There are very few cakes which are moist enough to suit my dad's taste. So, many years ago, (probably even way before I was born...) my mom started making him cream puffs for his birthday instead of cake. Since Dad's birthday fell on a weekday this year, and both he and Mom work, I decided to make the cream puffs so that Mom wouldn't have to worry about it. Let me warn you...if you have never had cream puffs before, you are missing out on one of the great pastries of the world. As Dad would say, they're so good, you can't hardly sit still and eat them.
Cream Puffs (Dough)
1 c. water
1/2 c. butter
1 c. all purpose flour
4 eggs
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat water and butter to boiling point in saucepan. Stir in flour and stir constantly over low heat until the mixture leaves the sides of pan and form a ball (about 1 minute). Remove from heat and cool. Beat eggs in, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mixture should be smooth and velvety. Drop by generous spoon-fulls on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in hot oven for about 45 minutes. Puffs should be browned and dry to the touch. Makes 8 large puffs.
Custard
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. all purpose flour
2 c. top milk
2 eggs, or 4 yolks
2 tsp. vanilla
1 T. butter
Mix sugar, salt and flour in saucepan. Stir in milk and cook over low heat, stirring until it boils. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Transfer a little of this mixture into beaten eggs (or yolks), being careful to add mixture slowly while stirring vigorously . Transfer egg mixture back into saucepan, stirring constantly. Return to heat and bring to a boiling point. Remove from heat, and blend in vanilla and butter.
After puffs have cooled, slice off tops (reserve) and scoop out soft filling. Fill inside of puffs with custard and replace tops. Sprinkle powdered sugar over them if desired.
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Spoon dough out onto ungreased baking sheet    (As you can see, I made a double batch; it's one of the requirements of making them for the family...) |
Mmm! A classic profiterole filled with pastry cream. Nothing simpler! However, I like my pastry cream/custard with a bit of Grand Marnier. Here's my question, though: shouldn't the profiteroles be mostly hollow anyway, since pâte à choux bakes up with an air bubble? Or, does your family simply prefer to have more space for pastry cream?
ReplyDeleteOur family eats cream puffs that have been chilled with a drizzle of caramel sauce :)
ReplyDeleteJess, the "puffs"/profiteroles themeselves are quite airy; however, removing the interior creates a nice "bowl" for the pudding. I don't much care for pastry cream; if I were going to use it, though, I might leave the interiors in-tact...Caramel sounds wonderful. We always eat them warm or at room temperature. I don't think one could do too much to make them bad!!!
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