Learn how to make perfect cream puffs.I personally love bread for breakfast, cakes for sweet occasions and cookies for a tedious day. It gives me joy especially when I'm stressed and exhausted after work.
I personally love bread for breakfast, cakes for sweet occasions and cookies for a tedious day. It gives me joy especially when I'm stressed and exhausted after work.
Baking for me is an art, passion and seriously one of the most difficult processes of preparing food.
Given the fact, you need to have a lot of knowledge in measurements. But as the year progresses, this can be easily done nowadays with the help of social media. Honestly I don't consider myself as a pastry chef since I haven't enrolled for a baking class. My secret? Youtube.
Thanks to Youtube for the share of techniques on how I could make the most perfect and favorite dessert of my family - Cream Puffs.
Cream puffs are made from the French pate a choux (say paht-ah-shoo) which is a thick, warm paste of water, milk, flour, eggs and salt. Small dollops of the paste puff when bake, resulting in airy shells that holds the savory or sweet fillings and when backed in a log, becomes an eclair shell.
So today, you don't need to be afraid of to try making them since this fluffy and creamy dessert won't consume much of your time. Ideal for Christmas season and perfect for your kids.
Here are the ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
3 oz unsalted butter
1 cup All-Purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4-5 eggs
250 mg whipped cream
Preparation:
In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water and butter; bring mixture to a full rolling boil. Make sure the butter has all melted.
Remove pan from the heat and add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until blended.
Reduce heat to medium; return pan to heat and continue stirring until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Remove from heat and transfer the dough to the bowl of a mixer. With the paddle attachment, mix at low speed until the dough has cooled slightly. It should be about 140 degrees F. (use your digital thermometer to test the dough).
In a small bowl, add eggs and egg whites; Whisk until mixed together. At medium speed, beat the eggs/egg whites in a little at a time. Add no more than a quarter of the eggs at once; wait until eggs are completely absorbed before adding more. When all the eggs are absorbed, the dough is ready to use. The dough should be soft and a little sticky, but be able to hold its shape.
Place dough into plastic bag. Cut the end off one corner with scissors, to make an opening about 1/4 inch. Squeeze the mixture onto the pans.
Bake time varies depending on how big your blobs are. For 2-inch puffs, bake for a total of about 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through (switch pans so the top one is on the bottom rack and vice versa). At 1 minutes into the baking, lower heat to 375 degrees F. and continue baking until golden brown. Approximately 5 to 10 minutes longer for the small puffs, and 15 to 20 minutes longer for large puffs.
Remove from the oven and immediately prick the lower side of each puff with the tips of a sharp know. Turn off oven and return puffs to the oven. Leave the door open slightly and allow the puffs to dry out for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and oven and let puffs cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire rack before filling.
Add the filling (of your choice) just prior to serving, otherwise the puffs will become soggy. Cream puffs may be filled with your favorite pudding, whipped cream, ice cream, or fruit. For this recipe, I used whipped cream.
When ready to fill, with a serrated knife, cut upper third from each puff and gently scoop out any moist interior. Fill with pastry cream, ice cream or whipped cream; recap with the top, dust with a little powdered sugar.
Keep in a cool place until serving time. Enjoy!
