Cream Puffs

Cream puffs: They are rich, creamy and decadent, but also nicely portioned into snack size bites. Like I have said before, I would have never suspected that one could make cream puffs at home. Yet they are simple and fun to make! And pretty fancy looking, too.

I based the filling listed here on one I found on allrecipes.com. I went to the store looking for white chocolate pudding to use for the filling, but alas they had none. I went with French vanilla instead. It was nice, but I just found the white chocolate flavor on sale at Target, so I had to buy some to try these again. I think the almond (or other flavor) extract is an important addition. My guests were surprised to find out that the filling of these cream puffs was based on a pudding mix. The flavoring makes them seem more homemade.

When I make these again, I am going to try the filling without the whipping cream in the pudding (I'll just use milk). I liked them with it, but I also felt like I could only eat one or two since they were so rich. That being said, I also am looking forward to trying these filled with just whipped cream. I think I'd like the texture of the light and fluffy whipped cream filling in these tasty pastries.

Cream Puffs

~Print Recipe~

Pate a Choux:

• 8 ounces (or 1 cup) water
• 4 ounces (or 1/2 cup or 1 stick) butter
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

  

  Dough after incorporating the flour.

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 ounces (or a scant cup) flour
• 8 ounces (or 4 large) eggs
• Powdered sugar for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a small saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt, sugar and vanilla to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour. Sir quickly. The flour will absorb into the water to form a dough. Continue to stir for 1-2 minutes, to cook the flour and cook off some of the water.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Let the pate a choux cool slightly--you don't want the eggs to cook when you add them, but the choux should still be pretty warm. 
4. Transfer dough to a a stand mixer (or use a bowl and an electric mixer). Add the eggs one at a time-- quickly stirring until each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. It will seem at first that the eggs will not incorporate, but keep mixing until they do.
5. On a baking sheet (lined with parchment for easier clean up), drop small (level-tablespoon sized) portions of dough spaced about 2 inches apart.



Pre-filling puff.

6. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and cook about 20 minutes more, until they are a toasty, golden brown and are cooked all the way through. Cool on the pan or a cooling rack. (I've heard poking a hole in the sides of the puffs with a toothpick will help them from collapsing, but I've done it with and without this and never had a problem.)

Filling:

• 2 (3.5 ounce) packages of instant vanilla or white chocolate pudding
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups of milk
• 1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (or any other flavor extract that appeals to you--maple? Mint?!)

1. Mix pudding, cream, milk and extract in a medium bowl. Pour into a large Ziplock bag and let it set for 15 minutes in the refrigerator. 

The Assembly:

Secret filling "door."

1. When puffs are cool, take a sharp, serrated knife (like a steak knife) and cut little doors in the bottom. (See photo.)
2. When the pudding is set, snip a tiny hole in the corner of the Ziplock bag. Holding the pastries upside down, squeeze the bag to fill the puffs with as much pudding as they can fit! They will take more filling than you think. When they are filled, close the doors back up. (Conversely, you can cut the top part off to fill the inside and turn them into little cream puff sandwiches.) Dust with powdered sugar and serve!

Pate a Choux

Cinnamon-and-sugar-dusted pate a choux puffs.

Pate a choux. First of all, the word just looks fancy. (Well, it definitely does if you have all the proper accents, but I'm sadly not aware of how to render them on my computer.) Say it--it surely sounds fancy. It even tastes fancy. Why, then, is pate a choux so easy to make?

I first came across this recipe in Michael Ruhlman's book Ratio. I was struck by the way he described it: "Choux paste can be made start to finish using a saucepan and a sturdy wooden spoon," though he recommends a stand mixer for a better puff. "Either way," he continues, "the water takes longer to boil than it does for you to actually make the choux paste, so there's no excuse for not making pate a choux preparations at home."

That there is no excuse becomes even more obvious when you realize that once you have your choux paste, you can make eclairs, cream puffs, profiteroles, churros, gougeres, even gnocchi and more. In the book, Ruhlman gives a general ratio for each basic recipe, whether it's pancake batter, bread, or mayonaise. Working from that ratio, you can easily scale the recipe for how many servings you want AND, my favorite part, tailor the recipe to fit your taste.

You can fill the airy inside of the puffs with cream or ice cream!

Ruhlman also gives you tons of ideas of how to adapt the basic recipe. I like the idea of knowing what exactly makes a muffin a muffin, so that I can tweak that muffin recipe however I so desire. There is a great freedom in that knowledge. I think most professional and advanced cooks have this understanding of ratios within them. And now, with this handy book, we all can work from that place.

I think it's all very exciting---especially the pate a choux. I've been thinking about it since I first read the recipe months ago. I finally got around to making it last night and it certainly is easy. I wanted something quick, so I made the basic sweet preparation and dipped the dough in cinnamon-sugar before baking. This was my cheater version of churros. Cutting corners has never tasted so delicious.

Now that I've familiarized myself with the basic prep, I'm dying to make gougeres (cheese puffs), cream puffs or profiteroles. I can't wait to knock the socks off some dinner guests with a fancy dessert that really was a cinch to make. Next time I'm definitely taking it to a higher level.

