Cream Puff / Profiterole is a filled choux pastry. These pastry balls typically have a sweet and moist filling of whipped cream, custard cream/pastry cream or ice cream and topped/ garnished with chocolate ganache, melted chocolate or dusted with icing sugar.
The choux pastry is made then piped onto a baking tray and then baked to form a hollow inside. These are then poked with a skewer to remove moisture. After preparing the puffs, they are filled with cream either by piping into the puffs using a pointed nozzle or by cutting and filling them.
In this recipe, I am making a delicious diplomat cream which is bit lighter version of a pastry cream. This is the combination of pastry cream and whipped cream, which makes this cream fluffy and lighter.
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How to make Cream Puffs
What you’ll need
For Choux Pastry
Plain Flour (sifted) – 1 cup
Eggs – 4
Butter – 60 gm
Milk – 1/2 cup
Water – 1/2 cup
Salt – a pinch
Sugar – 1 tsp
Lemon zest – 1/2 tsp
Vanilla Essence – 1 tsp
For Diplomat Cream Filling & Decoration
Egg Yolks – 4
Granulated Sugar – 1/2 cup
Milk – 500 ml
Custard Powder – 1/4 cup
Vanilla Essence – 2 1/2 tsp
Whipping Cream – 1/2 cup
Icing Sugar – 2 tsp
Dark Chocolate (decoration) – 100 gm
Tips
Choux Pastry:
- Eggs must be at room temperature.
- Plain flour must be sifted before adding to the milk.
- Always use a wooden spatula to mix the dough.
- Add the egg mixture to the warm dough in parts.
- You can keep the baked puffs in an airtight container to stay crispy.
- If the baked puffs are soggy the next day, bake it in a 150°C preheated oven for 2-5 minutes. It will be crispy again.
- After filling the cream, puffs will stay crisp only for 2-3 hours, so fill the cream just few hours before serving.
Diplomat cream:
- While adding warm milk to the egg yolk mixture make sure, it’s not too hot.
- Always beat the yolk mixture till its fluffy.
- Whipped cream need to be thicker but no need to be stiff.
- Blend the diplomat cream well so that there are no lumps.
How to make it
- Add 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of custard powder into a bowl and mix.
- Add 4 egg yolks, 100 ml of milk and mix it well using a whisk and keep it aside.
- Add nearly 1/8 cup of water into a saucepan and dd the remaining 400 ml milk.
- Add 2 tsp of vanilla essence and bring it to boil. While the milk is boiling whisk the yolk mixture till its smooth.
- When the milk comes to boil, take it off from the stove.
- Once the milk is not too hot, add little milk at a time and whisk. Add the rest of the milk in parts and whisk well.
- Sieve the mixture back into the saucepan. Keep the saucepan back on the stove on a medium-high heat. Mix it continuously using the spatula. Once it starts thickening and glossy, cook it for 1 more minute. Once custard mixture is ready, take it off from the stove and keep it aside.
- Once the custard is not too hot transfer it into a bowl and cover it with cling film. This is to prevent from forming a skin on top. Refrigerate it for minimum 2 hours or freeze for 30 minutes.
- To make the choux pastry for the puffs, add 4 whole eggs into a bowl mix it well and keep it aside.
- Add 1/2 cup of water, 1/2 cup of milk into a saucepan. Add 60 gm of butter, a pinch of salt, 1 tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp of lemon zest. Stir the mixture. Once it starts boiling, take it off from the stove.
- Add sifted plain flour and mix it well with a wooden spatula. Make sure there are no lumps in it.
- Place it back on the stove. Let this mixture cook until 1-2 minutes unti it leaves the sides and forms a ball.
- Once dough is ready transfer it into a bowl. Mix it using a hand mixer, at a low speed until the dough is slightly cooled.
- Add beaten eggs in parts, until the eggs are completely absorbed by the dough. Scrape off the dough. The consistency of the dough after beating the eggs must be soft, smooth and sticky that could hold a shape. Transfer this mixture into the piping bag with a round tip nozzle.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper. At this time, preheat the oven at 180°C.
- Use batter to glue the parchment sheet. Pipe the dough onto the parchment sheet. Smooth down the peaks using water moistened fingers.
- Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes reduce the temperature to 150°C and bake for 20 more minutes till its golden brown.
- Do not open the oven door immediately after it is switched off. Let the puffs stay in the oven for 5 more minutes.
- After 5 minutes take out the puffs and keep it close to the oven.
- Poke holes on the puffs, to remove the moisture in the puffs. Scatter the puffs upside down.
- Place it back in the oven and bake for 2 more minutes.
- After 2 minutes, let the puffs be in the oven for 5 more minutes.
- After 5 minutes take puffs out from the oven and let it cool.
- To make whipped cream, add 1/2 cup of whipping cream and 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence into a bowl and beat it.
- Add 2 tsp of icing sugar and beat till it is thick.
- Take out the custard cream from refrigerator and remove the cling film.
- Whisk the custard cream. Add 1/2 of the whipped cream and whisk. Add the remaining whipped cream and mix using a spatula.
- If there are lumps, beat the mixture for 1 minute using a hand mixer. And mix it using a spatula. The diplomat cream is ready.
- Prepare a piping bag with this type of pointed nozzle and fill it with the diplomat cream.
- Fill cream into the puffs.
- After filling the cream dip the puffs in melted dark chocolate.
- The second batch of puffs can be served in a different way. Cut the puffs into half and pipe in the cream using a star nozzle. Close it with another half.
- After filling the cream, cover the top of the puffs with melted dark chocolate.
- Cream Puffs are ready to serve.
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