Cream Puff

Sometimes I wonder what is the difference between Cream Puff and Profiterole as they are hollow rounds of choux pastry with sweet fillings and looked almost “identical”.

Excerpts of below from Joy of Baking  :-

Cream Puff  (here)  - The hollow round of choux pastry is split in half, filled with loads of sweet whipped cream, and then dusted with a thick coating of powdered sugar

Sweet Profiteroles (here)  (pronounced pruh-FIHT-uh-rohl) are small, crisp, hollow rounds of choux pastry that are split in half and filled with sweet whipped cream, ice cream, or pastry cream. The classic version arranges the profiteroles in a pyramid shape with warm chocolate sauce poured over the top.

So, am I still confused ? ! ... hee ... hee..

As shared in the recipe from Joy of Baking :
“The pastry is first baked at a high temperature and then the oven temperature is lowered. The high temperature is needed so the dough will rise quickly (leaving a hollow center) and to set the structure of the shells. The temperature is then reduced to allow the outsides of the shells to become firm and crisp, while at the same time allowing the insides of the shells to dry out.”

Well, the last time I've made some Cream Puffs was almost 2 years ago. It was a failure as the pastry did not puff up nicely (rather flat) and the insides of the shells did not dry out completely.  Perhaps I did not bake them at a high temperature and to lower the temperature per instructions given as I was afraid that they might be burnt in high temperature ....

Here, making my attempt again using the recipe and baking methods adapted from Joy of Baking Cream Puff

Slight modifications to the quantity of the ingredients and my notes in blue below :-

Cream Puff
Makes 12 cream puffs (I yielded 10 cream puffs instead)

Choux Pastry:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (65 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) (57 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten (Note: The eggs that I used is 60g each with shell)

Glaze:
1 large egg (beaten)

Whipped Cream:
1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream (double cream) (35-40% butterfat) (I used whipping cream)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated white sugar, or to taste (I used 1 tablespoon caster sugar)

Method :
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly butter or spray the pan with a non stick vegetable spray.

Sift all the dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, sugar and salt. Whisk together.

Place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. (Make sure that the butter melts before the water boils to reduce the amount of evaporation.) Remove from heat. Stir with a wooden spoon and add all the flour mixture and stir until combined.

Return saucepan to the heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball (about 1-2 minutes).

Transfer the dough to your electric mixer, or use a hand mixer, and beat on low speed to release the steam from the dough (about a minute). Once the dough is lukewarm, start adding the lightly beaten eggs (dough will separate and then come together) and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste (dough will fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon).

Spoon or pipe 12 small mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
(I used a spoon)

With a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the dough with a lightly beaten egg.

Bake for 15 minutes 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Continue to bake for a further 30 to 35 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are almost dry inside. Turn the oven off, poke a couple of holes in each puff and, with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells completely cool (and dry out).
I used a toothpick to poke a few holes in each puff.

To make the Whipped Cream:
In a large mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and stir to combine. Cover and chill the bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. When chilled, whip the cream just until stiff peaks form.
I usually freeze the cleaned mixing bowl for about 10 minutes.  Take it out from the freezer, immediately put all together the cold whip cream and caster sugar in the cold mixing bowl. Use the electronic mixer to whisk till stiff peaks form.

To Assemble: Split the pastry shells in half and fill (or pipe) with whipped cream. Place the top half of the pastry shell on the whipped cream and dust with powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar. Leftover Cream Puffs can be stored in the refrigerator.

I was screaming !
Yes ! the pastry is nicely puffed,
Yes ! the crust is crisp and the insides is completely dry.
Hee .. hee .. can't wait to "slap" them with some whipped cream ... sorry I'm too 'kan cheong' (excited) ... I can't wait to fill them with the cold whipped cream.

Ta da ! These cream puffs look "gigantic" tall ... hee.. hee! Yummy ... enjoying our weekend afternoon break with some delicious cream puffs.  Keeping a few for our dessert too ^-^! ♡ these so much (^○^)

Happy baking ^-^ !

♡♡☆♡♡☆♡♡☆♡♡

 

Linking this post to Little Thumbs Up Event : June 2015 Theme Cream

Organized by 

Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen from my little favourite DIY

 and hosted by Diana from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe