Cream Puffs

Prepare the pastry cream

Step 1

In a medium saucepan, mix together milk, heavy cream, vanilla, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer. Stir mixture until the sugar dissolves.

Step 2

In a separate bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch and egg yolks. Mix a little of the hot milk mixture with egg yolk mixture, whisk constantly as you pour the hot milk to prevent eggs from turning into scrambled eggs. Add a little more milk mixture and continue mixing. Add all the milk and mix. Return milk and egg mixture to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture thickens.

Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Allow the cream to rest for 10 minutes.

Add butter, mix until incorporated. Strain cream into a bowl. Cover the cream with beeswax wrap making sure it touches the surface of the cream so it does not form a skin. Refrigerate until cold.

Prepare the puffs

Step 3

Preheat oven to 425 °F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Step 4

In a medium saucepan, place the water, butter, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil. Once the butter is fully melted, add the flour and mix until a dough is formed. Keep the mixture on a medium heat and mix vigorously until the dough starts to pull away from the sides and has firmed up a little.

Step 5

In a large bowl, beat the dough on low speed until it cools down. About 3 minutes. With the mixer at medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, allowing each egg to be fully incorporate into the dough.

Transfer into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Pipe out dough until you have a 1 ½-inch round. Repeat the process making sure the puffs are at least 1 ½ inches apart. Lightly wet a finger and tap down any spikes on top.

Step 6

Place puffs into the oven at 425 °F for 10 minutes, or at least until they have puffed up and have a firm exterior. At this point, turn the oven down to 300 °F and bake for 10 minutes more minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack. Using a serrated knife, cut the tops of the puffs.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, fill the cream puffs with pastry cream. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Variations

Raspberry Cream Puffs: Beat heavy cream at medium speed. When the cream becomes thick, add powdered sugar, raspberry powder, and vanilla. Whip until soft peaks. Fill cream puffs and dust with raspberry powder.

Matcha Cream Puffs: Beat heavy cream at medium speed. When the cream becomes thick, add powdered sugar, matcha powder, and vanilla. Whip until soft peaks. Fill cream puffs and dust with matcha powder.

Additional Tips

Cream puffs are best enjoyed when freshly assembled. You can prepare all the components, and assemble the cream puffs when ready to serve.