Homemade Pate a Choux

Just plain old Cream Puffs!  You can  make them sweet or savory.  They can be filled with chocolate, raspberry cream, vanilla custard, meat and mushrooms, whatever you can come up with basically.  I was looking through recipes last night and ran across this one so I am going to share it with ya'll.  I hope ya'll will enjoy it! :)  I did get this recipe online, because I didn't want to wake everyone in the house to get to my recipe but this is basically the same recipe I use.  The only difference in this recipe and mine is I use 2 teaspoons of sugar if I'm  going to be using the dough with a sweet cream filling.  You can find a recipe for vanilla or chocolate filling for the cream puffs at the bottom of the recipe. :)

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/cream-puffs

1. 1 1/2 cups water
2. 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into cubes
3. 1 teaspoon sugar
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 200 grams all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)
6. 8 large eggs
7. Sweetened whipped cream and raspberries or Chocolate Pastry Cream, for serving
8. Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a tight dough forms and pulls away from the side of the pan, 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. In a bowl, beat 7 eggs and add to the dough in four batches, stirring vigorously between additions until the eggs are completely incorporated and the pastry is smooth. The dough should be glossy and very slowly hang, stretch and fall from the spoon in thick ribbons. If necessary, beat in the remaining egg.
4. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe 1 1/2-inch mounds onto the baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between them. Spray the mounds with nonstick cooking spray. Bake the choux for about 35 minutes, until browned and puffed, shifting the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through. Let cool completely.
5. Using a serrated knife, slice off the tops and reserve. Fill the bottom halves with sweetened whipped cream and fresh raspberries, or Chocolate Pastry Cream. Replace the tops, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The baked choux can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; recrisp in a 325° oven for 10 minutes.

Vanilla or Chocolate Custard For Cream Puffs

2 1/2 Cups Milk

5 egg

3/4 Cup sugar

2/3 Cup plain(all purpose) flour, sifted well

2 Tablespoon Butter

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

3 squares unsweetened chocolate)only if making chocolate custard)

Heat milk(if you're making 

chocolate custard add the 

chocolate now) in large heavy

 saucepan until bubbles form 

around the edge.

Beat eggs and sugar in a large 

bowl with wire whisk(this is 

what I use) or mixer until

pale yellow and thick.  Beat in 

flour until well mixed. 

Gradually beat in hot milk and pour all of it back into the pot.  Cook stirring(this is why I use the whisk to help keep lumps out of the custard)constantly, until milk mixture thickens and comes to a boil, then lower heat.  Mixture will be lumpy in the beginning but the lumps will disappear during cooking.  Cook it about 2 or 3 minutes on low heat stirring constantly.  The mix is going to be really thick, take off the heat and stir in butter and vanilla.  Put a piece of waxed paper down on the very top of the custard, make it touch the custard, this keeps a skim from coming on top of the custard.  Let it cool about 2 hours in the frig, if it's too thick when you get ready to use it you can slowly add 2 or 4 

Tablespoons of cream or milk.  Be sure you stir it after each Tablespoon of cream is added so you don't get it too thin.  You can make the custard a few hours before hand but be sure it is room temp when you start filling the cream puffs.  The vanilla is great with strawberries on the side.  I'm sure the chocolate would be too, I've just never had strawberries with chocolate before.  I'm sure any kind of fruit would be good with it.  I have also filled them with leftover butter cream frosting, I mean, why wasted it!LOL  Anyway I hope ya'll enjoy these recipes.

Hugs, Paula