Ruhlman's basic ratio for pate a choux is 2 parts water: 1 part butter: 1 part flour: 2 parts egg. That translates to:

Sweet Pate a Choux

~Print Recipe~

• 8 ounces (or 1 cup) water
• 4 ounces (or 1/2 cup or 1 stick) butter
• 1/8 teaspoon salt*
• 1 tablespoon sugar*
• 4 ounces (or a very scant cup) flour
• 8 ounces (or 4 large) eggs

Dough after incorporating the flour.

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a small saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour. Sir quickly. The flour will absorb into the water to form a dough. Continue to stir for 1-2 minutes, to cook the flour and cook off some of the water.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Let the pate a choux cool slightly--we don't want the eggs to cook when we add them, though the choux should still be pretty warm. 
4. Add the eggs one at a time-- quickly stirring until each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. It will seem at first that the eggs will not incorporate, but keep mixing until they do. You can do this in the saucepan, or you can transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (The last method results in more dishes to wash, but will produce a superior rise in the pastries.)
5. On a baking sheet (lined with parchment for easier clean up), drop small (tablespoon to golf ball-sized) portions of dough spaced about 2 inches apart. I rolled the balls in cinnamon-sugar, but if you are making profriteroles or cream puffs, you may not want to do that.
6. Bake for 10 minutes in your preheated 425 degree oven. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and cook 15-20 minutes more, until they are a toasty, golden brown and are cooked all the way through. Cool on the pan or a cooling rack and serve room temp (or chilled and filled with ice cream!) 

Makes 20-24 puffs, or about 8 servings

 *For savory pate a choux, increase the salt to 1/2 teaspoon and skip the sugar.

Kelsey's Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

 

A coworker of mine baked these scones and brought them in to work one day a couple of years ago. After tasting one, I demanded the recipe. Ok, I probably asked politely in between mouthfuls, but I was very insistent. I wanted this recipe! I want a lot of recipes, though, and most people do not deliver. But, Kelsey did.

Kelsey is a pretty amazing person. When I worked with her, she was still in high school, though she always seemed older and more mature. She is definitely the kind of person I would have hung out with when I was in high school--down to Earth and fun. And she bakes! Lucky for me, even though  I am (a tad bit) older than her and we no longer work together, we are still friends these days.

These scones were the hit of my recent brunch (even though there were pumpkin waffles and banana pecan pancakes). Well, maybe it just seemed like the were the superstars because Mark couldn't get enough of them. He raved about their slightly crunchy exterior and light and fluffy interior to anyone who would listen. These scones are not at all dense like some you might have come across, nor quite as dry. (In fact, in a way they are biscuit-esque.) The orange flavor really comes through and the chocolate chips add just the right amount of sweetness and crunch.

Thank you for the recipe, Kelsey!

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones
~Print Recipe~

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (mini or regular, semi- or bittersweet)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet (with either butter or parchment paper).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into 1/2 inch cubes and distribute them over the flour mixture. With a pastry blender (or two knives in scissor motion) cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. 
3. In a small bowl, stir together eggs, orange juice, vanilla and orange peel. (Side note: does everyone out there have a zester/microplane? They are fantastic! I have this one and I really like it.) 
4. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to combine. The dough will be very sticky. With lightly floured hands, knead in chocolate chips until they are evenly distributed.
5. Form dough into 8 even portions. Use your hands to shape them into triangles (if you don't mind getting sticky) or just use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to drop them onto the baking sheet. Space evenly as they will rise quite a bit. 
6. Bake for 18-25 minutes, until scones are golden brown. Remove from sheet and transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

(Makes 8 scones)

Rolling Pie Crusts

So this may not be the most interesting 'recipe', but I feel like I made a breakthrough last night while rolling crusts for pasties.  Making crusts from scratch is challenging for most of us, and for me personally, the hardest part is rolling it out.  Luckily my new food processor makes the mixing of a crust fairly easy.

Here's my tip on rolling crusts:

Start with a clean surface, or not.  Lay down a sheet of parchment paper large enough to work on your dough.  Sprinkle the paper with a generous amount of flour.  Roll your dough in a ball and set it in the middle of the paper, then press down a bit to flatten.

Tear off another piece of parchment paper about the same size as the first, and sprinkle it with flour.  Lay the paper (flour side down) on top of the ball of dough.  You now have a parchment paper dough sandwich.  Find a rolling pin or round bottle (I used a wine bottle - a recommendation from Davey).  Roll out the dough with the pin/bottle on top of the paper.  It should be fairly quick getting it thin, even and round.  Once it is the proper size, pull up the parchment paper, and lift up the rolled out dough.  If it sticks anywhere, just use a spoon or spatula to edge it off. 

This technique eliminated my frustrations with trying to roll out dough and having it stick to everything.  It also was super easy to roll out a thin circle.  I just couldn't let those darn pie crusts get the best of me.  I used Betty Crocker's pie crust mix, I highly recommend it (just add water!).