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CREAM
PUFFS
Cream puffs, or Pate a Choux as
they call them in France, are a
wonderful, simple dessert. When I was in college I studied in Italy
for a short while. One of my best memories was of the little pastry
shops on almost every corner in Florence and Rome. Each shop
had incredibly beautiful desserts
displayed in the window. The ones I remember the best were the
cream puffs. When I went home I found a recipe and tried making
them. It was easy and my guests are always impressed. You can
cut this recipe in half if you wish.
For the puffs you'll need:
1 cup of water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sifted flour
4 eggs
When my husband first brought an 18" pastry bag home I wondered who would ever use
something so large. Then, I thought my cream puffs and how easy it would be to make
them if I had a large enough pastry bag.
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Heat water and butter in a heavy
saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil. Add the flour all at once, reduce heat to
low, and stir like crazy until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms
into a ball -- about a minute.
Using a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs 1 at a time. This will take a little work. At
fist the eggs will act like they don't want to mix in, but they will. |
Put a 1/4" or 1/2" star tip into your pastry bag. In order to keep the
dough from coming out until you're ready, tuck the bag into the tip as shown.
Fill the bag with the dough.
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Squeeze the dough out in a circle motion to create small, silver dollar sized circles.
You can then use a pastry brush and beaten egg to add a glaze to your puffs.
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Bake at 400 degrees on an ungreased baking sheet or your Exopat Mat for 24 to 30 minutes
for small puffs, 45 to 50 minutes if you made larger ones. When the puffs are done,
turn the oven off, open the door and allow to cool.
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When the puffs are cool, store them in an airtight container. They'll keep for
several days.
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You can serve your cream puffs several ways. An easy method is to cut them in half
and fill each with pudding, chocolate or French vanilla are wonderful. You can also
fill them with whipped cream, flavored or not, or with ice cream. For added flavor,
dribble chocolate, raspberry, or starwberry sauce over the top. Powdered sugar is
also a nice topping.
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For mine, I made a custard sauce called
Cream Anglaise
(CLICK HERE for the recipe)
I poured some of the custard onto each
plate, put a dollop of raspberry preserves
where each puff would be, placed the
whipped cream filled puffs on the
preserves, swirled a line of chocolate
sauce around the outside, added a
few raspberries for color, and used
my sifter to top the whole thing
with a little powdered sugar.
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Cream
Puffs are easy, tasty and elegant. Try them yourself! |
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