The Great British Bake Off definitely inspired this recipe for vegan choux swans. I remember watching it so long ago and wanting to try it out. But I didn’t know of a way to make vegan choux yet! As a last minute flavor addition, I chose to use a blackberry pastry cream. I’m glad I tried it out. It’s a bit tart, but it balances well with the whipped cream and the sweetness in the rest of the dessert.

I estimated the amount of pastry cream I would need and ended up with maybe about twice too much. My recommendation is to cut the pastry cream recipe in half or by a third. This recipe probably won’t be tested out again any time soon, so I can’t give any exact measurements for the quantity correction. Here is the original choux pastry base recipe we used to make the swans, if you would like to take a look.

Make sure to check out the recipe notes for additional information and tips.

If you try this recipe, leave us a comment below to let us know how it goes. We would love to hear from you!

Vegan Choux Swans

Little Lighthouse Baking Co.

Elegant and tasty swans made of pâte à choux and filled with tart blackberry pastry cream and whipped cream.

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Prep 3

Cook 45

Total 3 45

Course Dessert

Cuisine French, Vegan

Servings 8 pieces

Equipment

piping bags
whisk
fine mesh sieve

Ingredients

Choux Pastry

¼ cup water (60g)
¼ cup unsweetened soy milk (60g)
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
½ tbsp sugar (6g)
3 tbsp vegan butter (42g)
½ cup all-purpose flour (65g)
½ cup Just Egg (125g)
¼ cup unsweetened soy milk (60g) (to mix with the Just Egg)

Blackberry Pastry Cream

3 cups blackberries (340g)
¾ cup unsweetened soy milk (180g)
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
2 tbsp cornstarch
¼ cup sugar (50g)
⅓ cup Just Egg (80g)
3 tbsp vegan butter (42g)

Whipped Cream

1 cup Silk heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar

Instructions

Make the pastry cream.

Place the blackberries in a pot and mash them up. Add a ¼ cup of water and allow the mixture to heat up and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. You should be able to collect more than ½ cup (90g) of blackberry purée.
Rinse the sieve and place it over a mixing bowl. Set aside the butter in one tablespoon pieces.
Add the soy milk, ½ cup of blackberry purée, vanilla extract, and pinch of salt to a small sauce pan. Mix to combine and leave to simmer on medium heat. It will simmer pretty quickly, in just a few minutes.
In a small or medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and Just Egg. Mix with a whisk until evenly combined.
Once the milk mixture has started to simmer, slowly whisk in half of it into the Just Egg mixture.
Next, slowly whisk in all of the mixture from the mixing bowl back into the pot with the remaining milk mixture. Whisk continuously on medium heat to cook and thicken the mixture. It should be thick enough to see the streaks of the whisk in it.
Turn off the heat. Scoop the mixture from the pot into the sieve you prepared earlier. Using a rubber spatula, press it through the sieve to get rid of any lumps in the mix. Don’t forget to scrape the outside bottom of the sieve to get any of the mix that collects there.
Mix in one tablespoon of butter at a time while the mixture is still warm. The butter should melt and incorporate into the pastry cream.
I added an extra tablespoon or so of leftover blackberry purée for extra flavor and color.
Place it in a piping bag and allow it to cool in the fridge while you make and bake the choux puffs. You can use a tall glass to hold up the piping bag as you fill it.

Make the choux pastry.

Prepare and gather the ingredients for the choux pastry. Using the second listed amount of soy milk, mix it together with the Just Egg. Set aside for later.
Combine the water, soy milk, sugar, vanilla extract (if using), and butter in a small saucepan on medium heat. Mix it with a rubber spatula until the butter dissolves and then leave it for a few minutes until it starts to simmer.
Once the liquid ingredients begin to simmer, carefully add in all the flour. Turn the heat to low. Continue to mix until the flour is incorporated and no white flour spots remain. The mix will thicken into a dough and almost form a ball. It should come off the sides of the pan easily. This shouldn’t take more than about 3 minutes.
Scoop the dough out of the pan and into a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Avoid using a plastic bowl as the dough will be hot. Smash the dough down and flatten it to help release the heat. Leave it to cool for a few minutes. Alternatively, you can mix the dough over some ice or some ice packs to help it cool more quickly. You can also mix the dough for a few minutes in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
Once your dough is just barely warm or room temperature, add in the Just Egg mixture a few tablespoons at a time. The amount is up to you. It can just get messy with too much liquid. Mix it with the rubber spatula and allow it to fully incorporate in between each addition. The final consistency should just barely run off the spatula and look pipe-able. Add more soy milk a tablespoon at a time if your mixture is still too thick.
Preheat the oven to 410° F.
Line a half sheet tray AND a quarter sheet tray with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Scoop the choux mixture into a piping bag with a small writing tip.
Make the swans' necks by piping in the shape of the number two (2) about 1.5-2 inches tall. Pipe at least 8 of them, but you can make extras.
Bake the necks in the oven for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned and slightly puffed. Then remove and allow to cool. But keep the oven on.
Remove the writing tip from the piping bag. With a 1/2 inch opening or smooth tip, use the remaining choux mixture to make the swan bodies. There should be enough dough for 7-8 swans.
Pipe small mounds of batter in the shape of a tear drop or pear, about 2-2.5 inches long and 1.5 inches at the widest point. Then pipe a smaller second layer on top. You can wet the tip of your finger and gently flatten the little tips that will form when you pipe the choux puffs.
Place the baking tray into the middle rack of the oven. Allow the puffs to bake until evenly golden brown. It could take from 40-45 minutes. Do not open the oven door while they are baking! This will lower the temperature of the oven and could interrupt the production of the steam inside the puffs that they need to expand. You can check on their color in the final few minutes of baking.
Once the puffs are golden brown, turn off the oven and leave the oven door open a crack for 10 minutes to allow the inside of the puffs to continue to dry out while also cooling down.

Make the whipped cream.

Using an electric mixer, whisk the sugar and whipping cream together for about 3 minutes in a mixing bowl until thick and light.

Assemble the swans.

Remove the baking tray from the oven. The puffs will still be warm. Cut each of the choux puffs in half with a serrated knife. Scoop out the wet dough on the inside of the bottom halves.
Fill the bottom half of each puff with the blackberry pastry cream.
Pipe two layers of whipped cream on top of the pastry cream. Cut all the tops in half (these pieces are the wings.)
Place the wings and necks into the whipped cream.
If you'd like, you can use a sieve to sprinkle powdered sugar over the swans. And you're done!

Notes

These vegan choux swans can be made with any flavor of pastry cream, of course. We have a few different flavor recipes available: vanilla, chocolate, praliné, matcha green tea, and yogurt.
You can leave out the pastry cream if you’d like, and just use whipped cream. You could even used store bought whipped cream.
We use Silk heavy whipping cream for the whipped cream.
To avoid using so many pots, we used the same pot and sieve for everything. Just rinse them in between uses.