This easy Cream Horns recipe is made with puff pastry that’s wrapped and baked until golden and flaky and filled with a sweet and fluffy cream filling!
These are a classic dessert treat that is perfect for holidays and gatherings. You can also dip or drizzle them in chocolate!
I love this easy Cream Filled Pastry!
Last week I had a serious craving for Cream Horns. If you’ve never had one before, you are missing out! The buttery puff pastry is baked to perfection and then filled with a sweet vanilla cream! They are AMAZING!
They are very popular in New England and you can find them shaped as a tube or as a cone/horn. I love this recipe because, with store-bought pastry dough, they are actually really easy to make!
Cream Horn ingredients
The pastry is just store-bought puff pastry, there’s nothing you need to add to it. The filling is a delicious mixture of:
- butter
- shortening
- powdered sugar
- marshmallow fluff
- vanilla
- heavy cream
Don’t skip the shortening – it is key! And while the cream is optional, I highly recommend using it (or half & half) because it really fluffs up the filling for a lovely texture that doesn’t make it feel greasy.
How to make Cream Horns
As I said before, Cream Horns are really simple to make! You’ll need dough molds or you can also use sugar cones that have been wrapped in aluminum foil.
Step 1: Begin by unfolding your puff pastry dough on a lightly floured surface and rolling it out with a lightly floured rolling pin.
Step 2: You should still be able to identify where the fold lines were. Cut each section into 4 evenly sized strips with a pastry wheel or pizza cutter.
Step 3: Wrap your strips of dough around the molds, slightly overlapping the dough.
Expert Tip: Dip your fingers in water to soften the ends of the dough strips and make them sticky enough to adhere to each other.
Step 4: Bake them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until golden brown.
Step 5: Prepare the filling with an electric mixer, once baked and cooled, fill the pastry horns with cream! Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
Cream Horn Recipe variations
- Fruit: Add fruit preserves or Raspberry Filling to the inside of the pastry before filling it with cream.
- Chocolate: Either dip the baked pastry in melted chocolate and allow it to cool before filling, or drizzle it with melted chocolate after filling.
- Powdered Sugar: Dust with powdered sugar after filling for a pretty finish!
- Frosting: Choose one of my frosting recipes like Chocolate, Nutella, or Peanut Butter as a filling instead of the traditional cream recipe!
How To Store Cream Horns
Cream horns are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoyed within a couple of days if including heavy cream or a week or so if omitting. The sugar content is enough to stabilize the heavy cream for a couple of days.
Cream Horn FAQs
So much honestly, the only thing that’s really similar about them is their cylinder shape – and sometimes, cream horns are more like horns/cones so even more different.
Cream horns are made with puff pastry dough and a fluffy and creamy filling usually made with butter, marshmallow fluff, and powdered sugar.
Cannoli are an Italian pastry made with a thin dough that’s fried into a crispy shell and filled with a sweet ricotta filling.
A Cannoncini are Italian Cream Horn which are made with a puff pastry shell but a thick pastry cream filling.
They are believed to have been invented in Austria, which makes sense given that Chimney Cakes are another popular dessert in that region. They are also known as Schaumrollen or Schillerlocken.
You can wrap a sugar or waffle cone in aluminum foil and use that.
More Puff Pastry Recipes
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Cream Horns
Equipment
- Cream Horn Molds or Sugar Cones
Ingredients
- 2 boxes Puff Pastry Dough thawed1
- 1 tablespoon water2
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 3 cups marshmallow fluff
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream3 optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, unfold a sheet of pastry dough and gently roll it out with a lightly floured rolling pin.
- You should still be able to see where the fold creases in the dough ware. Use a pastry wheel (or pizza cutter) to cut each section of the dough into 4 even strips.
- Grab a strip of dough and begin winding it around the cream horn mold4. If you are using tube shape you can start at either end, if you're using a cone shape you will want to start at the point and wrap from there, slightly overlapping the dough as you wrap. Wet your finger in the water to soften the end of the dough strip and make it sticky enough to stick to the mold and the next strip of dough. 3 strips of dough should fit on each mold. Do not wrap too close to the edges of the molds or it will be difficult to get the baked pastry off.
- Place the dough wrapped mold on the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes until light golden brown, remove from the oven and allow the dough to cool on the mold for 20 minutes.5 Gently slide the pastry off the mold6 and allow them to cool for an additional 10 minutes on a wire rack.
- While the pastry is cooling, prepare your filling by creaming together the butter and shortening with an electric mixer. Add in the powdered sugar, fluff, and vanilla and mix on low speed until the sugar has combined, then increase the speed to high and whip for 2 minutes. If you choose to add the heavy cream (which I highly recommend) add it in before turning up the speed.
- Transfer the filling to a pastry frosting bag fitted with a large piping tip and pipe filling into the pastry. If you are using a tube-shaped mold, fill from both ends. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
- The dough will take about 2 hours to thaw or you can put it in the refrigerator the night before you want to use it.
- The water does not go into the recipe, it is only used to wet your fingers and help you prep the dough.
- I highly recommend adding the heavy cream because it helps the filling whip up into a light texture and makes it easier to pipe.
- If you do not have mold and don’t want to wait to order them, you can use sugar cones that have been gently, but tightly wrapped with aluminum foil.
