Cooks Note About Cream Puffs Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Melt butter in boiling water in a large saucepan. Add flour and salt. Stir until mixture forms a ball, then remove from heat and transfer to mixer. Beat to cool slightly, then add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each, until smooth.
• Transfer dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip; pipe 2-inch puffs 4 inches apart on lined baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and puffed, about 1 hour.
• Let cool completely, then split in half and remove any uncooked dough from center. Fill with Grammy's Cream Puff Filling and dust with powdered sugar.
• Pour heavy whipping cream into a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a round tip.

Steps:

• Make the cream puffs: In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, granulated sugar, salt and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and sift the flour directly into the pan. Stir the mixture into a paste with a wooden spoon. Return the pan to a medium heat. Stir the mixture until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and is slightly shiny, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the paste to a medium bowl, and beat with a wooden spoon until slightly cooled, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the 3 eggs, one at a time, incorporating each one thoroughly before adding the next. Before adding the third egg, beat it in a small bowl. Adding it by tablespoons to the mixture, just until the batter is smooth and tight. If the batter starts to get loose, do not add all of the last egg.
• Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Fill a large pastry bag, fitted with an open tip, with the cream puff mixture. Pipe twelve
• 2 1/2-inch circular mounds, about 2 inches apart, onto the prepared pan. (Alternately, use a large spoon to form the dough into the mounds.) Dab the tops of each puff with a fingertip dipped in water to smooth the tops. Beat the egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and brush the surface of the puffs with the beaten yolk.
• Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F; continue baking until golden brown and the puffs are light, airy, and crisp, about 30 to 35 minutes more. Cool on a rack.
• Assemble the cream puffs: Cut the puffs in half with a serrated knife, and set the tops aside. (If the puffs are very moist inside, scoop out the excess dough and re-crisp them in a 350 degree F. oven for about 5 minutes. Cool completely before continuing.) Put a heaping tablespoon of the fruit in the bottom halves of the cream puffs. Pipe or spoon about 1/3 cup of the Chocolate Whipped Cream on top. Replace the puff tops. Refrigerate for up to 3 hours or serve immediately.
• Yield: 12 cream puffs
• Beat the cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer or a whisk, until it begins to hold a loose peak. Sift the confectioners' sugar into the cream. Continue beating until the cream holds a firm but still soft peak. Set aside.
• Put the chocolate in a clean, medium, microwaveable bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, at half power, at 30 second intervals, until softened and warm. Whisk until smooth and liquid. (Alternatively melt the chocolate in a double boiler.)
• Fold about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream into the warm chocolate to lighten it. Add the lightened chocolate mixture back to the remaining whipped cream, folding until completely blended. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. It's best used the same day it is prepared.
• Yield: about 4 cups

Steps:

• Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
• When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.

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.

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.

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.

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a non-air-cushioned baking sheet. Lightly butter the baking sheet and cover with the paper. Fit a pastry bag with 1-inch tip.
• In a 2-quart saucepan, bring water, salt and butter just to a boil so that butter melts. Remove from heat. Add the flour all at once and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon just until blended.
• Return pan to stove and continue to beat over low heat until the mixture is smooth, shiny and pulls away from sides of pan, about 30 seconds.
• Remove from heat. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Make sure each is fully incorporated. The finished dough will look shiny.
• To fill the pastry bag, fold top third of the bag down over your hand and scrape the dough into the bag with a spatula. When two-thirds full, twirl the top of the bag until all the air is out. Continue to twirl the bag and apply pressure with one hand, using your other hand to steady the tip. Gently squeeze dough onto the baking sheet to form 13 1 1/2-inch mounds.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven. Slit puffs on either side about halfway through with the tip of a sharp knife. Return puffs to oven for 15 minutes. Remove to cooling rack. When cool, split in half from side to side.
• The puffs should be light and browned. If there is any wet dough, pull it out with fingers.

Steps:

• Although they evoke the mystique of fine bakeries, it's actually easy to make cream puffs successfully at home. They are made with what the French call choux pastry, which translates as "cabbage pastry" and refers to the way the cooked pastry separates into layers that resemble leaves. Choux pastry is cooked on the stove before baking. The batter can be formed into shapes by dropping it from a spoon or piping it from a pastry tube, using any large fluted tip. Make sure the puffs are fully baked if underbaked, they may collapse. Add the creamy filling as close to serving time as possible to preserve the crisp texture of the exterior. Store unfilled puffs in an airtight container overnight or for up to three months in the freezer.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Lightly, but thoroughly, butter a jellyroll pan. Sprinkle the pan with flour and shake it around until well coated. Shake and tap out excess flour.
• Add the water to a saucepan and add the eight tablespoons of butter and salt to taste. Bring to the boil and add the flour, all at once, stirring vigorously and thoroughly in a circular fashion until a ball is formed and the mixture cleans the sides of the saucepan.
• Add one egg, beating thoroughly and rapidly with the spoon until it is well blended with the mixture. Add another egg, beat and so on. When all the eggs are added, fit a pastry bag with a round-tipped, number 6 pastry tube. Spoon the mixture into the bag. Holding the pastry bag straight up with the tip close to the floured surface of the pan, squeeze the bag to make mounds of pastry at intervals all over the pan. There should be about 24 mounds.
• The mounds may have pointed tips on top. To flatten these, wet a clean tea towel and squeeze it well. Open it up, fold it over in thirds. Hold it stretched directly over the mounds, quickly patting down just enough to rid the mounds of the pointed tips. Do not squash the mounds.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake 30 minutes or until the cream puffs are golden brown and cooked throughout. Remove and let cool.