This week’s themes at iHeartFaces is “My Story in Photos: Dessert Recipe Edition.” A dear friend had a small birthday party today, and I made cream puffs for dessert—the perfect opportunity for an iHeartFaces dessert photo story.
Cream Puffs
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
3 cups whipped cream, pudding, or ice cream (whipped cream recipe below this recipe, with separate photos)
Powdered sugar (optional—dang! I forgot the powdered sugar today!)
- In a medium saucepan combine water, butter, and salt. Bring to boiling (see photo 1). Add flour all at at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball (see photo 2). Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition (see photo 3).
- Drop 12 heaping tablespoons of dough onto a greased baking sheet (see photo 4). Bake in a 400° oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. Transfer cream puffs to a wire rack; cool (see photo 5).
- Cut top 1/3 from puffs; remove soft dough from inside (see photo 6). Fill with whipped cream (see photo 7). Replace tops (see photos 8 & 9). If desired, sift powdered sugar over tops.
Photo 4 (tip: mounding the dough higher works better than flat and wide):
Photo 6 (tip: the insides will be mostly hollow; remove soft dough with a fork):
Whipped Cream
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Chill a medium mixing bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer.
- In chilled bowl, beat whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (see photos 10 & 11).
I made 2 batches of whipped cream, since this recipe only makes 2 cups and the cream puffs needed 3. The 2nd batch was chocolate, prepared as above, but with an additional 1 tablespoon sugar plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.
If you do the math, you will see that there were 4 cups of whipped cream and the recipe called for 3. I did what any smart chef would do and ate the rest. 🙂
The cream puffs will get soggy if you put them together too far in advance of eating; two hours or less is best. I transported ours to the party in this nifty container that I found at BJ’s Wholesale Club recently. Ice goes in the bottom to keep them chilled.
Enjoy!
{This is not my personal recipe. It is out of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, which if you’re lucky just might be sitting on your shelf.}
Oh my! I’m adding this my tumblr so I’ll remember to try it. Yummers.
.-= Ruthanne´s last blog ..Eclectic Whatnot =-.