Cream Puffs Puffed Shell Of Choux Pastry Recipes

HOW TO MAKE CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• For the pastry cream:In a large bowl, whisk 1/4 cup milk, cornstarch, flour, and egg yolks. Set aside.Combine remaining 2 3/4 cups milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add seeds and vanilla pod to the pan. Heat over medium-high heat until boiling. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk about half of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan. Heat on medium heat, constantly stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds then remove from heat. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve placed over a bowl. Once the cream has gone through the sieve, stir in the butter until melted and combined.Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cream and refrigerate until chilled, several hours. Whisk before using. For the cream puff shells (choux pastry):Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, heat water, butter, and salt until mixture comes to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Remove pan from heat, add flour all at once, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Once all of the flour is incorporated, place the pan back over medium-high heat. Stir continuously for 2-3 minutes until dough is smooth, shiny, and is pulling away from the edges of the pan. Place dough into a bowl of an electric mixer and let cool for 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl each time. Beat until egg is fully incorporated. After the third egg, the mixture will start to look fluffy when beaten. Before adding the fourth egg, check the batter. Lift a silicone spatula with the batter over the bowl. If the batter hangs off the spatula in a V-shape, there's no need to add the final egg. If not, add the egg and beat until fluffy. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe the batter into 12 rounds on the prepared cookie sheet. With a wet finger, tap down any peaks on top. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350ºF and bake for 15 minutes more. The batter should have risen and puffed. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the puffs rest in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the puffs from the oven, gently lift off of the sheet, and place on a wire cooling rack. Pierce the side of each with a paring knife to allow steam to release. Let cool completely before filling.For the sweetened whipped cream:Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and continue whipping the cream until stiff peaks form. To assemble the cream puffs:Whisk the cooled pastry cream. Fold in the whipped cream until combined. Place cream in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Cut the cream puffs in half. Pipe the cream generously on the bottom half. Place the top half on the cream. Dust with powdered sugar. (Alternately, spoon the cream into the cut shell.)Best served soon after filling, cream puffs may be stored in the refrigerator. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

CLASSIC CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until a film forms on the bottom of the pan.
• Remove from heat and transfer contents to a bowl to cool slightly, about 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously to entirely incorporate egg after each addition.
• For the egg wash, whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.
• Transfer the pate a choux to a large pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip. Pipe 1-1/2-inch rounds onto each prepared pan. Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Brush tops with reserved egg wash. Bake until puffs rise and are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.
• Transfer pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8-inch plain round tip. Insert the tip into the opening of each pastry, and pipe to fill with pastry cream. Serve immediately.

CREAM PUFFS I

Steps:

• For the custard: In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 5 tablespoons flour and a pinch of salt. Stir in milk, a little at a time, until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 60 seconds, then pour a small amount of hot liquid into the 2 egg yolks, and stir. Then return now heated egg yolks to saucepan and stir, over heat, until mixture starts to bubble again. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Cover and chill in refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• For the pastry: In a medium saucepan, combine shortening and water and bring to a boil. Sift together 1 cup flour and a pinch of salt and pour all at once into boiling mixture. Stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat, and add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet, or pipe into desired shape.
• Bake 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and bake 25 minutes more, or until golden. Cool completely, split, fill with custard, and replace tops.

CRAQUELIN-TOPPED CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• To make the craquelin: Pulse the butter, sugar and salt in a food processor until just blended. Add the flour, and pulse until you have moist curds; pulse in the vanilla. Scrape the dough out onto the counter, and pull it together into a ball. Divide in half, shape each half into a disk and roll out each piece between parchment paper until it's about 1/8 to 1/16 inch thick. Freeze for at least 1 hour, and then cut into 1 3/4-to-2-inch-diameter rounds. Freeze until needed (always use frozen).
• Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Have a small (2-teaspoon capacity) cookie scoop, spoon or a piping bag at hand.
• To make the puffs: Bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt just to a boil in a medium pan. Reduce the heat to low, add the flour all at once and start stirring like mad with a flexible spatula. Stir and mash the dough until it comes together and leaves a film on the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking and stirring nonstop for another 3 minutes to dry but not color it. Scrape the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work with a hand mixer). Beat the dough for 2 minutes to cool it down a bit. Combine the eggs and white, stir with a fork to break them up and then add to the dough in three additions, beating on medium speed. Beat until the dough is satiny and runs off the beater smoothly.
• Scoop, spoon or pipe puffs that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, leaving about 2 inches between each puff. (At this point, you can freeze them and then, when they are solid, pack them in an airtight container. When you're ready to bake, arrange the frozen puffs on a lined baking sheet and keep them on the counter while you preheat the oven.) Place a frozen round of craquelin on each puff.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheets if needed, or until the tops are golden brown and crackled. The puffs will feel firm when gently squeezed and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer them to racks, and cool to room temperature.

