Cream Puffs with Ice Cream and Caramel

By VegasBartender

Eggs are a critical leavening agent for cream puffs, making the batter rise and expand. Piercing the cooked puffs allows steam to escape so the texture is almost hollow. A stand mixer is crucial; the batter is too thick to beat with a hand mixer. Freeze completely cooled cream puffs for up to one month. Cream puffs are also good with savory fillings, such as chicken or shrimp salad.

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light

APRIL 2007

Ingredients

• 1 cup bread flour (about 4 3/4 ounces)
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg whites
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups vanilla low-fat ice cream
• 1/2 cup fat-free caramel sundae syrup

Details

Servings 8
Adapted from myrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425°.

Cover a large, heavy baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Set aside.

Combine 1 cup water, butter, and salt in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add flour, stirring well until mixture is smooth and pulls away from sides of pan. Cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Place dough in bowl of a stand mixer. Add egg whites and eggs, 1 at a time, beating at medium speed with a paddle attachment until well combined. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.

Scoop the dough by 1/4 cupfuls into 8 mounds 2 inches apart onto prepared pan. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° (do not remove pan from oven); bake an additional 30 minutes. Turn oven off. Pierce top of each cream puff with a knife; return pan to oven. Cool cream puffs in closed oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven; cool completely on a wire rack.

Split cream puffs in half horizontally. Fill each puff with 1/4 cup ice cream and 1 tablespoon syrup.