Last night we participated in a progressive dinner in order to get to know our neighbors. I more than happily agreed to host the dessert portion of the meal.  On the menu….cream puffs, almond pound cake cupcakes with salty caramel icing and ginger snap cookies.

Choux Puffs

The choux turned out GREAT.  It was the perfect color and the perfect texture.  Our new oven is gas….I wonder if that helped the dough rise.  I found that I had very little dough to scoop out of the middle before adding the cream.   Speaking of the whipped cream,  it was heavy and flat.  I tried to make two batches but neither turned out exactly how I wanted. I used heavy cream instead of whipping cream, which I have done in the past without a problem.    I had to warn people to bite into the cream puffs very carefully…..and I still had a few incidents.

Choux Cream Puffs

Pastry:

• 1/2 cup all pupose flour
• 1/2 tsp granulated white sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp granulated white sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in center of oven.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and salt.  Set aside.

Place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a 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, or with a hand mixer, and beat on low speed a minute or two to release the steam from the dough.  Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste.  Spoon or pipe 12 mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them a couple of inches apart.  Beat together 1 large egg and a pinch of salt and glaze each mound.

Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.  Bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are dry inside.  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.

For whipped cream:  In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract and sugar and stir until combined.  Cover and chill the bowl in the refrigerator.  When chilled, whip the mixture until soft peaks form.

Split the pastry shells in half and fill with whipped cream.  If the shells are not completely dry inside, remove any remaining dough with a spoon.  Place the top half of the pastry shell on the whipped cream and dust with powdered sugar.