Cream Puffs Food

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Make the cream puffs: In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, granulated sugar, salt and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and sift the flour directly into the pan. Stir the mixture into a paste with a wooden spoon. Return the pan to a medium heat. Stir the mixture until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and is slightly shiny, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the paste to a medium bowl, and beat with a wooden spoon until slightly cooled, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the 3 eggs, one at a time, incorporating each one thoroughly before adding the next. Before adding the third egg, beat it in a small bowl. Adding it by tablespoons to the mixture, just until the batter is smooth and tight. If the batter starts to get loose, do not add all of the last egg.
• Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Fill a large pastry bag, fitted with an open tip, with the cream puff mixture. Pipe twelve
• 2 1/2-inch circular mounds, about 2 inches apart, onto the prepared pan. (Alternately, use a large spoon to form the dough into the mounds.) Dab the tops of each puff with a fingertip dipped in water to smooth the tops. Beat the egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and brush the surface of the puffs with the beaten yolk.
• Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F; continue baking until golden brown and the puffs are light, airy, and crisp, about 30 to 35 minutes more. Cool on a rack.
• Assemble the cream puffs: 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.) Put a heaping tablespoon of the fruit in the bottom halves of the cream puffs. Pipe or spoon about 1/3 cup of the Chocolate Whipped Cream on top. Replace the puff tops. Refrigerate for up to 3 hours or serve immediately.
• Yield: 12 cream puffs
• Beat the cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer or a whisk, until it begins to hold a loose peak. Sift the confectioners' sugar into the cream. Continue beating until the cream holds a firm but still soft peak. Set aside.
• Put the chocolate in a clean, medium, microwaveable bowl. Melt the chocolate in the microwave, at half power, at 30 second intervals, until softened and warm. Whisk until smooth and liquid. (Alternatively melt the chocolate in a double boiler.)
• Fold about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream into the warm chocolate to lighten it. Add the lightened chocolate mixture back to the remaining whipped cream, folding until completely blended. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. It's best used the same day it is prepared.
• Yield: about 4 cups

STATE FAIR CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil over medium heat. Add flour all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. , Drop by 1/4 cupfuls 3 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Combine milk and egg yolk; brush over puffs. Bake at 400° until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Remove to wire racks. Immediately cut a slit in each for steam to escape; cool. , In a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until almost stiff. Split cream puffs; discard soft dough from inside. Fill the cream puffs just before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Refrigerate leftovers.

SIMPLE AND EASY CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Bring 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan.
• Add the butter to the water and stir until it is melted.
• Add the flour and salt all at once to the water mix.
• Stir until a ball is formed.
• Remove from heat, and add 1 egg. Beat. Let stand for 5 minutes.
• Add the remaining eggs 1 at a time, and beat after each addition.
• Let stand for 10 minutes.

