This series brought to you in partnership with Wisconsin State Fair. When you’re in need of racing pigs and Cream Puffs, there’s only one place to go. See you at the Wisconsin State Fair, presented by UScellular, July 31-August 10.
If there's one food item that stands out above the rest at the Wisconsin State Fair, it's the iconic cream puff, a sweet treat which has been sold at the Fair every year since 1924.
This towering dessert is comprised of a light, eggy dough (pâte à choux) that's baked until airy and golden, split in half and filled to the brim with a tower of whipped sweet cream.
It's a creation that dates back to 1500s when a pastry chef working for Catherine de Medici's created the dessert for King Henry II. It would have been the ultimate of luxuries at that time, since fresh milk and cream were incredibly perishable.
And the cream puff is truly the royal dessert of the Wisconsin State Fair where folks purchase 50 to 60 cream puffs per minute, consuming an average of over 400,000 in just 11 days each year. And, just in case you’re wondering, all of those puffs contain over 800 pounds of shortening and more than a ton of whipping cream. They also weigh in at a whopping 550 calories, with about 45 grams of fat per puff.
How to eat a cream puff
Cream puffs are serious business in Wisconsin. And, even though you can eat a cream puff in any number of ways (including straight-on stuffing them into your face, inevitably resulting in a mess of cream everywhere), here’s the easiest way we’ve found to tackle them.
- First, pick up your cream puff.
- Carefully give the top and bottom halves a bit of a twist, separating each half from the other (the twist not only divides the puff into manageable portions, but also helps to distribute the cream more evenly onto both halves).
- Prepare for your first bite by taking a nice big whiff of the sweet, eggy dessert.
- Now, eat the cream puff, one half at a time.
- Revel in the experience of this once-a-year treat.
Where to get your puffs
Thanks to the brand-new bakery in The Dairy Building, Original Cream Puffs is taking it up a notch for 2025 by serving up Original, Chocolate, and Strawberry Cream Puffs each day of the State Fair!
Original cream puffs are $5 each, three for $14, or six for $25. Chocolate cream puffs are $6 each; three for $17 or six for $29. A combo-box containing six original and chocolate puffs is $30. And the very special Strawberry Celebration Cream Puffs are $6 each.
Where can you find them?
The Wisconsin Bakers Association operates the Cream Puff Bakery in The Dairy Building (formerly known as the Original Cream Puff Pavilion), the Cream Puff Express Window outside the north end of The Dairy Building, and three conveniently located Cream Puffs To-Go stands along Grandstand Avenue.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