- If you don’t have enough molds or not enough room on your pan, you can bake your pastry dough in two different batches.
- Make sure to lightly grip the end that is opposite from the direction you’re pulling the pastry off the mold from. Do not pull from the middle or there is a higher chance of the pastry breaking.
- There is enough butter in the pastry dough that you do not need to spray your molds, this can actually make it hard for them to stay on the molds when prepping and baking.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Andie says
oh YES! All day yes with these! So yummy!
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you liked them!
Mark L says
My first time making cream horns since our local bakery stopped carrying them and they are one of my wife’s favorites. Even the Norway bake shop at Epcot stopped carrying them. Everything went pretty well but we both agreed that the filling is too sweet for our tastes. Just a matter of personal preference. I’ll have to find a fluffier, less sweet filling. And Lord, I need piping lessons! I did, however, brush the pastry while wrapped on the mold with an egg wash and rolled in bakers coarse sugar crystals before baking which added to the sweetness but provided a nice crunch on the cone itself. Satisfied with my first try.
Teresa says
I haven’t made them yet but I had a question can you make the shelves A-day or 2 in advance and then fill them the day you want to use them, Or will they go soft. I don’t mean freezing them I mean just making them and putting them in a container until ready to fill.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I think they will be fine as long as you store them in an airtight container (not a bag). And keep them at room temperature.
David Pettyjohn says
I’ve been making them for years. The only difference is I don’t use heavy cream. What does it add to the finished product?
Rebecca Hubbell says
It helps make the frosting a little more creamy and lighter/fluffier once whipped.
Barbara says
getting ready to make my first batch. Can you freeze these or has anyone tried? I would like to make them ahead of the holidays and bake the pastry with green or red sugar on top. Thanks!
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Barbara, you should be able to freeze the shells once baked, however, note that the condensation when they thaw could cause them to flake. I wouldn’t add sugar to them is freezing because when they thaw the sugar will not hold up. You could try freezing the shells then drizzle with chocolate and add sprinkles once they thaw and are ready to be filled. I would also make sure to take them out of the freezer bag or container and thaw on a plate, they won’t take long at all the thaw at room temp.
Mandy says
Brilliant recipe came out just as you said grandchildren and I really enjoyed them
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad everyone enjoyed them!
Ada says
Debbie K Gambill Maybe you are not putting your mixer on a high enough speed. I use my Kitchen Aid on top speed to whip this recipe for cream filling.
Ada says
I usually melt raspberry jam and line the inside of the horn before adding the cream filling. Will adding the melted raspberry jam to the cream filling make the filling unusable? Watery? Hard? Not mix together? Not sure what the chemical composition would do to this lovely, yummy cream filling. Thank you.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I think it would be okay so long as the jam cools before putting it in the cream horn. It may also reduce shelf life or cause the pastry to become slightly soggy.
Sandra says
A little too Sweet but overall Turned out a great. Next time I will cut back on the powder sugar
Brian says
Was exactly what I was looking for, I love your recipes…easy to follow. You are so awesome.
Rebecca Hubbell says
Glad you enjoyed them!
Sherry Smith says
I love this
Frannie says
Ermine frosting makes a good filler.
Debbie K Gambill says
Di you think maybe I’m not mixing long enough
Debbie K Gambill says
It taste amazing but it just runs out of the pastry, they are totally cooled down before I fill them, I’m so bummed because these taste great.
Debbie K Gambill says
Hi, I’ve made this filling twice for the cream horns and it’s so runny, it’s runs out of the pastry, any idea of what I’m doing wrin.
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Debbie, I’m not sure since the filling shouldn’t be at all runny. I would make sure the pastry is completely cool and make sure you’re not melting your butter or shortening – they should both be room temperature. There’s only a couple tablespoons of cream/liquid in the recipe so it definitely shouldn’t be runny.
Pat says
This is by far the best tasting creme
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you enjoyed it!
April says
Can the baked horns, infilled, be frozen to fill at a later date?
Rebecca Hubbell says
You can freeze them in a sturdy airtight container for up to 1 month unfilled. Do not refrigerate them.
Amy says
Perfect! Fun to make and everyone will be impressed! The cone molds are worth buying!
The filling is also a great fruit dip if you add just a little bit more cream to make it smooth.
Margaret Brown says
Could this be made without the Marshmallow fluff?
Rebecca Hubbell says
This particular filling requires marshmallow fluff. But you could also use a buttercream or stabilized whipped cream to fill them.
Sherry says
You say this serves 16. Each sheet of puffed pastry gets cut into 3 sections and each section gets gut into 4 strips. That makes 12 strips per sheet 24 total divided by 3 strips per cream horn. that would make only 8 horns. is that correct. I don’t want to use too much puffed pastry per form. I’m guess serving size is 1/2 a cone?
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Sherry, thank you for catching that there was a typo. The recipe actually should have 2 boxes of puff pastry dough in it, which makes 16 – because yes, each sheet of dough makes 4 cream horns. If you only want to use one box, make sure to cut the frosting measurements in half as well or you will have a lot of leftover frosting! Whenever I make these, it’s usually for a lot of people because everyone in my family loves them, so that’s why I use 2 boxes.
Felecia says
Thank you for sharing i need to know must the pastry be the sweet pastry or can i any pastry to make the corns
Rebecca Hubbell says
I have only used puff pastry dough for these.