CREAM PUFFS (ORANGE VANILLA & PISTACHIO)

INTRODUCTION:  MYSTERY BAKING CHALLENGE 2018 # 2

My second Mystery Technical Baking Challenge of 2018 proved to be a delicious one, Cream Puffs!  Since I am such a huge fan of Pistachio in general,  I thought I would try and make a pistachio cream to fill my cream puffs; I was very much surprised at how nicely they turned out!  

I drew my inspiration from the one and only Martha Stewart, check out her recipe below which has a helpful video.  Link Below.  

YIELD
The recipe below will yield about 28 slightly larger than bite size cream puffs.   Each of the cream recipes below will fill about 14 cream puffs, so if you want to fill all the cream puffs with one cream, then double the recipe.  

INGREDIENTS 
CREAM PUFF PASTRY / DOUGH

• 1/2 Cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Pieces
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Sugar 
• 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Water
• 5 Large Eggs

ORANGE VANILLA CREAM

• 1 Cup Whole Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Freshly Grated Orange Zest
• 1/4 Cup Plus 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Large Egg Yolks
• 3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour

PISTACHIO CREAM

• 1 Cup Whole Milk
• ~50 Dry Roasted Pistachios, (de-shelled and slap chopped into a relatively fine powder)
• 1/4 Cup Plus 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 2 Large Egg Yolks
• 3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Drops of Green Food Coloring
  

DIRECTIONS

PREPARE TO BAKE

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
   

MAKE THE DOUGH

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water. Bring the contents of the pot to boil and then quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until a film forms on the bottom of the pan, about 2 - 3 minutes.
   
2. When the dough is done cooking, remove it from the heat and transfer the dough to a bowl to cool down a little for about 3 minutes. Once the dough has cooled off a little, add 4 eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to entirely incorporate each egg after each addition.

FORM AND BAKE THE CREAM PUFFS

1. Transfer the pastry dough to a large pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip. Pipe 1.5 inch rounds onto each prepared pan; I piped in a spiral pattern, and completed about 3 spirals for each cream puff.  If any "peaks" form in the dough, place your finger in a cup of water and gently pat down each peak to ensure that the cream puffs rise evenly.
   
2. Mix 1 egg and 1 Tablespoon water together to make an egg wash and brush the tops of each cream puff with it. 
   
3. Place the trays of cream puffs in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the puffs are golden brown. The puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day, or kept in the refrigerator for 2 -3 days.  
   
4. Each pastry will have a flat bottom that you can poke and fill with cream.  See the directions below to see how to make the cream!

FLAVOR THE CREAM  

1. First we are going to infuse our milk with the flavors from the orange zest or the pistachios.  Bring the milk, vanilla extract, and orange zest (or pistachios) to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat. Cover the pan and let the mixture steep for about 20 minutes. 
   
2. After 20 minutes, strain your mixture to remove any large pieces of orange zest / pistachio.  Return the strained mixture back into the pot.  
   

THICKEN UP THE CREAM

1. Now we are going to make our "thickening" mixture:  Place the egg yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer). Beat the ingredients on high speed until they are pale (almost white) and fluffy, or for about 2 minutes; then add the flour and mix until everything is incorporated.
   
2. With the mixer on low speed, add about 1/2 cup of your steeped / flavored milk to the mixing bowl and mix; the mixture should become liquid / "soupy" like.
   
3. Pour the contents of the flavored milk and egg yolk mixture from the mixing bowl back into the sauce pan; whisk to combine.
   
4. Heat the cream over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and becomes about as thick as mashed potatoes, about 4 minutes. Once thick enough, remove the cream and put it into an ice-water bath  (fill the sink with a little bit of cold water and put a bowl in it, put the cream in that bowl to make a makeshift ice bath) or put it in the refrigerator to cool it down.

FILL THE CREAM PUFFS

1. Once the cream is cool, put it into a pastry bag with a ~ 1/4 inch tip.  Pipe the cream into the bottom of each cream puff.  You'll feel the cream puff "inflate" and will notice cream come out the bottom once it is full.  

   



ENJOY!  The cream puffs are likely best enjoyed fresh, but they can last for 2 -3 days if you store them in the fridge.  

https://www.marthastewart.com/1113097/classic-cream-puffs 

https://www.marthastewart.com/1155053/orange-vanilla-pastry-cream