CREAM PUFFS WITH
PASTRY CREAM
A
small bakery in France, on the Mediterranean Sea, sells choux pastry filled with
"crème pâtissière" or pastry cream. They sell them with either
melted chocolate or caramel icing.
Pastry Cream
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated
sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose
flour
2 tablespoons
cornstarch
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
extract
Choux Pastry
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
2 large eggs
Caramel Icing
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 teaspoons butter
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
extract
1 tablespoon whole
milk
1 1/4 cups
confectioners' sugar
1.
Pastry cream: In a large bowl,
whisk the egg yolks and
sugar. Whisk in
the flour and cornstarch, then milk. Strain
into a 3-quart
saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat.
The mixture may
bubble and it should become harder to pull
a whisk through
the custard. When thick, remove from heat
and stir in
vanilla. Pour into a small bowl, refrigerate 1 hour.
2. Choux
pastry: Preheat oven to 400
. Measure flour and salt
into a small
bowl. Bring water and butter to a boil in a 2-quart
saucepan. Immediately stir in all the flour with a wooden spoon.
Stir until dough
forms a ball. Spread out into the base of a large
bowl to cool
quickly, let the dough cool 5 minutes.
3. The easiest way to beat in one
egg at a time is to use the edge
of the wooden
spoon to "cut" the eggs into the dough. The
mixture will be
slippery at first, keep stirring and cutting in
until it becomes
sticky. Stir vigorously at this point until well
blended, repeat
with second egg.
4. Drop tablespoonfuls onto a
greased baking tray. Bake in the
preheated oven
for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350
and bake
an additional 25
minutes. They should be lightly browned.
5. Set the pastries on a cooling
rack, then use a scissors to cut a
small slit in the
side of each pastry to allow steam to escape.
Pastries are best
kept in a cool dry place at room temperature.
When ready to serve,
use a piping bag to fill with custard.
6. Caramel
icing: In a 1-quart saucepan, heat brown sugar, cream
and butter over
medium heat until sugar melts. Remove from heat,
stir in vanilla, milk and confectioners' sugar. Top
filled pastries
with warm icing.
Place in the refrigerator if you are not serving the
pastries
immediately.
Variation: Serve shells filled
with ice cream and top with caramel
or
and topped