HOW TO MAKE CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• For the pastry cream:In a large bowl, whisk 1/4 cup milk, cornstarch, flour, and egg yolks. Set aside.Combine remaining 2 3/4 cups milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Add seeds and vanilla pod to the pan. Heat over medium-high heat until boiling. Remove from heat. Gradually whisk about half of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture. Pour the egg mixture back into the pan. Heat on medium heat, constantly stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 30 seconds then remove from heat. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve placed over a bowl. Once the cream has gone through the sieve, stir in the butter until melted and combined.Press a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the cream and refrigerate until chilled, several hours. Whisk before using. For the cream puff shells (choux pastry):Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, heat water, butter, and salt until mixture comes to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Remove pan from heat, add flour all at once, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Once all of the flour is incorporated, place the pan back over medium-high heat. Stir continuously for 2-3 minutes until dough is smooth, shiny, and is pulling away from the edges of the pan. Place dough into a bowl of an electric mixer and let cool for 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl each time. Beat until egg is fully incorporated. After the third egg, the mixture will start to look fluffy when beaten. Before adding the fourth egg, check the batter. Lift a silicone spatula with the batter over the bowl. If the batter hangs off the spatula in a V-shape, there's no need to add the final egg. If not, add the egg and beat until fluffy. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe the batter into 12 rounds on the prepared cookie sheet. With a wet finger, tap down any peaks on top. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350ºF and bake for 15 minutes more. The batter should have risen and puffed. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the puffs rest in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the puffs from the oven, gently lift off of the sheet, and place on a wire cooling rack. Pierce the side of each with a paring knife to allow steam to release. Let cool completely before filling.For the sweetened whipped cream:Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and continue whipping the cream until stiff peaks form. To assemble the cream puffs:Whisk the cooled pastry cream. Fold in the whipped cream until combined. Place cream in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Cut the cream puffs in half. Pipe the cream generously on the bottom half. Place the top half on the cream. Dust with powdered sugar. (Alternately, spoon the cream into the cut shell.)Best served soon after filling, cream puffs may be stored in the refrigerator. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Heat the milk, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering but not boiling, about 3 minutes.
• Take the saucepan off the heat and mix in the flour to form a paste. Put the saucepan back on medium heat and cook the flour mixture, stirring constantly, until the dough forms and pulls away from the sides and bottom of the pan, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer the cooked dough to a stand mixer bowl and beat with the paddle attachment to cool it down. Add 1 egg at a time and continue beating until each egg is completely incorporated before adding another.
• Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe 12 equal portions, about 1 ½" - 2" in diameter, on a lined baking sheet. Dip your fingers in water and smooth out each mound of dough so there are no peaks and spikes.
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Beat an egg with a tablespoon of water to make egg wash. Gently apply the egg wash on top of the dough using a pastry brush.
• Bake for about 22 - 25 minutes until the shells are puffed and golden. Observe through the oven door but do not open the oven during baking. Turn off the oven and crack the door open, allowing the cream puffs to cool inside the oven for at least 15 minutes before removing them and let them cool completely on a wire rack.

CREAM PUFFS RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper.
• In a Medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup milk, 8 Tbsp butter, 1 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring just to a boil over medium heat then remove from heat and stir in 1 cup flour all at once with a wooden spoon.
• One flour is incorporated, place back over medium heat stirring constantly for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes to release extra moisture and partially cook flour. A thin film will form on the bottom of the pan and dough will come together into a smooth ball.
• Transfer dough to a large mixing bowl and beat using an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute to cool mixture slightly. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, allowing to fully incorporate between additions. Beat another minute until dough is smooth and forms a thick ribbon when pulled up.
• Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2" round tip. Pipe 28 puffs, each 1 1/2" diameter and 1/2" tall rounds. Keep them 1" apart and avoid making peaks* but if you do get peaks, wet finger tips lightly with water and smooth them out.
• Bake at 425˚F for 10 minutes in the center of the oven. Without opening oven, reduce temp to 325˚F and, bake 20-22 min longer or until golden brown on top. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups heavy cream, 4 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until fluffy with stiff peaks (2 min). Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip.
• Once cream puffs are completely cooled, fill them with cream. There are 2 ways to fill them: (#1) pipe the cream into the puffs by pushing the pastry tip into the side and piping until cream pushes back, or (#2) Cut off tops of puffs and pipe cream inside using a pastry bag, push a raspberry down into the center if desired, then cover with the tops. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

CLASSIC CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until a film forms on the bottom of the pan.
• Remove from heat and transfer contents to a bowl to cool slightly, about 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously to entirely incorporate egg after each addition.
• For the egg wash, whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.
• Transfer the pate a choux to a large pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip. Pipe 1-1/2-inch rounds onto each prepared pan. Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Brush tops with reserved egg wash. Bake until puffs rise and are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.
• Transfer pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8-inch plain round tip. Insert the tip into the opening of each pastry, and pipe to fill with pastry cream. Serve immediately.

AUNT PAT'S FAMOUS CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• For the cream puff shells:
• Place oven rack one place below middle. Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Set aside a regular muffin pan (12 or more), lightly buttered (Cooking spray or neutral oil brushed with a pastry brush also works). Note: If using a dark non-stick pan, preheat oven to 375F degrees (see notes for more information).
• In a medium sauce pan, bring water and butter to a low boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and add flour, stirring well until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs, one at a time, beating with wooden spoon or large fork until dough is smooth. Beat additional 10 to 15 seconds as this will increase the volume of the dough.
• Using a tablespoon, drop dough into deep muffin tins. This doesn't have to be an exact measurement, but depending on how big you want your pastry to be. Divide all the batter between 12 muffins.
• Bake pastries for 25 to 35 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. (Might take longer in the non-stick pan at the lower temperature). Important that the puffs are golden/crisp or they may collapse. Even when they look done, I leave them in a full minute or so longer. Turn oven off and open the oven door. Pull oven rack out about half way and let shells sit for approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely in the muffin tin before removing to wire racks. If your shells stick a bit to the tins, gently use a fork or butter knife to pull them away from the sides of the pan.
• (The pastry shells can be prepared the day before. Just lightly cover with foil when completely cooled and let sit at room temperature.)
• Cook's note: Ingrid baked the pastries on a baking sheet about three inches apart, but my smart aunt decided the muffin tins make a nice shape to hold the cream. Either method works, but Ingrid's way will produce a little flatter shaped shell. If you prefer to make them on the baking sheet, be sure to line it with parchment paper before spooning or piping the choux pastry dough from a pastry bag.
• For the custard pastry cream filling:
• Place the 4 egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk them together and set aside.
• Mix sugar, flour and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir in warm milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently. Mixture will thicken and bubble. Once it starts to bubble, cook one minute more while still stirring.
• Remove from heat. Quickly whisk about half of the mixture into beaten egg yolks.
• Blend this back into remaining hot mixture in the saucepan. Whisk constantly until mixture starts to bubble again. Cook for another 30 seconds or so but do not stop whisking.
• Remove from heat and add vanilla- Don't forget the vanilla and use good quality vanilla since this flavor is the base of the entire filling.) Set aside, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely. You can set the custard in the refrigerator to cool quickly. The custard will continue to thicken as it cools.
• For the sweetened whipped cream:
• Whip your cream using electric beaters or stand mixer and add sugar and vanilla to your liking.
• Assembling the cream puffs:
• Cut off pastry shell tops and scoop out the insides of top and bottom to make room for the custard and whipped cream. The insides might be moist. Just pull that all out being careful not to make a hole go through the bottom.
• Pour about one cup powdered sugar into a bowl to dip the cream puffs in.
• Dip the bottom of the puff into powdered sugar, then repeat with top of puff. This will coat the puffs and gives a "French pastry" decadent look to the finished cream puff.
• Fill bottom of puff with Custard Cream Filling. Top generously with sweetened whipped cream.
• Replace top of puff. The top won't cover entirely but sits like a decorative hat. Place puffs in refrigerator, uncovered, chilling for 4 hours. Do not cover the puffs in fridge or you run the risk of the powdered sugar evaporating. Puffs can remain in the refrigerator overnight this way.
• More notes for preparing ahead of time:
• You may completely assemble cream puffs the night before serving, they actually get better over time. Cover loosely with foil.
• For transporting, place completed cream puffs back into muffin tins, cover lightly with foil and they're ready to go!
• Makes 12 cream puffs if made in muffin tin.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. In 2 1/2-quart saucepan, heat water and butter to rolling boil. Stir in flour; reduce heat to low. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat. Beat in eggs, all at once; continue beating until smooth.
• On ungreased cookie sheet, drop dough by slightly less than 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool away from draft, about 30 minutes.
• Make one of the fillings (directions below). Cut off top third of each puff and pull out any strands of soft dough. Fill puffs with filling; replace tops. Cover; refrigerate until serving. Store covered in refrigerator. Eggnog Fluff Filling: In large bowl, beat pudding mix, milk, rum extract, nutmeg and ginger with electric mixer on low speed until well blended. Add whipping cream; beat on high speed 1 to 2 minutes or until soft peaks form. Fill puffs. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar or brush tops with light corn syrup and sprinkle with colored sugar or nonpareils. Peppermint Whipped Cream Filling: In large bowl, beat ingredients with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fill puffs. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours.

