If any food deserves the glamour shot, it is the cream puff. Each one is unique with its own "markings". I would have never stopped shooting more photos if they weren't calling me. There is not enough will power in a person to resist these delicate pastries.
You definitely won't regret taking the effort to make these gorgeous cream puffs! Each bite melts in your mouth, as you admire the puffs. Not too sweet, not too dense. Don't underestimate their power though. You'll come back for another and find that they have disappeared all together!
Cream Puffs with Whipped Cream
makes about 24 large or 50 small puffs
Dough
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature
Whipped Cream
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbsp confectioners' sugar
To Make Cream Puffs
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
Bring the milk, water, butter and salt to the boil in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan. When the mixture is boiling rapidly, add the flour all at once, reduce the heat to medium and, without a second's hesitation, start stirring the mixture like mad with a wooden spoon. The dough will come together very quickly and a slight crust will form on the bottom of the pan, but you have to keep stirring - vigorously - another 2 to 3 minutes to dry the dough. At the end of this time, the dough will be very smooth.
Turn the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or, if you've still got some elbow grease left, you can continue by hand. One by one, add the eggs to the dough, beating until each egg is thoroughly incorporated. Don't be discouraged - as soon as you add the first egg, your lovely dough will separate. Keep working and by the time you add the third egg it will start coming together again. When all the eggs are incorporated, the dough will be thick and shiny and, when you lift some of it up it will fall back into the bowl in a ribbon. The dough will still be warm - it's supposed to be - and now is the time to use it.
Using about 1 tablespoon of dough for each puff, drop the dough from the spoon onto the lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each mound of dough.
Slide the baking sheets into the oven, bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the sheets from top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking until the puffs are golden and firm, another 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cream puffs to a cooling rack.
To Make Whipped Cream
Place a large metal bowl into the freezer for 15 minutes. In the ice cold bowl, whip the cream with vanilla extract and confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form. The whipped cream should form a bent over peak when the whisk is removed. Be careful not to over whip the cream as this will result in a clumpy, butter-like mixture.
To Assemble
After the cream puffs have cooled, cut off with a sawing motion the top third of the cream puff. Pipe or spoon in the whipped cream. To finish, dust confectioners' sugar over the filled cream puffs.
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