Cream Puffs

Who doesn’t like Cream Puffs? I’ve been wanting to create them for a while and was a bit intimidated by the process, not so much by the pastry, but the filling! But alas, it did not defeat me! There are a lot of Pinterest recipes with videos and detailed instructions which I found to be quite helpful. Diplomat Cream was the winner! It was a combination of Pastry Cream and Chantilly Cream, both of which are explained below with the recipes included.

Pastry Cream

The first thing to make would be the Pastry Cream as it needs to chill so I made this a day ahead of time. Also known as Creme de Patisserie, its origin is French. The first thing to do is to whisk the eggs, egg yolk and granulated sugar together.

Next, whisk in the sifted flour and cornstarch with the salt until well blended, thick and paler yellow in color.

Heat whole milk in a large saucepan until hot, but not yet simmering. Pour 1/4 cup of this at a time into the egg mixture, whisking vigorously, until there’s a smooth consistency.

Pour mixture into a clean saucepan and continue to whisk until  thickened into a pudding-like consistency and it starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla.

Strain into a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps, pressing it through with a rubber spatula. Cover the top of the pastry cream with plastic wrap to avoid a skin forming on the surface while chilling.

Cream Puffs (Choux Pastry)

Before beginning, make sure all ingredients are readily accessible and in prepared form as this process moves quickly. Place water, sugar and salt over medium-low heat, stirring until salt and sugar is dissolved. Then, add the butter and increase heat to medium.Once the butter has melted and it has begun to boil, remove from heat and beat in the flour, using a wooden spoon, until smooth and no lumps of flour are visible.

Return it to the heat and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 3-5 minutes until spoon and stand in a mound of dough. If it “falls”, not enough water has evaporated from the dough. Continue stirring and checking at 30 second increments until it passes the “standing spoon test.”  Remove from heat.

Allow dough to cool! To accelerate this, beat with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes. Then allow it to rest for about three more minutes. It must be cooled somewhat BEFORE you begin to add the eggs, otherwise they will cook the eggs as soon as they touch the dough.

Beat the 3 eggs in a glass measuring cup before you start the next step. Add one-third of the beaten eggs at a time using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.  It will seem clumpy and perhaps slimy at first, but continue to beat them in. It will become incorporated and smooth out. Make sure it reaches this point before adding the next egg portion. Repeat this process until all of the 3 beaten eggs have been used up.

At the end of the third egg’s addition, stir into a mound and pull wooden spoon (or spatula) straight up. If the dough is ready, a long “V” shape of dough should extend downward.  If there is no V, add enough of the 4th egg, beaten first,  until this shape is reached. Whew! That is satisfying! Preheat your oven to 425 degrees while completing the piping.

Piping Dough:

I used a 1 A or 2A tip and a 16″ pastry bag to pipe the puffs onto parchment paper. With the tip perpendicular to the pan, pipe a mound that’s about 1 1/2″ in diameter, keeping the tip in the dough until you release it. One recommendation was to swirl it around to avoid making a tip before releasing it.  Space them about 2-3″ apart. I was able to pipe about 28.

With a slightly wet finger tip, you can tap down to flatten any tips. Place pan in preheated oven for about 10 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! Reduce the heat to 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Using a wooden or metal skewer,  poke a hole or two in each one to help release any steam on the inside that may cause the inside to become soggy.

Turn the oven off and prop your oven open. Leave them in the warm, but cooling oven for about 20-30 minutes to allow the centers to dry out. This step also helps them from deflating if cooled too quickly. Remove them to a wire cooling rack while you prepare rest of the filling.

Chantilly Cream:

To help stabilize the filling, some plain gelatin in added.  Sprinkle the package of non-flavored gelatin on top of the room temperature water to allow it to “bloom” for about 10 minutes.Microwave 10-20 seconds and whisk.

Beat heavy whipping cream, confectioners sugar, and vanilla. Slowly drizzle gelatin in until soft peaks form.

Diplomat Cream:

Remove Pastry Cream from fridge; take off the plastic wrap and whisk to smooth out its consistency. Slowly fold the Chantilly Cream into he Pastry Cream until no streaks appear.

Filling Puffs:

Fit 16″ piping bag with a star tip and fill with Diplomat Cream.

With a serrated knife, split pastry in half. Remove any thin pieces of dough, if necessary to reveal the hollow shells inside.

Fill with cream and place the top back on..

Chocolate Ganache:

Heat the whipping cream in a shallow bowl in the microwave for about a minute. Immediately pour in the mini semi-sweet chips and let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Whisk until smooth in texture. If any bits remain, microwave in 10 second intervals and whisk.

Turn cream puff upside-down into ganache. Place a spoon or use a chocolate dipping tool underneath. Lift cream puff up and allow excess chocolate to drip. Turn right-side up onto wire cooling rack to allow chocolate to set.

Store in a sealed container in refrigerator. They can be frozen by placing  them on a parchment paper-lined  rimmed baking sheet. Once frozen, remove from pan into Ziploc freezer bags to store. They can be thawed out in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving or at room temperature for 30 minutes.