Cream Puffs with Pastry Cream

By LORIWHIP

Ingredients

• Puffs
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• Pastry Cream
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 5 large egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

Step 1

Puff Directions

1 Heat oven to 400ºF. In 2 1/2-quart saucepan, heat water and butter to rolling boil. Stir in flour; reduce heat to low. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at once; continue beating until smooth.
2 On parchment lined cookie sheet, drop dough by slightly less than 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart ( I USE A COOKIE SCOOP). Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool away from draft, about 30 minutes.
3 Make the filling (directions below). Fill puffs with filling using a pastry bag with the tip inserted into the puff. Cover; refrigerate until serving. I use my hot fudge recipe and pour on top just before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

Pastry Cream Directions

Heat half-and-half, 6 tablespoons sugar, and salt in medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. If using vanilla bean, add this as well.
2
Whisk yolks in medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and whisk until sugar begins to dissolve and mixture is creamy. Whisk in cornstarch until combined and mixture is pal yellow and thick.
3
When half-and-half mixture reaches full simmer, gradually whisk half-and-half mixture into yolk mixture to temper. Return mixture to pan, scraping bowl with rubber spatula.
4
Return to simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy. This takes about a minute.
5
Off heat, whisk in butter and vanilla (if using vanilla bean, scrape the pod and add seeds). Strain the pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve set over medium bowl. This will remove any curdled bits that might have formed during the cooking process.
6
Press plastic wrap directly on surface of pastry cream to prevent skimming and refrigerate until cold and ready to use.