So I made creme puffs. Oh, yes, I did!
I started out trying to make butter.
See, I selected light whipping cream, 1 pint, on my grocery click list, but they were out and, since I chose Substitute for Out Of Stock Items, they substituted a quart of heavy whipping cream. So I thought I would make butter.
Put it in my blender.
The durn stuff didn’t separate, probably because it had carageenan and stuff in it. But it whipped up good and thick.
With all that cream, I just naturally had to make creme puffs! I sweetened this ever-so-slightly with Penzys vanilla sugar.
They’re stinkin’ easy, and everybody goes Oooooooo! Win-win.
I just made a little batch.
Proportions for Choux Pastry (like for creme puffs)
- 1/8 cup butter (or margarine)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 egg
This makes about four biggish puffs. I doubled this and made them smaller and got 10.
Directions
Bring water, salt and butter to a boil. Add the flour and stir it until it forms a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan. If you’re not making a large batch, you may need to take it off the heat immediately.
Let this rest for 5 minutes while you crack and mix up your egg(s). Add the egg(s) to the flour ball. It will look alarming, but keep mixing: It WILL combine.
Pipe into the shape you want using a pastry bag, or plop it in spoonfuls (the MomGoth method onto an ungreased baking pan.
Bake at 375F for about 1/2 hour, or until there is not one glint or bubble of moisture on the surface of any of the puffs. Don’t check very often. I got a stove with a glass front just so I could make creme puffs. Crazy.
When they’re done, cool them on a rack.
Meanwhile, make ganache for the top. Dead easy.
Ganache
Measure equal amounts of chopped semi-sweet chocolate or good chocolate chips and cream.
Put the chocolate into a bowl. Heat the cream until it just begins to simmer. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let sit for a few minutes, then stir until it’s all mixed together and dark and glossy.
Assemble
Put the cream into a piping bag. I don’t have one (have one on order), so I put the cream into a plastic sandwich bag and cut off the tip. Poke a hole in the side of a puff, stick the pointy end of the bag into the hole, and squeeze the cream in. You can feel the puff inflate with it. When the puffs are all filled, dip the tops into the ganache or spoon it over them.
Sara made me put on the chef’s hat that Chef Lana Cullison gave me.
Try ’em some time.
A WRITING PROMPT FROM ME TO YOU: Something really easy that looks really hard.
MA
TammyB
August 25, 2020 at 7:51ami am always awwed by your skills and powers my friend! Looks amazing. My grandmother’s friend used to make creme puffs when I was little. Always brings back a good memory. thank you
Marian Allen
August 25, 2020 at 11:05amHonest to Pete, they’re SO EASY! Three easy chunks: whip cream, melt chocolate with hot cream, and a super-quick dough. The only hard parts are leaving them in the oven until they’re completely dry and not gobbling them all up at once.
acflory
August 25, 2020 at 8:32amOh I love these! But never dared make them myself. Your recipe looks almost easy though. I’m saving it for next time I get cream. Now I’ll go and drool in a corner. đ
Marian Allen
August 25, 2020 at 11:08amOh, yeah, Meeks, SO EASY, and they seem SO FANCY. It’s a blast! Now, sometimes I make the pastry but, when I add the egg(s), I also add mustard and cheese. Then, sometimes I bake them as usual, cut them in half like buns, and fill them with savory filling, like chicken salad or something. And sometimes I line the edges of a small casserole dish with the dough and fill the center with roasted cauliflower or something and bake it until the dough puffs up around it. REALLY GOOD!
acflory
August 25, 2020 at 11:14pmI love the idea of using the pastry in so many different ways but…it’s the sweet one that’s closest to my heart. đ
Marian Allen
August 26, 2020 at 11:11amOh, yeah. But the savory is yummy, too. Om nom nom nom nom!
acflory
August 26, 2020 at 7:13pmLMAO! The Offspring loves cauliflower. I’m not quite such a fan but I’ll eat it. đ
Marian Allen
August 27, 2020 at 8:38amIt doesn’t has to be cauliflower. You can do hot chicken salad or roasted veg or … Hmmmm … The tag end of boeuf Bourguignon with the broth thickened into a sauce….
acflory
August 27, 2020 at 9:17amOh, now the Bourguignon sounds very nice!
Dan Antion
August 25, 2020 at 9:29amOh, those look good.
Marian Allen
August 25, 2020 at 11:09amPersonally, I could have done with sweeter cream in the middle, but everybody seemed to like it the way it was. đ
RAAckerman@Cerebrations.biz
August 25, 2020 at 11:23amI haven’t creme puffs in at least 5 decades. Mostly because there are no longer bakeries on every street. (It’s just hard to find a real bakery- even for just bread.)
Marian Allen
August 25, 2020 at 4:11pmWell, now you know how to make your own! đ
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
August 25, 2020 at 11:36amLooks as if you could make a version without adding sugar – say, using Splenda – and maybe nut flour (high protein, low carb). May consider that.
I love sugar. It isn’t good for me – and leaves me soggy mentally, which I can’t afford.
Marian Allen
August 25, 2020 at 4:13pmYou probably could do the artificial sweetener. Not sure about the nut flour, though. You might need to add an extra egg white, since nut flours tend to be heavier than wheat flour. Worth a try! Go for it!
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
August 25, 2020 at 5:44pmWorth a try, definitely.
I’m stuck in suspended animation, and my previous efforts with Splenda have been, well, less than tasty. Brownies, cheesecake, carrot cake – all very uninspiring, especially after those expensive ingredients.
I have a sweet tooth. It is reasonably satisfied by sugar alcohols as sweeteners, but they do a huge number on my gut. Sigh.
There are things to try, but they are mostly unsatisfactory compared to the real thing: SUGAR!
Marian Allen
August 26, 2020 at 11:08amHave you tried Stevia? I haven’t.
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt
August 26, 2020 at 11:30amStevia doesn’t taste sweet to me.
I don’t know if you can cook with it, which was supposed to be the good part of Splenda – most other artificial sweeteners (except the sugar alcohols, another reason they are widely used) are broken apart by heat.
There is something new (and expensive, of course) called monkfruit. I haven’t tried it yet.
joey
August 25, 2020 at 9:25pmYou are too cute! I haven’t had a creme puff since I left Georgia. Our commissary had an actual German baker. That woman was a goddess of pastry — and yours look just as good! I’m tempted!
achem However, my oven died last month. The angels of inventory did not care, as all 30″ flat surface electric ranges were either 9 kajillion dollars or out of stock until last week. Well, last week some became in stock and I bought one and I may, I say MAY be able to bake as early as September 5.
Let’s have a moment of silence for those people who want the ranges not available until December 22.
Marian Allen
August 26, 2020 at 11:10amWoah! Yeah, we forget that the factories are closed or producing less because they’re socially distancing workers. I know someone who just bought a new car, and was limited in what they could buy because production was down.
circadianreflections
August 26, 2020 at 9:14amI’ve never made a cream puff! Those look really yummy.
Marian Allen
August 26, 2020 at 11:11amMake some!
Damyanti Biswas
August 29, 2020 at 11:17amOh they look delectable.
Marian Allen
August 30, 2020 at 7:52amThey were, if I do say so myself. đ