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Choux Cream (Cream Puff)

Everybody loves it!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 20 pieces

Equipment

  • oven, pot , bowl

Ingredients
  

Cookie crust

  • 50 g unsalted butter
  • 50 g sugar
  • 50 g flour

Choux pastry

  • 100 g whole milk
  • 100 g water
  • 100 g unsalted butter
  • 120 g cake flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 large eggs

Custard cream ( pastry cream)

  • 5 egg yolks
  • 125 g sugar
  • 25 g cornstarch
  • 25 g bread flour
  • 500 ml whole milk
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste (or essence)
  • 30 g unsalted butter

Assemble

  • 150 ml heavy cream (40% milk fat)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven 200 ℃.

Cookie crust

  • Cream the butter then add the sugar.
    Mix until well combine.
    Add in the flour and mix until just combined.
    Do not over mix; otherwise, your cookie crust is not going to spread over the surface of the choux pastry.
    Wrap in a piece of plastic and shape into a cylinder of 2 inches in diameter. Please keep it in a freezer. 

Choux pastry (dough)

  • In a medium-size heavy-bottom pot, add in milk, water, salt and butter. Turn the heat to medium, and bring it to a rolling boil.
    Meanwhile, shift the flour.
  • When the mixture reaches a rolling boil, turn the heat off and add in shifted flour.
    Stir vigorously until the mixture forms a dough.
    The higher temperature more likely to gelatinize the gluten, and it makes a good choux pastry.
  • Turn the heat to medium-low, and cook the dough until the dry film-like mixture sticks to the bottom of the pot.
    What I am doing is, evaporate as much moisture as I can to add more egg into the choux pastry. 
    The more egg you add, the more likely to get the airy choux pastry.
  • Transfer the dough into a medium-size bowl. 
    Beat egg until the egg white and the yolk well combined.
    Start adding egg into the dough while still hot.
    Add 2 to 3 tablespoons each time.
    Use your spatula as if cutting the dough. In this cutting motion, you can easily combine the egg and the dough.
    Continue adding the egg until you get a smooth choux pastry.
  • Transfer to a piping bag 1.2 cm nozzle attached.
    Pipe out the dough onto a parchment-lined baking tray. Pipe the dough 4~5 cm in diameter for 22~25 pieces. 
    Slice the cookie crust into 5mm thick.
    Place it onto the choux pastry.
    Pop into the preheated oven for 15 mins.
    Drop the temperature to 170℃, bake for 30 mins.
    Take out and place the choux pastry onto a wire rack.

Custard cream

  • While baking the choux pastry, let's make custard cream.
    Pour your milk into a pan with half the amount of the sugar. Sugar prevents forming a film on top. 
  • Separate the yolks from the whites. (you can freeze it.) 
    Add in the rest of the sugar and whisk until pale.
    Add in flour and cornstarch, whisk until combine.
    Add in vanilla paste or essence.
  • When the milk starts boiling, turn the heat off.
    Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of hot milk mixture to the egg yolk mixture. Whisk to combine well.
    Add the rest of the hot milk mixture gradually. 
    Let it back into the pot.
  • Turn the heat to medium, cook until boiling while stirring constantly.
    When it comes to a boil, stir vigorously. Cook further 1 minute to cook thoroughly.
    Remove from the heat, add in butter and mix until well combined.
  • Transfer the cream to a bowl.
    Cover with a piece of plastic directly onto the surface. 
    Place the bowl on ice bath. Let it chill.

Assemble

  • Whip the heavy cream until soft peak form.
    Pass 300g custard cream through a sieve. Combine with the whipped cream.
    Transfer to a piping bag. 
  • Classic style:
    Cut off the top.
    Pipe in custard cream.
    Cookie choux cream:
    Make a small hall on the side, pipe in the custard cream. 
Keyword baking, choux cream, cream puff, japanese cake, japanese cooking, japanese food