Cream Puffs Or Eclairs With Vanilla Pastry Cream

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 semi-sweet chocolate baking squares
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk

Recipe

• 1 make vanilla pastry cream:.
• 2 in 2 quart saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt; stir in milk.
• 3 over medium heat, cook, stirring until mixture thickens and boils, about 10 minutes.
• 4 boil 1 minute.
• 5 in a small bowl with fork, beat 6 egg yolks slightly.
• 6 beat small amount of heated milk mixture into yolks.
• 7 slowly pour egg mixture back into milk mixture, stirring.
• 8 cook over medium low heat, stirring till mixture thickens and coats spoon well, about 8 minutes (do not boil).
• 9 to check thickness, lift metal spoon from mixture and hold up 15 seconds - spoon should not show through mixture.
• 10 remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
• 11 at this point i usually put this custard through a strainer to get out any lumpy cooked egg pieces.
• 12 cover surface with plastic wrap, and chill well, about 2 hours.
• 13 when custard is cool, in a small bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat heavy/whipping cream till stiff peaks form.
• 14 with a rubber spatula, gently fold whipped cream into custard.
• 15 puffs:.
• 16 spray 1 or 2 large cookie sheets with nonstick spray. heat oven to 375.
• 17 in 2 qt saucepan over medium heat, heat butter, water and salt till butter mixture boils.
• 18 remove from heat.
• 19 add flour all at once. with a wooden spoon, vigorously stir until mixture forms a ball and leaves sides of pan.
• 20 add eggs to the flour mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition, till smooth.
• 21 cool mixture slightly.
• 22 using a large spoon and rubber spatula, drop batter onto cookie sheets int 12 large mounds, 3 inches apart, swirling the top of each.
• 23 (for eclairs, instead of mounds, spread the choux paste into 5" by 3/4" rectangles).
• 24 bake 50 minutes (this is what the original recipe says - however, i never bake them that long - more like 35 minutes - go by your own oven - if they're looking puffed and browned and dry, they're probably done).
• 25 at this point, remove from oven, cut a small slit in the side of each puff and return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• 26 turn off oven and let dry for 5-10 minutes (i don't usually do this and it doesn't seem to matter too much).
• 27 when puffs are cool, slice top off of each - there will probably be some webby looking soft dough inside - carefully pull this out to make it hollow.
• 28 fill each shell with the chilled pastry cream.
• 29 replace top and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
• 30 for eclairs:.
• 31 go through the same process, but top with semisweet chocolate glaze: in saucepan, melt 2 squares semisweet chocolate and 2 t butter, stirring constantly (or heat briefly in the microwave to melt) stir in 1 cup powdered sugar and 3 t milk till smooth.