cream puffs - Chocolate Gluten Free Cream Puffs

By tinathorn

Ingredients

• 1 c - non-fat milk
• 8 tbsp - unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 1/2 tsp - fine sea salt
• 2/3 c - Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Blend Recipe
• 1/4 c - gluten-free unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 - large eggs

Details

Adapted from glutenfree.answers.com

Preparation

Step 1

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper and set it aside. Preheat your oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bring the milk, butter, and salt to a boil in a 1 1/2 quart saucepan. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the flour all at once. Reduce the heat to medium-low and return the saucepan to the heat and stir rapidly for 2 minutes.

Because the flour blend recipe calls for superfine rice flour, it cannot be substituted for gluten-free flour blends that do not contain superfine rice flour. Superfine ground flours weigh more than traditional rice flour because of the smaller particles. When experimenting with other flour blends, use additional flour. If you bake by weight measurements, note that the 2/3 cup of flour blend used in this recipe weighs 3 1/4 ounces.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of your mixer and beat it for 30 seconds on medium speed. Allow the dough to cool for 2 minutes and add the eggs one at a time. Beat each egg for one minute on medium speed.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a No. 5 pastry tip or a gallon zipper storage bag with 1/3-inch of a corner cut off. Place the tip of the bag about 1/4-inch away from the prepared baking sheet and squeeze out a 1 1/2-inch diameter mound, moving the bag higher, as needed. They will spread out to about 2-inches once baked. Make the mound about 1 to 1 1/2-inches high. Repeat this process, making approximately 20 cream puffs.

Bake the gluten-free cream puffs for 55 - 60 minutes and they crack and puff up nicely.

Immediately transfer the cream puffs to a wire rack, and allow them to cool completely. Slice off the top third of each of the cream puffs and fill them with your desired filling just before serving.

You may freeze them if you will not be using them right away and defrost them at room temperature just prior to filling. If needed, reheat the cream puffs in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 5 minutes until crisp. Then immediately transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely prior to filling.

Filling and Topping Suggestions:
There are endless variations of fillings and toppings for this recipe. You may fill your gluten-free cream puffs with mousse, custard, Bavarian cream, whipped cream, even ice cream. Top them with powdered sugar, chocolate ganache, gluten-free hot fudge sauce, or a fruit sauce such as strawberry, to name a few.

Tip:
If you desire more filling in your gluten free cream puffs, remove the inner dough.