Cream Puffs

By ezunich

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 tsp plus 2 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup flour
• 6 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• Powdered sugar

Details

Servings 16

Preparation

Step 1

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit 1 large pastry bag (or a plastic freezer bag with 1/2" cut from one bottom corner) with plain 1/2" tip.
Bring milk, butter, 1 tsp sugar, salt and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add flour all at once; reduce heat to medium-low. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a dough forms and pulls away from sides of pan, 1-2 minutes. Continue beating vigorously until a thin dry film forms on bottom and sides of pot, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl.
Add 1 egg and stir vigorously with wooden spoon until egg is incorporated and dough looks dry again, about 2 minutes. Repeat with 4 more eggs, adding one at a time and stirring vigorously to incorporate before adding the next. Dough should be smooth, shiny and thickened.
Spoon dough into prepared pastry bag; pipe out 2 1/2" diameter rounds on prepared sheets, leaving 2" between rounds.
Arrange racks in upper and middle thirds of oven and preheat to 450°. Whisk remaining egg with 2 tsp water and brush dough rounds all over with egg wash.
Transfer baking sheets to oven; turn oven off. After 10 minutes, heat oven to 350° and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate pans front to back and top to bottom; continue baking until deep golden brown all over, about 10 minutes longer (puffs will deflate if removed from oven before fully baked). Transfer puffs to aware rack and let cool completely.
Using a serrated knife, gently slice the top quarter off each puff; transfer tops to a plate. With your finger, gently push down the soft film of cooked dough inside each puff.
Prepared a second pastry bag (or a freezer bag) with 1/2" open star tip. Beat heavy cream and remaining 2 tbs sugar in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Spoon whipped cream into prepared pastry bag. Fill each puff with cream, finishing with a generous ring of cream on top. Dust tops of cream puffs with powdered sugar. Place atop puffs.