Caramel Topped Cream Puffs Recipes

CARAMEL CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Fill a small cup with water and place a pastry brush in it (this will be used for washing down the sides of the pan to prevent crystallization).
• In a clean, heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan, stir together the sugar, water, and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat, occasionally washing down the sides of the pan with the pastry brush to wash away any sugar crystals, until the mixture starts to color around the edges. Gently swirl the pan to ensure that the sugar caramelizes evenly and continue to cook until the caramel turns a medium-dark amber color. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add 3/4 cup of the cream (the mixture will bubble up furiously). Once the bubbling has subsided, stir the mixture until it is completely smooth. If there are any hardened bits of caramel in the mixture, return the saucepan to medium heat until they have dissolved. Stir in the salt and vanilla. Pour the hot caramel mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl of an electric mixer (or a different mixing bowl if you have only one electric mixer bowl; you will need it for the choux) and let cool for 10 minutes.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the caramel until chilled, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, make the choux.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, sugar, salt, and butter and bring to a full boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Remove the pan from the heat, add the flour all at once, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the flour is completely incorporated and the mixture pulls away from the side of the pan. Return the pan to the heat and continue to cook for another minute, stirring, to dry out the dough a bit. Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and let it cool for 2 minutes.
• While mixing on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until the first egg is completely incorporated before adding the next. Mix until you get a smooth, shiny dough that falls heavily from a spoon, about 2 minutes.
• Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or pieces of parchment paper. Scrape the choux paste into a large pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip, such as Ateco #7. Pipe out 2-inch mounds of the choux paste onto one baking sheet, leaving 1-1/2 inches between each cream puff. Brush the surface of each cream puff with the egg wash. Use your finger to smooth out the points on the surface of each one. (Leave the remaining choux paste in the pastry bag until the first batch of cream puffs has been baked.) Bake the cream puffs for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F degrees and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Let cool on the baking sheet. Pipe out and bake more cream puffs with the remaining batter.
• Remove the chilled caramel from the refrigerator and gradually stir in the remaining 1 cup cream with a rubber spatula until blended. Place the bowl on the mixer stand (or transfer the cream to a mixer bowl) and, using the whisk attachment, beat the filling on high speed until medium-firm peaks form. Transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain tip, such as Ateco #802.
• Use a small, plain pastry tip to make a hole in the center of the bottom of each cream puff. Gently pipe the caramel filling into the hole, filling the puff completely. Lightly dust the cream puffs with sifted confectioners' sugar before serving. If you are not serving the cream puffs immediately, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate. The shells can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature, but don't fill them more than 3 hours before serving.

CARAMEL TOPPED CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Make the cream puffs: Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine the water, butter, salt, and granulated sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat.
• Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes to evaporate some of the moisture.
• Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer). Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and adding 1 egg at a time, add 3 of the eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add another egg, and mix until completely incorporated. Grease and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Using the pastry bag, pipe the dough in bite-size "kisses" (about 1 1/2 inches across) onto a cookie sheets.
• Dip your finger in flour and push down the points to smooth out any bumps. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• To make the caramel, pour the 1 1/4 cups sugar into the center of a deep saucepan. Carefully pour the water around the sugar, trying not to splash any sugar onto the sides of the pan. Do not stir; gently draw your finger through the center of the sugar to moisten it. Over high heat, bring to a full boil and cook without stirring, swirling the pot occasionally to even out the color, until amber-caramel in color, 10 to 20 minutes. When the mixture is done, remove the pot from the heat, and rest the bottom in the ice bath for 15 seconds to stop the cooking.
• Dip the top of each cream puff in the caramel and place it caramel-side down, with the base sticking straight up, on the other greased cookie sheet. The caramel will pool slightly around the puff and will harden and develop a foot. (When you turn the puffs over later, this will be a smooth, flat "lid" for each profiterole.) Let cool until set, at least 10 minutes.
• When ready to serve, carefully turn the puffs over and cut each one horizontally in half using a long serrated knife. Fill each with a small scoop of ice cream or sweetened flavored whipped cream. Place the lid on top and serve immediately.

CARAMEL CREAM PUFFS WITH CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER SAUCE

Steps:

• In 3-quart saucepan, mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons water with wooden spoon. Heat over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, without stirring, until sugar turns dark golden brown and just begins to smoke. (Do not allow to burn.)
• Immediately add 2 cups whipping cream, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. (Be careful-mixture will bubble furiously and be very hot.) Reduce heat to low. Stir constantly until any lumps of sugar melt. When mixture is smooth, remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into large bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or until cold.
• Adjust oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper if desired.
• In heavy 3-quart saucepan, heat 3/4 cup water, 6 tablespoons butter, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar and the salt to boiling over medium heat. Quickly stir in flour. Mixture will form a sticky paste. Cook about 1 minute, stirring vigorously, until mixture is stiff and smooth and forms a ball. Remove from heat.
• Add 1 of the eggs and stir vigorously with spoon until smooth (it will look like the egg will not blend in, but keep stirring and it will). Once egg is blended, add remaining egg and the egg white. Stir vigorously until dough is smooth and thick.
• Spoon about 3 tablespoons dough into a mound on parchment-lined or ungreased cookie sheet. The mound should be about 2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches high (you can also use pastry bag to pipe dough into mounds). Repeat with remaining dough, making 8 equal mounds placed at least 2 inches apart. If the mounds have peaks, wet your fingertips and smooth them down.
• Bake dough 35 to 40 minutes or until puffs are very crisp and dark golden brown. Cool puffs on wire rack, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, heat brown sugar, 1 tablespoon butter and the corn syrup over medium heat, stirring constantly, until brown sugar melts and mixture bubbles. Add 1/2 cup whipping cream and stir until brown sugar dissolves and cream simmers. Remove from heat and stir in bittersweet and unsweetened chocolates until smooth. Stir in peanut butter.
• Beat cold cream mixture with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.
• Use serrated knife to cut each cream puff in half horizontally. Divide whipped cream evenly among puffs and replace tops. Place cream puffs on serving plates and spoon sauce over tops.

CARAMEL COATING FOR CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• make a hole in bottom of each cream puff by using a flat plain pastry tip. use pastry bag to fill each cream puff with chocolate Pastry Cream, set aside.
• place sugar; 3 tablespoon water and lemon juice in saucepan. cook over medium heat until liquid becomes a deep golden color. Do Not Stir!
• remove from heat and briefly plunge bottom of pan in bowl of cold water. return pan to stove over medium heat. pour in remaining water (1/3 cup) and without stirring cook another 30 seconds.
• remove pan from heat and place on counter. carefully dip tops of cream puffs in hot caramel.
• set aside to cool, then refrigerate to serve cold.