Cream Puffs

Ingredients

Directions

1. 1
   

   First, make the choux shells. In a pot, combine the water, salt, sugar, and butter, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Make sure it boils fully, all the way to the center of the pot.

2. 2
   

   Turn off the heat, add the sifted cake flour to the boiling liquid, and mix well. Then turn the heat back to medium and cook the dough, stirring, until a thin white film forms on the bottom of the pot — that's when it's ready.

3. 3
   

   Transfer the gelatinized dough to another bowl and let it cool slightly. Add the beaten eggs a little at a time, mixing with a whisk or spatula. When you lift the spatula and the dough falls in an inverted-triangle shape, the choux pastry is ready.

4. 4
   

   Put the finished choux pastry into a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe out round mounds. Spray plenty of water over the top.

5. 5
   

   Bake in an oven preheated to 170–180°C (340–355°F) for 20–25 minutes, until the puffs and their cracks turn a deep golden brown. Opening the oven door partway through can cause them to collapse, and underbaking can make them sink after you take them out, so be sure to bake them thoroughly.

6. 6
   

   While the shells cool, make the custard cream. In a pot, combine the milk with the vanilla bean — split in half, seeds scraped out, pod included — and warm over low heat. When bubbles form around the edge, remove from the heat and gradually pour it into a bowl with the egg yolks, sugar, and corn starch whisked together, mixing as you go.

7. 7
   

   Strain the mixture once through a sieve to remove any lumps or impurities.

8. 8
   

   Pour the strained mixture back into the pot and cook over low heat, stirring, until it thickens. Once thickened, cook a little longer, then remove from the heat and stir in the butter while still warm. Set the finished custard cream over cold water to cool completely, then refrigerate.

9. 9
   

   Whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

10. 10
    

    Loosen the chilled custard cream until smooth, then fold in the stiffly whipped cream a little at a time.

11. 11
    

    Put the finished cream into a piping bag and fill the choux shells through a small hole. If you snip a small opening at the tip of the piping bag, you can fill them easily without a separate tip.