Christina Fogal
Cream Puffs - Pâte à Choux
Ingredients:
1 cup water
½ cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
Bring water and butter to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the flour and continue stirring until a ball forms (about 1 minute). Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding the next egg just after the first is incorporated. Continue beating just until the dough is smooth.
Pipe or drop dough on parchment lined baking sheets (tack parchment paper in place with dough).
Bake at 400°F for 35- 40 minutes or until puffs are golden and sound hollow when tapped.
Cool and fill with Pastry Cream.
Pastry Cream
Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk, divided
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon flour
4 egg yolks
4 tablespoons butter (cut into pieces)
In a medium saucepan, stir 2 ½ cups milk, sugar, salt and vanilla together. Stir over medium heat, to dissolve the sugar, and bring the mixture to a simmer.
While the milk is coming to a simmer, in a separate bowl, whisk the cornstarch, flour, egg yolks and remaining ½ cup milk together.
Whisk about a cup of the simmering milk into the egg yolk mixture. This prevents the egg yolks from turning into scrambled eggs when added to the hot milk.
Slowly our the egg yolk/milk mixture back into the remaining simmering milk, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the pastry cream thickens and comes to a boil.
Remove the pastry cream from the heat and strain through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Stir in the butter and vanilla until the butter melts.
Place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream (this prevents a skin from forming on the cream). Refrigerate for two hours.
Pastry cream can be kept, refrigerated and tightly covered, for 3 days.
Use the pastry cream to fill the cream puffs.