HOMEMADE CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, vanilla, heavy cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.
• Place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and with a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly add the flour mixture. Return to heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about a minute or two).
• Transfer the dough to your electric mixer and beat with a mixer on low speed a minute or two to release the steam from the dough. Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the eggs one at a time and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste.
• Spoon or pipe mounds of dough onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper, spacing them a couple of inches apart.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350.
• Bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes or until the shells have browned and are dry inside.
• PRICK EACH PUFF WITH A TOOTHPICK to allow steam to escape and prevent them from falling/flattening. Turn the oven off and, with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells dry out for a further 10-15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
• 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. Dust with powdered sugar. Enjoy!

PISTACHIO CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Add all ingredients into a medium sized bowl, then mash together with a spatula or your fingers until an uniform looking dough forms.
• Place the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper, then roll the dough out to be about 1/8" thick (Try to make it into a perfect rectangle, as it makes cutting out the circles easier later). Place into the freezer for at least 30 minutes, while you make the choux.
• Preheat oven to 475°F. Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Also prepare a pastry bag by adding a plain ½" tip.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add milk, water, butter, 1 tbsp sugar, and salt, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add flour in the pot, all at once, and begin to stir very quickly. A ball of dough should form relatively quickly. Continue cooking, stirring vigorously, until a dry film begins to form on the bottom and sides of the saucepan. Remove from heat.
• Place dough into a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat for about 30 seconds to a minute, to cool the dough down. Add one egg and beat until completely incorportated (the dough should look dry again). Continue adding eggs one at a time, ensuring that each is completely incorporated before adding the next, scraping at the sides of the bowl occasionally. After the 4th egg, place remove paddle from mechanism and place deep into the batter, if the batter forms a nice "V" shape off the paddle, it is ready. If the batter still looks thick and does not form a nice "V" then add another egg. Dough should be thick and very sticky, but also shiny and smooth.
• Add dough to the piping bag, and pipe directly onto parchment lined baking sheets. Pipe about nine equal 2" rounds per baking sheet (about 18 total).
• Cut out 18 rounds out of the cold craquelin topping, about the same diameter as the piped cream puffs. Place each round onto a piped cream puff, lightly pressing it down to secure it.
• Place into the 475°F oven, for exactly 1 minute then immediately turn the oven off. After 9 minutes, turn the oven back on to 350°F, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Rotate pans and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cream puffs are puffed (~ 30 minutes of total baking time). To ensure the cream puffs are finished, remove one of the oven and check if it deflates within 45 seconds - if it deflates they are not finished.
• When done, turn the oven off, and crack the oven 1/3 way open. Allow cream puffs to cool for 30-45 minutes in the cracked oven. Then, remove from oven and allow to cool completely before filling.
• Place chopped white chocolate into a medium size mixing bowl, then set aside.
• Place heavy cream into a medium pot over medium heat. Heat until the mixture just begins to come to a low boil. Remove from heat and pour over top of the chopped chocolate. Allow the mixture to sit for 1 minute, then whisk together until all the chocolate has melted and the ganache is very smooth.
• Add the pistachio paste, then whisk again until smooth. Place a piece of plastic wrap over top of the surface of the ganache and place into the fridge to cool for at least 8 hours, or preferably overnight.
• When cooled, place the ganache into your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the ganache until stiff peaks have formed.
• (Optional) For added texture, fold in some finely ground pistachios (you can grind these yourself with you food processor).
• Using a serrate knife, cut off the top of each cream puff. Using a spoon or a piping bag fitted with a star tip, fill each cream puff with whipped chocolate ganache. Then place the top back on and dust with confectioners sugar. Enjoy immediately or keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• In a medium size sauce pan, bring water to boil.
• Add melted butter and reheat to boiling point.
• Add flour, stirring rapidly.
• By the time the flour has absorbed the liquid, the batter should leave the sides of the pan when stirred.
• Remove from the heat immediately.
• Briskly beat one egg at a time until all four eggs have been incorporated into the batter completely.
• Spoon 1/2 teaspoon full of the batter onto a well-greased cookie sheet; allowing 1-inch clearance all around each spoonful.
• If you are making large puffs 1 tablespoon of batter, allow 2 to 3-inches between each spoonful.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees; and bake for 5-7 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to 200 degrees; and bake for 30 minutes.
• They should be a nice golden brown in color.
• Makes 72 small or 16 large cream puffs.
• Cool.
• Split horizontally and fill with your favorite filling.
• For a dessert, fill with pudding or cream or custard,dust with Confectionery sugar or drizzle chocolate syrup on top.
• For an appetizer or dinner party, fill with ham salad, egg salad, chicken or your favorite savory filling.
• Very versatile and they freeze unfilled, very well.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit 1 large pastry bag (or a plastic freezer bag with 1/2" cut from one bottom corner) with plain 1/2" tip.
• Bring milk, butter, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add flour all at once; reduce heat to medium-low. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a dough forms and pulls away from sides of pan, 1-2 minutes. Continue beating vigorously until a thin dry film forms on bottom and sides of pot, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add 1 egg and stir vigorously with wooden spoon until egg is incorporated and dough looks dry again, about 2 minutes. Repeat with 4 more eggs, adding one at a time and stirring vigorously to incorporate before adding the next. Dough should be smooth, shiny, and thickened.
• Spoon dough into prepared pastry bag; pipe out 2 1/2"-diameter rounds on prepared sheets, leaving 2" between rounds. DO AHEAD: Freeze the piped dough rounds on the baking sheets, then transfer to resealable plastic bags and freeze for up to 1 month. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, spacing apart (do not defrost) before continuing with recipe.
• Arrange racks in upper and middle thirds of oven and preheat to 450°F. Whisk remaining egg with 2 teaspoons water and brush dough rounds all over with egg wash.
• Transfer baking sheets to oven; turn oven off. After 10 minutes, heat oven to 350°F and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate pans front to back and top to bottom; continue baking until deep golden brown all over, about 10 minutes longer (puffs will deflate if removed from oven before fully baked). Transfer puffs to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• Using a serrated knife, gently slice the top quarter off each puff; transfer tops to a plate. With your finger, gently push down the soft film of cooked dough inside each puff.
• Prepare a second pastry bag (or freezer bag) with 1/2" open-star tip. Beat heavy cream and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a large bowl until soft peaks form. Spoon whipped cream into prepared pastry bag. Fill each puff with cream, finishing with a generous ring of cream on top. Dust tops of cream puffs with powdered sugar; place atop puffs.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450*. In small pan, boil water, add margarine and stir until melted. Add flour and salt all at once, stirring until mixed. Cool for 1 minute, then add eggs one at a time. On a greased cookie sheet, drop about 2" apart. Bake for 10 minutes at 450*, then 15-20 minutes at 400*. Let cool. Make a slit in the side and fill with whipped cream.

CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• To make the cream puffs: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt, and granulated sugar 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, 30 seconds to evaporate some of the moisture.
• Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and working 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 the remaining egg and mix until incorporated.
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe the dough onto the baking sheet, in 2-inch diameter rounds or balls. Whisk the remaining egg with 1 1/2 teaspoons water. Brush the surface of the rounds with the egg wash to knock down the points (you may not use all the egg wash). Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until puffed up, and light golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• To fill the cream puffs, place a pastry tip on your finger and poke a whole in the bottom of each puff. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff. Pipe whipped cream into each cream puff and chill until ready to serve, no more than 4 hours.
• Notes about the recipe: The moisture in the eggs turns to steam and puffs the batter to try to release itself. You can fill them with anything.

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.

CREAM PUFFS I

Steps:

• For the custard: In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 5 tablespoons flour and a pinch of salt. Stir in milk, a little at a time, until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 60 seconds, then pour a small amount of hot liquid into the 2 egg yolks, and stir. Then return now heated egg yolks to saucepan and stir, over heat, until mixture starts to bubble again. Remove from heat, add vanilla. Cover and chill in refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• For the pastry: In a medium saucepan, combine shortening and water and bring to a boil. Sift together 1 cup flour and a pinch of salt and pour all at once into boiling mixture. Stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat, and add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet, or pipe into desired shape.
• Bake 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and bake 25 minutes more, or until golden. Cool completely, split, fill with custard, and replace tops.