Name: Easy Puff Pastry Cream Horns (Lady Locks) Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 48 min
Yield: 9
Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients: 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening or butter flavored Crisco; 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened; 4 cups sifted powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar); 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or paste; 2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream; Pinch of salt (optional); 1 Package Frozen Puff Pastry Sheet

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This easy cream horns (lady locks) recipe will quickly become a new favorite!

Strips of puff pastry are gently wrapped and baked to golden perfection, then filled with a sweet buttercream filling.

This classic cream-filled pastry is topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar making it a perfect dessert for holidays, weddings, baby showers or other occasions. When I was little, I always requested these for my birthday treat!

Are these Cream Horns, Lady Locks or Clothespin Cookies?

All three names are correct!

Growing up in Wisconsin, we always called these treats cream horns. It wasn’t until I started researching this recipe that I learned these cream-filled pastries go by other names too.

According to this article, in Pittsburgh, the cream horn is called a Lady Lock and is a common showpiece on cookie tables at weddings.

You may also find these small pastries filled with cream referred to as clothespin cookies. They got their name from the method originally used to create the pastry cone.

Bakers would wrap a wooden clothespin with tinfoil to create the mold and then wrap pastry dough around it. This method is still used today and we explain more in the article below.

How To Make Puff Pastry Cream Horn Recipe

Ingredients and Tools To Make A Puff Pastry Shell (The “Horn”)

You will only need one ingredient and one tool to make the puff pastry shell of your cream horn. You’ll need:

1 Package Frozen Puff Pastry Sheets
Cream Horn Molds (or sometimes spelled like “moulds”.) You can buy these or make them yourself.

Option 1: Buy a Cream Horn Mold

The easiest way to buy a mold is to purchase one from Amazon.

If you do a search for “cream horn mold“, you’ll get an assortment of results for products called cream horn forms and tubes, cannoli forms and tubes, and lady lock forms and tubes. Any of these products will work.

You’ll also notice a choice in shapes: either a tube or a cone.

With the tube-shaped mold, you’ll wrap strips of puff pastry around it and end up with a “tube” that has an opening on both ends. This allows you to add filling from both ends. I use a tube mold in this recipe.

With the cone-shaped mold, you’ll get a cone-shaped pastry that tapers off to a close on one end. With a cone-shaped cream horn, you’ll add filling from only one end.

Option 2: DIY Cream Hold Mold (Make your own!)

Here are 3 simple ways to make your own DIY cream horn mold.

Wrap tinfoil around a clothespin. This will result in more of a tube shape.
Wrap tinfoil around a sugar ice cream cone. This will result in a cone shape.
Tear long sheets of aluminum foil (about 8-12″ long). Then fold it in half, and roll each sheet into a cone shape.

Ingredients and Tools For Cream Horn Buttercream Filling (The “Cream”)

The ingredients needed for the cream horn filling are as follows:

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening or butter flavored Crisco
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or paste
- I like to use vanilla paste in my recipes for a strong, pure vanilla flavor. One thing to note is that your white icing will have visible tiny dark “flecks” of vanilla. I think it looks fancy and gourmet! Two brands of vanilla paste I personally use and recommend are Nielson-Massey or Cambie Confections.
- If you decide to use a regular vanilla extract, a great choice again is Nielson-Massey brand. If you’re looking for a clear extract that won’t add any color to your buttercream, try this Watkins vanilla.
Pinch of salt (optional)

You will also need a couple of tools to fill the cream horn with buttercream: a piping bag and a decorating tip (optional). You have a few options for your piping bag.

You can use a disposable or reusable piping bag with a decorating tip. For the tip, you can use a Wilton 32 tip to create an open star pattern or a 12 tip for a smooth edge on the icing.
You can also use a large Ziplock bag and cut the corner off.

Variations For Making Pastries Filled With Cream

In this recipe, we stuck with the simple, classic method of dusting powdered sugar on top of our cream horns. However, there are plenty of other options to decorate these pastries. Here are a few ideas.

Before filling with cream, dip the ends of the cream horn in melted chocolate.
Drizzle milk, dark or colored white chocolate over the cream horns.
Add sprinkles to the frosting that peeks out of each end of the cream horn.
Try some different flavors of filling like this homemade chocolate buttercream. Or how about adding pumpkin pie spice or a splash of peppermint extract for the holidays? You could even substitute egg nog for the heavy cream for a New Year’s Eve treat.

