Martha Stewart Cream Puff Dough Recipes

PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Weigh the flour accurately. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add 1/2 cup flour. Mix until smooth. Scrape this dough into a flat square about 1 inch thick. The square should measure about 5 inches by 5 inches. Wrap well in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine remaining flour with the salt. Gradually add the cream and mix until a rough dough is formed; it should not be sticky. Do not overmix. Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 12 inches by 7 inches, wrap in plastic, and chill, at least 30 minutes.
• Remove the flour dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Place the butter square at the bottom edge of the rectangle, and fold the flour dough over to completely encase the butter, sealing the edges by pinching them together and forming tight hospital corners at the edges. Wrap well in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured board, gently pound the dough all over in regular intervals with a rolling pin. Working in only one direction (lengthwise), gently roll the dough into a 20-by-9-inch rectangle, squaring corners with a bench scraper and your hands as you go. Using a dry pastry brush, sweep off excess flour. With a short side facing you, fold the rectangle in thirds like a business letter, aligning the edges carefully and keeping each edge square. Turn the dough a quarter-turn clockwise, so the flap opening faces right, like a book. This completes the first turn. Pound across the dough, again in regular intervals, and roll out again to a 20-by-9-inch rectangle, rolling in the same lengthwise direction. Fold dough again into thirds. This completes the second turn. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.
• Repeat the rolling, turning, and chilling process for a total of six turns; always start each turn with the opening of the dough to the right, and always make your tri-fold in the same manner, that is, by starting from either the top of the dough or the bottom each time. By the sixth and final turn, the dough should be very smooth, with no lumps of butter visible. Use as little flour as possible for the rolling, and brush off any excess before folding the dough. If the dough becomes too elastic or too warm to work with, return it to the refrigerator until firm.
• Wrap the finished dough in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use, at least 2 hours after your final turn, or freeze for future use.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or with nonstick baking mats, such as Silpats. Dip a 2-inch round cookie cutter in flour, and mark circles 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Transfer pate a choux to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip (such as an Ateco No. 808), and pipe puffs to fit in flour circles. Smooth peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Freeze pastry puffs on baking sheets until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sprinkle a clean work surface with 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and place tart dough on top of sugar, patting it into a round. Sprinkle another 1/2 cup sugar over dough, and roll to a scant 1/8-inch thick, coating both sides of dough with the sugar to keep it from sticking. Using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out 36 rounds, and place a round on top of each frozen puff. Return to freezer until firm, at least 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds.
• Bake puffs until pale golden brown all over, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets on wire racks. Puffs can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature overnight.
• Put heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Whisk the pastry cream to soften. Working in 2 batches, fold whipped cream into pastry cream. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as an Ateco No. 806). Insert tip into bottom of each puff, and fill. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Cream puffs are best eaten within a few hours; refrigerate in an airtight container.

CREAM CHEESE PASTRY DOUGH

Steps:

• Process the butter, cream cheese, and cream in a food processor, electric mixer, or by hand to thoroughly combine.
• Add the flour and salt. Process just until combined and the dough holds together in a ball. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Divide into 2 pieces. Flatten into disks and wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. If the dough is chilled overnight, take it out 15 minutes before rolling out.
• Rub flour all over a rolling pin. Working with one dough disk at a time, place the disk on a clean, well-floured surface. Applying some pressure with the rolling pin, roll gently from the center of the dough to the top and bottom edges. Rotate the disk and roll to the top and bottom edges again. Reflour the work surface and rolling pin, turn the dough over, and continue to roll the dough from the center out to the edges. Turn over and roll again, rotating the disk to ensure even rolling until the dough is about 12 inches in diameter, thin but not transparent.

PATE A CHOUX

Steps:

• Bring butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides and a film forms on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Raise speed to medium; add whole eggs, 1 at a time, until a soft peak forms when batter is touched with your finger. If peak does not form, lightly beat remaining egg white, and mix it into batter a little at a time until it does.

TART DOUGH

Steps:

• Put butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks, and mix until combined, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup flour, and mix just until flour is incorporated. Add remaining 3/4 cup flour, the salt, and cream; mix until just combined, about 1 minute.
• Shape dough into a disk; wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

PERFECT PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• In a food processor or using the flat paddle on an electric mixer, mix 1/2 cup flour with the butter until very smooth. Shape into a flat square 1 inch thick, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine salt with the remaining flour and add the cream. Mix dough well by hand or with an electric mixer; the dough will not be completely smooth, but it should not be sticky. Shape it into a flat square 1 1/2 inches thick, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator or 15 minutes in the freezer.
• Remove flour dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured board, roll the dough into a rectangle twice as long as the butter dough. Place butter dough in the center, fold up ends to encase it completely, and seal edges by pinching together. Wrap well in plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes so that dough achieves the same temperature throughout.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator and, on a lightly floured board, roll it out into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Fold into thirds, aligning edges carefully and brushing off excess flour. The object is to ensure that the butter is evenly distributed so that the pastry will puff evenly when baked. Wrap dough and chill for at least 30 minutes. This completes 1 turn.
• Repeat this process 5 more times; classic puff pastry gets 6 turns, creating hundreds of layers of butter between layers of the flour dough (729, to be exact). Use as little flour as possible when rolling out the dough, and always brush off any excess. Remember to let the dough rest and chill between turns. This chilling makes the rolling out much easier and keeps the layers of butter of equal thickness.
• By the sixth and final turn, the dough should be very smooth, with no lumps of butter visible. Wrap the pastry in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 2 days), or freeze for future use. (It's convenient to divide the dough into 1-pound pieces and freeze it that way.)

PUFF PASTRY

Steps:

• Weigh the flour accurately. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add 1/2 cup flour. Mix until smooth. Scrape butter mixture into a flat square about 1 inch thick (it should measure about 5 inches by 5 inches). Wrap well in plastic, and chill at least 30 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine remaining flour with salt. Gradually add cream, and mix until a rough dough is formed; it should not be sticky. Do not overmix. Roll the dough into a rectangle, about 12 by 7 inches, wrap in plastic, and chill, at least 30 minutes.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Place the butter square at the bottom edge of the rectangle, and fold dough over to completely encase the butter, sealing the edges by pinching them together and forming tight hospital corners at the edges. Wrap well in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured board, gently pound the dough all over in regular intervals with a rolling pin. Working in only one direction (lengthwise), gently roll the dough into a 20-by-9-inch rectangle, squaring corners with a bench scraper and your hands as you go. Using a dry pastry brush, sweep off excess flour. With a short side facing you, fold the rectangle in thirds like a business letter, aligning the edges carefully and keeping each edge square. Turn the dough a quarter-turn clockwise, so the flap opening faces right, like a book. This completes the first turn. Pound across the dough, again in regular intervals, and roll out again to a 20-by-9-inch rectangle, rolling in the same lengthwise direction. Fold dough again into thirds. This completes the second turn. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.
• Repeat the rolling, turning, and chilling process for a total of six turns; always start each turn with the opening of the dough to the right, and always make your trifold in the same manner, that is, by starting from either the top of the dough or the bottom each time. By the sixth and final turn, the dough should be very smooth, with no lumps of butter visible. Use as little flour as possible for the rolling, and brush off any excess before folding the dough. If the dough becomes too elastic or too warm to work with, return it to the refrigerator until firm.
• Wrap the finished dough in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use, at least 2 hours after your final turn, or freeze for future use.