CREAM PUFFS (PUFFED SHELL OF CHOUX PASTRY)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Prepare baking sheets by greasing and flouring or by lining with Parchment.
• Place water and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the flour, cardamom and salt all at once and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Blend in the milk well. Remove pan from stove burner and stir in the eggs, one at a time, stirring well until completely blended.
• Mix in the Bakers' Ammonia well.
• Drop on cookie sheets about 3 to 4 inches apart. Bake 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cut one of the shells in half at the end of baking to make sure they have dried out enough. If not dried completely, turn the oven off, punch a small hole in the bottoms of the shells, and place them back upside down in the oven to dry out for about 10 minutes. If the insides of the pastry shells are still very moist you may want to bake the shells longer so the shells won't deflate when you take them out of the oven.
• Allow to cool completely before filling.
• Fill with chocolate, vanilla or any flavor custard you enjoy!

CLASSIC CREAM PUFFS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the pastry cream: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in the egg yolks until combined, then whisk in the milk. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it starts to thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat.
• Whisk in the butter and vanilla bean paste. Transfer to a bowl, then press a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the pastry cream. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled through, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Start the cream puff dough: In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, butter and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture comes together. Cook until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the pan into a ball and looks dry, 3 to 5 minutes more.
• Finish the cream puff dough: Using a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs, one at a time, waiting until they are fully incorporated before adding the next. Mix until the batter is shiny and stiff. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-low speed to incorporate the eggs. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round pastry tip.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Form and bake: On the prepared baking sheet, pipe rounds of dough that are 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide and about 1 inch high, allowing 1 inch between each. Alternatively, measure out a scant 1/4-cup dough for each puff. Wet your finger and press down any pointed tops on the cream puffs. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F and bake until firm to the touch, another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Finish baking: Shut the oven off. Let the puffs dry inside the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
• Assemble: Using a paring knife, hollow out a hole in the bottom of each of the puffs. Pipe the pastry cream into the hole. Alternatively, you can cut the top off each puff and remove any undercooked dough in the center, then fill with the pastry cream and top with the top again. Hold in the refrigerator until ready to garnish and serve.
• Make the chocolate sauce: In a small pot, heat the cream. In a small bowl that fits over the pot of cream (without the bottom of the bowl touching the cream), combine the chocolate with the cinnamon. Use the pot of cream as the bottom of the double boiler and melt the chocolate over the cream. When the chocolate is melted, add the heated cream to the bowl with the chocolate and whisk to combine. Keep warm.
• Top the cream puffs with a sprinkle of confectioners' sugar and some of the chocolate sauce.

CREAM PUFF SHELLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In medium saucepan, combine shortening, salt and boiling water and heat until entire mixture boils. Reduce heat, add flour all at once and stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is thick and shiny and breaks from spoon.
• Pipe or spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake 20 minutes more, or until golden and sound hollow when tapped. Cool and fill.

CREAM PUFFS, CHOUX PASTRIES, BALLS OR RING VARIETY

Steps:

• Heat the butter and water gently in a saucepan, bring to the boil and remove from the heat.
• Quickly tip in all the flour and beat to the smooth paste with a wooden spoon so that it forms a ball in the center of the pan.
• Leave to cool slightly for several minutes, (This is important!).
• Cover the baking sheet (cookie sheet) with baking paper, and then wet the paper slightly with cold water so that you have some little droplets still on the sheet--this will help the pastry not to catch on the bottom and stick at all.
• Add all the beaten eggs a little bit at a time until the paste gets a glossy sheen on it, if it's still a little "liquid-y" then you haven't beaten it in long enough, When it comes back to the thick paste it's ready to be put in spoonfuls into the baking sheets (cookie sheets).
• Spoon the paste onto baking sheets in the form of a the numbers of the clock-face, lifting the top of each mound into a peak and joining the balls together to create a circle.
• Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 45-50 minutes.
• Once cooked, carefully cut the "ring" in half horizontally and lift off the top half of the ring. (I use a wire cooling rack to hold it against so it doesn't break). Leave to cool on the wire rack.
• Fill with: Traditionally it would be filled with Confectioners' custard, but even quicker and easier (and one of my favourites) make a very basic custard, but use a little less custard powder than the packet recommends, and add lemon juice to taste, cover the bottom half of the cream puff ring with custard, layer on the peaches or apricots, add a little more custard to fill up spaces.
• Put the choux pastry "top" back on, drizzle melted chocolate in "zig-zag" style over the top.
• OR another favorite variation: Heap fresh strawberries into the bottom part of the ring, cover with whipped cream, put the "top" back on again and drizzle melted chocolate over the top of it all --.
• Alternatively: spoon the paste onto the baking sheet in little balls, and cut a small slit in them when they are cooked to release the steam and fill with anything you like: whipped cream, custard etc.
• The little balls can then be dipped into chocolate for WOW presentation and ultimate yumminess :).
• However you present the final result, enjoy!

CREAM PUFF SHELLS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. , Drop by 2 rounded tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and egg yolk; brush over puffs. Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Immediately split puffs open; remove tops and set aside. Discard soft dough from inside. Cool puffs. Freeze for up to 3 months., To use frozen cream puff shells: Remove from the freezer 15 minutes before filling.