Caramel Coating For Cream Puffs Food

CARAMEL COATING

Steps:

• Fill a large bowl with cold water, and set aside. Place sugar and distilled water in a medium saucepan set over low heat; stir, dissolving sugar. Increase heat to medium high; bring sugar to a boil. Using a ladle, remove any scum that surfaces. Add corn syrup, and return to a boil.
• Dip a pastry brush in water, and wash down the sides of the pan. Continue cooking sugar until light golden brown in color and a candy thermometer registers 340 degrees, about 18 minutes. Place the pan in cold water 5 seconds. Remove the pan from water, and let the sugar thicken slightly, about 5 minutes, before using. If caramel starts to harden while working, set over low heat for a few minutes.

CARAMEL CREAM PUFFS WITH CRAQUELIN

Steps:

• Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for your filling.
• For the craquelin: Add the butter and sugar to a second stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until combined. Add the flour and beat to combine. Stir in a few drops of food coloring of choice and beat until uniform in color. Scoop the paste out onto a sheet of parchment paper with a rubber spatula. Cover with another piece of parchment paper and use your hands to press out into an even sheet. Then roll gently a few times with a rolling pin to flatten to an even 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes. When the craquelin is frozen, remove it from the freezer. Peel the top piece of parchment off and cut rounds with a 2-inch round cutter.
• For the choux dough: Combine the butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan over low heat. Once the butter has melted, bring it to a boil over medium heat. As soon as it boils, remove the pan from the heat and sift the flour directly into the pan. Stir the batter into a paste with a wooden spoon; you will have to beat it hard. Return the pan to medium heat. Stir the batter continuously until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and is slightly shiny, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the batter to a stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until slightly cooled, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each one thoroughly before adding the next.
• Fit a large pastry bag with tip #808 and fill with the choux dough. Pipe twelve 2-inch circular mounds, about 2 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheet. If the batter has a peak, dab it smooth with a wet fingertip.
• Beat the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and brush the surface of the puffs with the beaten yolk. Using a small offset spatula, gently lift the craqulin rounds off the parchment and place on top of the cream puffs. Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and continue baking until the puffs are golden brown, light, airy and crisp, 30 to 35 minutes more. If the cream puffs still don't feel completely dry and crisp at the end of the baking time, poke a hole in the bottom with a paring knife and place them back into the oven for a few more minutes to crisp up. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
• For the filling: Remove the stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment from the freezer. Add the cream cheese and sugar to the bowl and beat on high speed until completely combined. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and mix on low speed until mostly combined. Increase the speed to high and whip until soft peaks form. Add the dulce de leche (or your flavoring of choice) and beat until stiff peaks form. If you would like to tint your cream filling, add a few drops of food coloring at this point.
• To assemble: Cut the puffs in half with a serrated knife and set the tops aside. (If the puffs are very moist inside, scoop out the excess dough and re-crisp them in a 350 degree F oven for about 5 minutes. Cool completely before continuing.) Pipe with an open star tip or spoon the whipped cream filling into the bottom halves of the cream puffs. Replace the puff tops. Pipe a small star or dollop of whipped cream on top and decorate as desired with berries or melted chocolate.

CARAMEL TOPPED CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Make the cream puffs: Heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine the water, butter, salt, and granulated sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat.
• Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes to evaporate some of the moisture.
• Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer). Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and adding 1 egg at a time, add 3 of the eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add another egg, and mix until completely incorporated. Grease and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Using the pastry bag, pipe the dough in bite-size "kisses" (about 1 1/2 inches across) onto a cookie sheets.
• Dip your finger in flour and push down the points to smooth out any bumps. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• To make the caramel, pour the 1 1/4 cups sugar into the center of a deep saucepan. Carefully pour the water around the sugar, trying not to splash any sugar onto the sides of the pan. Do not stir; gently draw your finger through the center of the sugar to moisten it. Over high heat, bring to a full boil and cook without stirring, swirling the pot occasionally to even out the color, until amber-caramel in color, 10 to 20 minutes. When the mixture is done, remove the pot from the heat, and rest the bottom in the ice bath for 15 seconds to stop the cooking.
• Dip the top of each cream puff in the caramel and place it caramel-side down, with the base sticking straight up, on the other greased cookie sheet. The caramel will pool slightly around the puff and will harden and develop a foot. (When you turn the puffs over later, this will be a smooth, flat "lid" for each profiterole.) Let cool until set, at least 10 minutes.
• When ready to serve, carefully turn the puffs over and cut each one horizontally in half using a long serrated knife. Fill each with a small scoop of ice cream or sweetened flavored whipped cream. Place the lid on top and serve immediately.

CREAM PUFF DOUGH

Steps:

• preheat oven to 375*F butter and lightly flour a cookie sheet.
• place water, salt, butter and sugar in heavy-bottomed saucepan. cook over medium heat. continue cooking for 2 minutes after liquid starts to boil.
• reduce heat to low. add all of flour and mix rapidly with wooden spoon. cook dough until it no longer sticks to the spoon or fingers when pinched. be sure to mix constantly.
• remove pan from heat and transfer mixture to bowl. let cool 3 minutes.
• incorporate eggs one at a time, (mixture must regain its smooth texture before next egg is added) mixing well between additions. the finished dough should be shiny and smooth.
• fit pastry bag with plain rounded tip. fill pastry bag with dough and squeeze out shapes of your choice; the size of an egg for cream puffs or 4inch long strips for eclairs. leave space between each.
• brush tops of shapes with beaten egg, smooth tails left by pastry bag. let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• bake 35 minutes in oven. turn off heat and postion door ajar. let stand 45 minutes.
• when cold fill with your choice of pastry cream or whipped cream. glaze tops with caramel or chocolate.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.
• When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.

CARAMEL-CREAM FILLING

Steps:

• Heat sugar and 4 teaspoons water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Continue to cook, without stirring, until very deep amber. Carefully pour in 1 cup cream, whisking. Whisk in milk.
• Put gelatin and 6 tablespoons water into a small bowl. Let stand until gelatin has softened, about 7 minutes.
• Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Whisk egg yolks into caramel mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Add gelatin, and whisk until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl set in ice-water bath. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
• Beat remaining cup cream until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into caramel cream. Cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or overnight).

CARAMEL COATING FOR CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• make a hole in bottom of each cream puff by using a flat plain pastry tip. use pastry bag to fill each cream puff with chocolate Pastry Cream, set aside.
• place sugar; 3 tablespoon water and lemon juice in saucepan. cook over medium heat until liquid becomes a deep golden color. Do Not Stir!
• remove from heat and briefly plunge bottom of pan in bowl of cold water. return pan to stove over medium heat. pour in remaining water (1/3 cup) and without stirring cook another 30 seconds.
• remove pan from heat and place on counter. carefully dip tops of cream puffs in hot caramel.
• set aside to cool, then refrigerate to serve cold.