Step By Step Puff Pastry Cream Horn Recipe

Step By Step Instructions For Making Cream Filled Pastries

Step 1: Preheat the oven

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Step 2: Prepare the puff pastry

Take out a sheet of puff pastry to let it thaw enough that you can unfold it without it breaking apart. Once thawed, cut the pastry sheet into 3/4″ inch equal strips. Set aside.

Preparing Puff Pastry For Cream Horn

Step 3: Wrap the puff pastry to create the “cone”

First, spray your store-bought metal mold or homemade tinfoil mold with non-stick spray.

Then wrap a strip of pastry around each mold, starting at the pointed end and making sure to overlap layers. After you’ve reached the end of the pastry, gentle press the end to the top layer of pastry to prevent it from popping off while baking.

Step 3: Bake the cones

Place the assembled cones onto a greased sheet. Bake them for about 18 minutes or until light golden brown, then remove from the oven.

Wrap Puff Pastry Dough Around Cream Horn Mold

Step 4: Remove the baked cones from the forms

While the cone is still hot, gently remove each horn from the mold. Doing this step while the cone is hot will help prevent the horn from sticking to the mold. Use a towel to hold the end of mold so you don’t burn your hands.

Let the horns cool completely before filling with cream.

Step 5: Prepare the buttercream filling

While the horns are baking or cooling, prepare your buttercream filling.

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and shortening over medium speed with an electric mixer until soft and creamy.

Continue to beat over medium speed as you gradually add the powdered sugar. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed to fully incorporate all of the sugar.

Prepare Buttercream Filling for Cream Horn Pastry Cookie

Once the butter and sugar have come together, add the vanilla. Beat in the heavy cream or milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Always start with a little bit of liquid at a time. You can always add more, but you can’t take it away if you add too much!

If your frosting is too sweet, add a pinch of salt and mix until it’s completely dissolved.

Step 6: Fill the horns with cream

To fill the cream horns, use a decorating bag with Wilton 32 tip (for open star pattern) or 12 round tip (for a smooth edge on icing). You can also use a large ziplock bag with the corner snipped off.

Fill your bag about half full with buttercream. Pipe the cream firmly into each end of the horn so it fills the entire pastry and comes slightly out the end.

Step 7: Top the cream-filled pastry with powdered sugar

Using a small sifter, dust the cream horns with powdered sugar.

Yield: 9 cream horns

Easy Puff Pastry Cream Horns (Lady Locks) Recipe

This easy cream horn recipe is a classic cream-filled pastry that topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar making it a perfect dessert for any occasion.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Additional Time 10 minutes

Total Time 48 minutes

Ingredients

For The Buttercream Filling

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening or butter flavored Crisco
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups sifted powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract or paste
2-3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Pinch of salt (optional)

For The Cream Horns

1 Package Frozen Puff Pastry Sheet

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Take out a sheet of puff pastry to let it thaw enough that you can unfold it without it breaking apart. Once thawed, cut the pastry sheet into 3/4″ inch equal strips. Set aside.
Spray your store-bought metal form or homemade tinfoil cones with non-stick spray.
Wrap a strip of pastry around each cone, starting at the pointed end and making sure to overlap layers. After you’ve reached the end of the pastry, gentle press the end to the top layer of pastry to prevent it from popping off while baking.
Place the assembled cones onto a greased sheet. Bake them for about 18 minutes or until light golden brown, then remove from the oven.
Gently remove each horn from the mold hot to prevent from horn sticking to the mold. Use a towel to hold the end of mold so you don’t burn your hands. Let the horns cool completely before filling with cream.
While the cones are baking or cooling, prepare the buttercream filling. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and shortening over medium speed with an electric mixer until soft and creamy.
Continue to beat over medium speed as you gradually add the powdered sugar. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed to fully incorporate all of the sugar.
Once butter and sugar have come together, add the vanilla. Beat in the heavy cream or milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. If your frosting is too sweet, add a pinch of salt and mix until it’s completely dissolved.
Fill the horns with cream. To fill, use a decorating bag with Wilton 32 tip (for an open star pattern) or 12 tip (for a smooth edge on icing). You can also use a large ziplock bag with the corner snipped off.
Fill your bag about half full with buttercream. Pipe the cream firmly into each end of the horn so it fills the entire pastry and comes slightly out the end.
Using a small sifter, dust the cream-filled pastries with powdered sugar. If desired, you can also drizzle with melted chocolate before serving.

Easy Puff Pastry Cream Horns (Lady Locks) Recipe

Are these Cream Horns, Lady Locks or Clothespin Cookies?