CREAM PUFFS

      I always wanted to make homemade cream puffs, because lets me honest those little balls filled with whipped cream are just so delicious. However, every single recipe I found required the cooking for the dough, and that just intimidated me so much. Well today on this very rainy day, I have overcome my fear of boiling dough and decided to give the cream puffs a try. The results are pretty delicious! To my surprise, this is probably the easiest dessert I have made! It would be a shame not to share this amazing recipes with all of you. I hope you enjoy it just as much as we did.
   

                                                                         CREAM PUFFS
Ingredients:

For the shells
1 cup of water
1 stick of unsalted butter
large pinch of kosher salt
2 Tbsp granulated sugar (I used raw cane sugar)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

For the cream
1 1/2 cups of heavy cream
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

1. Place water, butter, salt and sugar into a medium sauce pot over medium high heat. Stir until butter is melted and everything comes to a boil.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add all the flour at once into the boiling mix, while quickly stirring. Continue to stir and cook off the moisture in the dough until it pulls away from the walls of the pot. This should take about a minute.
3. Place dough into a bowl of stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
4. With mixer on medium-low speed, add eggs in one at a time. Do not add another egg until the one before has been completely absorbed into the batter. The batter will look smooth and glossy when ready.
5. Place batter into pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.
6. Preheat over to 425F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
7. Hold pastry bag over the baking sheet and squeeze over one area until you have about 2 inch round. You will have a little peak on each which can be smoothed out with a wet fingertip. Keep the mounds about 2 inches apart.
8. Place the baking sheet in the oven and turn up to 450F. Bake for 10 min (without opening the oven) then drop the heat to 350F and bake for another 13-15 minutes.
9. Fill cooled pastries with cream and dust with powdered sugar.

Cream:
1. Whip cream in stand mixer with whisk attachment.
2. Add sugar and vanilla and continue until soft to medium peaks form.
3. Fill pastry bag with the cream, and pipe into the bottom of the puffs until filled.

 I had a little helper, helping me clean the whisk attachment very well... he cleaned it spotless :)

 And of course I had another helper, helping me fill the puffs.

Enjoy! 

                                                                                                            love, Lesya