and splendid, much better than profiteroles or éclairs; I always make them for Christmas. They are called képviselőfánk in Hungarian, which literally means “representative’s doughnut”. Officially the origin of képvislőfánk is wrapped in mystery, but according to a legend these cream puffs were served for the members in the buffet of the Parliament in the 19th century, and this is reason why the word representative is mentioned in their Hungarian name.

Képviselőfánk is made from a light and crispy choux pastry, which contains water, egg, salt, flour and either butter or lard. I prefer to use lard – it suits my taste better, but, of course, you are allowed to use butter, too. It’s very important to bake the pastries in a steamed oven – steam helps them rise and become crispy and airy. Don’t open the door during the baking process because the shells can collapse.

I know from my own experience that the 20-30 minute baking time most recipes usually suggest isn’t enough to reach the right consistence, my pastries always collapsed after I had taken them out of the oven. Choux pastry must be baked well to ensure that the interior walls are dry; therefore, after several attempts, I stick to baking them for 40 minutes (don’t worry, they don’t burn), so the shells retain their beautiful puffed form even after they are cooled.

Hungarian cream puffs are filled with pastry cream and whipped cream. Pastry cream or crème pâtissière is a thick and stable custard, which is usually made with either flour or cornstarch. Virtually I use the recipe of krémes filling for the cream puffs, too, I just half the quantities. My filling differs from the traditional pastry cream in one thing, namely I always fold whipped egg whites into the cream.