National Pastry Day: Cream puff recipe from The Statler

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Planning to make homemade pastries for your holiday gatherings? Try this cream puff recipe from The Statler.

Cream puffs

Ingredients: 

Butter 8 oz

Milk 1 pt

Salt & sugar pinch of each

Flour 10.5 oz.

Eggs 1 pt.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt and bring to a boil. Add the flour and stir it in with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms; stir over low heat until it dries out and pulls away from the pan, about 2 minutes.

2. Scrape the dough into a bowl; let cool for 1 minute. Beat the eggs into the dough, 1 at a time, beating thoroughly between each one.

3. Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip and pipe tablespoon-size mounds onto the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve hot, or let cool and refrigerate or freeze.

French Vanilla Filling

Milk 2 cups

Sugar 1/2 cup

Egg 1 whole egg+3 egg yolks

corn starch 2 1/2 tbsp

Salt 1/4 tsp

Vanilla bean paste 1 tsp

Butter 3 tbsp/45 g

Method

1. Warm the milk in the saucepan until you start to see wisps of steam. Do not let it come to a boil.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, egg, vanilla bean paste and salt. This will form a thick paste.

3. Pour a little of the hot milk into the eggs and whisk to combine. Continue pouring the milk slowly into the eggs, whisking continuously.

4. When all the milk has been added to the eggs, return everything back into the saucepan.

5. Place the pan back over medium heat. Whisk constantly. At first, the filling will look very thin, but it will start to thicken after a few minutes. When it has thickened to a pudding-like consistency, pause whisking every few seconds to see if the cream has come to a boil. If you see large bubbles popping on the surface, whisk for a few more seconds and then remove the pan from heat.

6. Add butter into the custard while it’s still warm and whisk together until it is fully incorporated.

7. Once cooled, cover the filling with a piece of plastic wrap pressed right up against the surface of the cream and chill completely.

8. When you are ready to fill your cream puffs, place in a pipping bag with a tip. Push the tip into the pastry and lightly squeeze until filled with the appropriate amount of filling,