Cream Puffs
I was never a huge fan of cream puffs until I tried the more Asian-inspired ones at bakeries like Jina Bakes or Le Le Choux. These are often larger, use a lighter cream, have more cream, and also have the crackly top. Since then I'm a big fan and I'm really glad I was able to recreate it. A lot of the steps / methodology is similar to eclairs. It's also very time-consuming to make but the end result is so delicious. Pictured is a hojicha cream filling, but you could customize the filling to whatever your heart desires.
Active Time: 2 hr 30 min
Total Time: 5 hr
Ingredients
Pastry cream (see eclair recipe)
Pate a choux dough (see eclair recipe)
Whipped cream:
> heavy whipping cream (1 cup)
> sugar (2 tbsp)
> vanilla (1 tsp)
Craquelin:
> butter (100g)
> brown sugar (100g)
> flour (100g)
Instructions
Prepare the pastry cream and the pate a choux dough exactly as in the eclair recipe.
Preparing the craquelin:
1. Cream together butter and brown sugar until smooth.
2. Add the flour, mix just until a dough forms.
3. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to approximately 2-3mm thick
4. Place in the freezer until firm.
Preparing the choux:
1. Pipe the dough into a circular shape onto a sheet of parchment paper, about 2 inches across. You can do this in many ways, for example by piping in a circle like the top of a cupcake.
2. Cut rounds of craquelin slightly larger than the diameter of the piped pate a choux. Place one round directly on top of each portion of piped choux.
2. Bake at ~380-400F until the structure has formed some color, about ~15 minutes.
3. Reduce temperature to 250F and bake until the moisture has evaporated from the interior and the exterior is golden brown, about ~20 minutes.
4. Let cool completely
Putting everything together:
1. Make the whipped cream by beating the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla together until you form stiff peaks.
2. Mix the whipped cream and pastry cream 1:1 to lighten the cream until fully incorporated. Before mixing, make sure to thoroughly whisk the pastry cream to remove any lumps.
3. Form a small hole at the bottom of each choux. Pipe the cream into the interior until filled. You'll know that the interior is filled when you start to see some backpressure.
4. Put a little dollop of cream at the top so that you know which flavor is which. Dust a bit of powdered sugar on top for appearance. Serve + enjoy immediately.
Notes/Tips:
> The craquelin is absolutely key to creating a crisp, evenly cracked surface while helping the choux bake into a more uniform shape. Don't skip it -- it's not too difficult.
> You can definitely make smaller cream puffs if you prefer that!
> If you want to add any flavorings, I recommend doing so either at the beginning (with the pastry cream), or if you're like me and want to make several different flavorings, separating the filling into several parts and flavoring each one individually.