Cream Puffs
A classic Western pastry with a crisp outer shell and creamy custard filling.
Ingredients
Egg yolks (for cream custard)
120 g
Sugar (for cream custard)
120 g
Butter (for cream custard)
50 g
Cake flour (for cream custard)
30 g
Butter (for cream custard)
40 g
Milk (for cream custard)
500 g
Rum (for cream custard)
15 g
Vanilla bean (for cream custard)
1/2
Butter (for choux pastry)
50 g
Water (for choux pastry)
60 g
Milk (for choux pastry)
40 g
Salt (for choux pastry)
1.5 g
Sugar (for choux pastry)
5 g
Wheat flour (for choux pastry)
50 g
Eggs, medium (for choux pastry)
2
Sliced almonds (for choux pastry)
a pinch
Instructions
1
Make the milk custard base
Pour the milk into a pot, add the vanilla bean along with its seeds, and heat over medium heat.
2
Mix the custard base
Combine the egg yolks and sugar with a whisk and beat thoroughly until the white of the eggs is no longer visible. Sift in the flour and mix until no flour is visible. Stir in a small amount of the warm milk, then return the mixture to the pot and combine well. Cook over high heat while stirring constantly; when the stirring becomes very heavy and then slightly lighter, remove from the heat, add the butter, and mix until combined [for the operations in steps (1) to (3), refer to steps (13) to (24) on page 43].
3
Strain and chill the custard
Once the butter has melted, strain through a sieve to remove any hard lumps, add a little rum, and mix. Cool over an ice water bath, stirring continuously while it chills.
4
Heat the choux liquid
Pour the milk, water, salt, sugar, and butter into a pot and place over the stove to heat. Once the butter has fully melted and the mixture comes to a boil, stir to combine.
5
Add the flour
Sift the wheat flour and add it all at once, then mix to combine.
6
Cook the dough
When no white flour is visible, reduce to low or medium heat. When a white film begins to form on the surface of the pot, remove from the heat and gently stir to combine.
7
Add the eggs
Lightly beat the eggs and add them to the mixture from step (6) in several additions. While adding the eggs, use a flat spatula in a circular stirring motion.
8
Check the dough consistency
Once all the eggs have been added, the dough is ready when it is firm and holds its shape: it should fall in a triangle and cling to the flat spatula. Finally, mix thoroughly once more.
9
Pipe and bake
Pipe the dough onto a baking sheet, smooth the tops with a finger dipped in water to release any air pockets. Place sliced almonds on the dampened spots, then bake in a 200°C oven for 20–25 minutes.
10
Cool
As soon as color develops, stop heating and let rest for 5 minutes before removing.
11
Whip the custard
Whip the cooled cream custard with a whisk until smooth.
12
Fill the puffs
Using a piping bag fitted with a long narrow metal tip, insert it into the underside of each baked puff and pipe the custard inside.
