Willow Care Cottages

01/16/2026

Yesterday we had ☕️ and 🍩 with Concho Hearts Hospice , AND we celebrated National Strawberry Ice Cream Day.....this morning our exercise has to be intense!

01/08/2026

Starting the new year off right with Coffee and Donuts. Thank you Tina Wyatt and Bayou City Hospice for sponsoring!

01/02/2026

Today is National Cream Puff Day! We know you didn't start your New Year's Resolution of Dieting until next Monday anyway! So go ahead and grab a cream puff!

Here is a little history on Cream Puffs:

The History Of The Cream Puff Is Shrouded In Myth And Mystery
By Chris Sands Nov. 18, 2022 12:31 pm EST

Light, flaky, and delicious cream puff pastries have been around for a very long time, but the circumstances surrounding their origin are still shrouded in mystery. According to The Good Life France, celebrated French chef Antonin Carême was the first to add cream to the puffs in the early 19th century. He also favored garnishing them with caramel and was the first to build the cream puff towers known as croquembouches that are still popular at special events.

But Carême is not the most famous person associated with the history of cream puffs. That would be Catherine de' Medici, daughter of famed Renaissance patron Lorenzo de' Medici. Catherine would later become the queen of France following her marriage to Henry, Duke of Orleans (later King Henry II), notes The Florentine. Given the intrigue of the time and the strong Medici influence, it should come as no surprise that the marriage was brokered by another member of the family: Giulio de' Medici — although, at that time, he was better known as Pope Clement VII.

The soon-to-be Queen Catherine brought a large entourage to France's royal court when she arrived in the 1530s, per Choureal, including a number of her favorite Florentine chefs. One of them is often credited with inventing the cream puff.

Italian chef may be the inventor of cream puffs

Elena Zajchikova/Shutterstock
One of Queen Catherine's chefs, the Italian-born baker Pantanelli, is credited by some with inventing the cream puff, according to Paris Unlocked. However, he definitely wasn't the first to make a puff pastry. As Love to Know notes, cheese-stuffed puff pastries were made in France and Germany in the 13th century, nearly 300 years before Catherine and her chefs arrived at the royal court.

Much of the confusion — and the attendant myth and mystery — undoubtedly stems from the many names by which cream puffs are known. The term profiterole, a synonym for cream puffs, dates to at least 1600, observes Choureal. The designation choux pastry, meanwhile, originated in the 17th century, explains Love to Know, because the shape of these pastries resembled a cabbage. Pâte à choux is yet another name for the same type of pastry, per Paris Unlocked.

The true evolution of pastry is largely lost to history. Still, Pantanelli and Câreme, who added the namesake cream filling, certainly deserve credit for elevating cream puffs to the level of culinary art. Perhaps the most likely explanation for the invention of cream puffs, per Paris Unlocked, is that they developed naturally from one of the many European baking traditions, and Pantanelli was simply the first to be acclaimed for making them

Read More:

Cream puffs are light pillow of sweet cream that is a treat for the end of the meal. Here is the history, mystery, and myth behind these delectable desserts.

12/31/2025

Last Happy Hour of 2025. Everyone at Willow Care Cottages is wishing you a happy and safe New Year's Eve, and a blessed 2026!

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas from Willow Care Cottages to everyone.

12/23/2025

Please vote!

12/23/2025

Staff had a great time at their Christmas party last night!

12/23/2025

We need you to choose a winner. Comment on your favorite graham cracker Gingerbread House.

12/21/2025

Resident and Family Christmas Party was a huge success!
Thanks Santa, Luke Sanchez and Concho Hearts Hospice- Houston

12/07/2025

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

12/02/2025

These ladies and gentlemen always have a reason to celebrate!

11/22/2025

Willow Care Cottages celebrated Thanksgiving with our families yesterday. We are so thankful for all of our residents and their families, and of course our amazing staff.

Special THANK YOU, DeAnna Hartnup Durocher for capturing these special moments for us!