Classic Cream Puffs with Vanilla Pastry Cream

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the pastry cream

   Warm 1 1/2 cups of the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until you see steam and small bubbles at the edges. Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup milk with the sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, and salt in a bowl until completely smooth with no lumps of starch hiding at the bottom.

2. 2

   Temper and thicken

   Pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture in a thin stream while whisking hard, then return everything to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping the corners, until it thickens into a pudding and bubbles lazily break the surface. Keep whisking through those bubbles for a full 60 seconds — this cooks out the starchy taste and deactivates an enzyme in the yolks that would otherwise thin the cream later.

3. 3

   Finish and chill

   Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla. Push the cream through a fine-mesh sieve into a shallow bowl, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface so no skin forms, and refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight. It needs to be thoroughly cold before it meets the puffs.

4. 4

   Heat the oven

   Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 425°F (218°C). Line two heavy baking sheets with parchment. Choux rises on steam alone, so a fully preheated oven matters more here than in almost any other bake.

5. 5

   Boil the liquid and butter

   Combine the water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Let the butter melt completely before the liquid reaches a boil — if it boils first you lose water to steam and the ratio shifts. Bring it to a true rolling boil.

6. 6

   Add the flour and dry the paste

   Take the pan off the heat, dump in all the flour at once, and stir hard with a wooden spoon until no dry streaks remain. Put it back over medium heat and keep stirring and smearing the dough against the pan for 2 to 3 minutes. It should pull into a smooth ball, a thin film should coat the bottom of the pan, and it should smell faintly like toasted crackers. This step drives off moisture so the dough can absorb more egg.

7. 7

   Cool, then beat in the eggs

   Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and beat on low with a paddle (or stir by hand) for about 2 minutes to release steam. It should drop below 125°F — warm, but you can hold a finger in it. Add the beaten eggs in four additions, mixing until each one is fully absorbed before the next. The dough will look slippery and broken each time; it always comes back together.

8. 8

   Check the consistency

   Stop before the last addition and test: lift the paddle and the dough should hang in a thick, glossy V that slowly droops but doesn't run. If it's still stiff and clinging, add the rest of the egg a teaspoon at a time. Too-stiff dough bakes into dense little rocks; too-loose dough spreads into flat discs.

9. 9

   Pipe the puffs

   Scrape the dough into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip. Holding the bag straight up about half an inch above the sheet, pipe 18 mounds roughly 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 inch tall, spaced 2 inches apart. Dip a finger in water and press down any peaks — a sharp tip will scorch before the puff is done. Brush lightly with egg wash, letting none pool on the parchment.

10. 10

    Bake

    Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes without opening the door, then reduce to 350°F (177°C) and bake 20 to 25 minutes more, until the puffs are deep golden brown all over and feel light and hollow when lifted. Pale puffs collapse — underbaking is the single most common failure here, so trust the color over the clock.

11. 11

    Vent and cool

    Pierce the side of each puff with a paring knife or skewer to let trapped steam escape, then return them to the turned-off oven with the door propped open for 10 minutes to dry the interiors. Cool completely on a wire rack.

12. 12

    Lighten the filling and fill

    Whip the cold heavy cream to soft peaks. Whisk the chilled pastry cream smooth, then fold in the whipped cream in two additions. Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip, widen the hole you made in each puff, and pipe in filling until the puff feels heavy. Dust with powdered sugar and serve within a few hours, while the shells are still crisp.

13. You did it! Help us bring baking back home by selling your delicious baked goods on Homebaked!

Baker's Tips

• 1.

  Weigh the flour if you can. An over-scooped cup throws off the hydration more than any other variable in choux.

• 2.

  Beat the eggs together in a measuring cup first and add them gradually rather than one whole egg at a time. Eggs vary in size, and this gives you fine control over the final consistency.

• 3.

  Bake both trays separately on the center rack. Choux needs even, direct heat, and a tray on a lower rack will always come out squatter.

• 4.

  If your puffs deflate as they cool, they needed more oven time. Next round, add five minutes at 350°F and look for a deep walnut brown.

• 5.

  Unfilled shells can be refreshed in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes to bring back the crisp, which is handy if you baked them the day before.

• 6.

  For profiteroles, fill with ice cream instead and pour warm chocolate sauce over the top. Same shells, different dessert.

Equipment

• Medium heavy-bottomed saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer
• Two heavy rimmed baking sheets
• Parchment paper
• Piping bags with 1/2-inch round tip and small round filling tip
• Fine-mesh sieve
• Wire cooling rack
• Instant-read thermometer

Storage