Cream Puffs

Ingredients

12 servings

• 80 g butter
• 125 g flour
• 0.25 l water
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 0.5 l milk
• 1 sachet vanilla sugar
• 100 g sugar
• 2 egg yolks + 1 whole egg
• 50 g flour
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon amaretto (optional)

Steps

1. 1

   Prepare the dough: preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6/7).

2. 2

   Heat the butter, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. As soon as everything has melted, pour in all the flour at once and mix well with a wooden spoon until the dough no longer sticks to the spoon or the pan.

3. 3

   Off the heat, add the eggs one by one, mixing well after each addition until smooth.

4. 4

   Grease a baking sheet, then arrange the dough in small mounds (18 for small puffs, 12 for large ones). Use a piping bag for this, or simply two spoons.

5. 5

   Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. A quick tip to check if they are done: the puffs should resist when pressed with a finger (or a spoon, if you are afraid of burning yourself!).

6. 6

   Prepare the pastry cream: heat the milk, salt, and vanilla sugar in a saucepan.

7. 7

   While the milk is heating, beat the sugar and eggs in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until the mixture turns pale. Incorporate the flour, then gradually add the boiling milk.

8. 8

   Pour back into the saucepan (over low heat) and stir until the cream thickens. Pour into a dish.

9. 9

   Once the cream has cooled, you can add a tablespoon of Amaretto or another liqueur (Irish cream liqueur, marula liqueur...). Mix well after adding. Note: Do not add anything while the cream is hot!

10. 10

    The final touch: assembling the puffs. Fill a piping bag with the cream and fill the puffs one by one by making a hole underneath (haven't you ever noticed the holes under the cream puffs in bakeries?). If you don't have a piping bag, cut each puff in half to insert the cream.