Recipe: Cream Puffs with Mocha Pudding Filling

My mom owned a cookie press thingy for as long as I can remember. Not too long ago, she gave it to me. It came with a bunch of different tips for both cookie shapes and for forming pastry or meringue. Some of the cookie tips can be used for cake decorating with frosting. It's like a pastry bag, really, except that it's an aluminum cannister with a top that screws down to press out the batter or dough.

I've always wanted to try making cream puffs or eclairs, and today wasn't too hot or humid, so I gave it a whirl.

Basic Cream Puff Dough

Yield: about 20 smallish cream puffs
Time: 20 minutes prep; 15 minutes at 450F, and 20 more at 325F

Ingredients:

• 1 c. boiling water
• 1/4 lb. (1 stick) of butter
• 1 c. flour
• 4 eggs
• pinch of salt

Method:

1. melt the butter into the boiling water
2. stir in the flour, a little at a time, until it pulls away from the sides of the pot
3. let it cool
4. mix in the eggs, one at a time, thoroughly incorporating each, and mix in the pinch of salt
5. form the cream puffs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat
6. bake at 450F for 15 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350F and continue to bake another 20 minutes
7. Let them cool
8. slice a slit in the side, and fill them
   

Mocha Pudding Filling

Yield: 8 servings as pudding, or enough to fill the 18-20 cream puffs.
Time: 15 minutes prep; 30-35 minutes at 350F (in a bain marie) or on the stovetop (in a double boiler)

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. strong coffee, at room temperature
• 1 Tbs. melted butter
• 1-1/2 c. flour
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 4-1/2 Tbs. cocoa powder
• 1-1/2 Tbs. of vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  
• a little milk to thin it out at the very end

Method:

1. whisk the egg until light and fluffy
2. slowly whisk in the sugar
3. stir in the coffee
4. stir together the cocoa powder and oil (or melt 1-1/2 squares of baker's chocolate -- 1.5 oz), and stir it into the wet ingredients
5. sift together the dry ingredients
6. whisk the dry ingredients to the wet ones, a little at a time, so the flour doesn't clump
7. stir in the vanilla
8. pour into a baking/casserole dish and bake in a bain marie at 350F for half an hour; alternatively, let it cook in a double boiler on the stovetop on low for half an hour until it thickens
9. let it cool
10. for plain old pudding, stop; for filling the cream puffs, you may need to thin the pudding with a little milk to get the right consistency for piping or spooning into the pastry
11. optional: dip the tops of the cream puffs in chocolate ganache, or spoon on a little whipped cream
    

Notes: For a lighter filling, fold some whipped cream into the pudding. My cream puffs came out about 3" across, and not really as puffy high as I expected, but they had a nice hole in the center for the filling. Maybe it was more hot and humid than I thought, although it didn't seem too bad today. Maybe I should have chilled the dough a little before I piped it onto the parchment paper. Still, for a first attempt, I could have done a lot worse. As you can see, I didn't bother with anything on top of them.