CREAM PUFFS

I love cream puffs. I always nag my sister to make me cream puffs. She would make a big batch of them and I would say those are all mine. She would shake her head and tell me to be generous to other people. No way! I just love her cream puffs too much to share. Anyway for my dad’s birthday, I asked him if he wants cake and he said no. So I offered him an alternative – how about cream puffs? And he warmed to that idea.

My first time to bake cream puff….it was a success! I loved it so much! Despite the mess I made in the kitchen, it turned out really good. Even the caramel syrup that I garnished on top of the puff was yummy. However nothing beats my sister’s cream puffs. Her pudding inside the puff is just delicious, very different from what I made. And I’m also proud to say that my cream puff was really made out of big love because everything was done manually. The mixer is broken so I have to mix vigorously with the spatula. I didn’t have a pastry bag so I made do with a ziploc bag cut in one of the corners.

Here’s the recipe from allrecipes.com

CREAM PUFFS

Serving: 20-25 cream puffs

For the pudding:

• 2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk (I used fat-free)

For the pastry/puff bread:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I used a small pinch because my sister has the problem of her cream puff tasting salty)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla (to remove the eggy taste)
• 1 tbsp sugar

For the caramel syrup/drizzle:

• 1/2 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix together vanilla instant pudding mix, cream and milk. Cover and refrigerate to set.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
3. In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Add 1 tbsp of vanilla and 1 tbsp of white sugar. 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. Make sure you have a nice small ball. My cream puffs turned out enormous.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.
   
5. Remove from oven and using a toothpick (mine is chopstick) poke a hole on the side to release the heat and prevent the puff from being soggy.
6. 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.
7. Heat 1/2 cup sugar in a sauce pan. Stir constantly and remove from fire occasionally. When the sugar turns into light golden brown liquid, drizzle on top of the cream puff.

Happy baking and eating!