Cream Puffs
- All-purpose flour, for marking
- Pate a Choux (page 358)
- 1 cup granulated sugar, for sprinkling
- 1/2 recipe Tart Dough (page 224)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- Pastry Cream (page 392)
- Confectioners sugar, for dusting
- Line three large baking sheets with nonstick baking mats, such as Silpats, or with parchment paper.
- Dip a 2-inch round cookie cutter in flour, and mark circles 2 inches apart on the prepared sheets.
- Transfer Pate a Choux to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip (such as an Ateco #808) and pipe puffs to fit in the flour circles.
- Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising.
- Freeze pastry puffs (on sheets) until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, sprinkle a clean work surface with 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and place Tart Dough on top of sugar, patting out dough into a rough round.
- Sprinkle another 1/2 cup sugar on top of dough and roll to a scant 1/8-inch thickness, continually coating both sides of dough with sugar to keep dough from sticking to the rolling pin or work surface.
- Using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out three dozen rounds, and place a round on top of each frozen puff.
- Return to freezer until firm, at least 15 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds.
- Bake puffs, rotating sheets halfway through, until light golden brown all over, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, the puffs can be kept overnight in an airtight container at room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.
- In a medium bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks.
- Stir Pastry Cream to soften.
- Working in two batches, fold whipped cream into Pastry Cream.
- Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as an Ateco #806).
- Insert tip into bottom of each pastry puff, and fill.
- Dust with confectioners sugar.
- Once filled, these are best enjoyed within a few hours; store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- A floured cookie cutter marks circles on a nonstick baking mat; the circles serve as guides for piping the Pate a Choux.
- Sugared Tart Dough cutouts are placed on top of the puffs before baking.
- A combination of whipped cream and Pastry Cream is piped into the bottom of each baked puff to fill.
flour, sugar, recipe, heavy cream, pastry cream, confectioners sugar
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cream-puffs-390241 (may not work)