Strawberry Cream Puffs
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups milk
- Pinch of salt
- 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup strawberry preserves
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 pints strawberries, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
- 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
- Preheat the oven to 400 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water, salt, sugar and butter to a boil.
- Add the flour all at once, remove from the heat and stir until a smooth ball forms.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl and let cool for 1 minute.
- Using an electric mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well between additions, until smooth.
- Scoop the dough onto the baking sheet in 8 mounds.
- Using a lightly moistened finger, smooth the tops.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 250 and bake for 15 minutes longer, until the puffs are lightly golden.
- Let cool completely.
- In a saucepan, bring the milk, salt, vanilla bean and seeds to a boil.
- In a bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch and eggs.
- Whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot milk.
- Whisk the mixture into the remaining milk in the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until very thick and bubbling, about 4 minutes.
- Off the heat, whisk in the butter.
- Strain the pastry cream into a bowl, place a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
- In a small saucepan, combine the strawberry preserves with the water and bring to a simmer.
- Whisk vigorously to break up the fruit.
- Strain the mixture into a medium bowl.
- Add the confectioners' sugar and whisk until smooth.
- In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar, vanilla seeds and tarragon.
- Split the cream puffs horizontally and gently pull out any soft dough from the centers.
- Spoon the pastry cream into the puffs, top with some strawberry slices and replace the tops of the puffs.
- Spoon some of the glaze on top and refrigerate until set, about 10 minutes.
- Serve.
water, salt, sugar, unsalted butter, flour, eggs, milk, salt, vanilla bean, sugar, cornstarch, eggs, unsalted butter, strawberry preserves, water, sugar, pints strawberries, sugar, vanilla bean, tarragon
Taken from www.foodandwine.com/recipes/strawberry-cream-puffs (may not work)