Cream Puffs Filled With Vanilla Custard

Easter time is a big celebration in Germany. Almost as big as Christmas. I remember setting up the Easter tree arrangement with my mom with the coloured eggs I made with my parents and afterwards, she would bake me some cream puffs filled with vanilla custard. My mom was never in the kitchen, why should she ? She was married to a Gourmet Chef who loves to cook for us. Every now and then, she would bake for me. Those were really special times for me, as my mom's very first job ever as a teenager was in a bakery in Jakarta, Indonesia. She grew up there but my grandparents are from Shanghai, China, who immigrated to Jakarta when the war broke out. My mom has a hand written bakery recipe book and to my sadness, it is all in Indonesian. I love to bake something out of it one day, but I don't think I can't unless I will get the whole book translated. So pity, isn't it ?

Tonight, I am cooking an Easter Dinner at my Nai Nai's place. I have been thinking of a menu for quite some time now, it's not always so easy. I am going to roast some Lemon Chickens with fingerling potatoes, a German Dill Cucumber Salad + a mixed Spring Chef Salad and I will finish this special dinner off with some cream puffs filled with Vanilla Custard.

Cream Puffs filled with Vanilla Custard, adapted by Martha Stewart

For the Pate a Choux (Puffs):
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1 large egg white

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside. Combine butter, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan, and place over medium heat. Cook until butter is melted and the water just comes to a boil.

Step 2:

Remove from heat, add flour, and stir rapidly. Return the pan to the heat, and cook mixture, stirring constantly, until it comes together and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat, and let cool for 5 minutes.

Step 3:

Add eggs one at a time, beating until they are completely incorporated and the pastry is smooth. Transfer the pastry to a bag fitted with a small coupler. Pipe about 1/2 tablespoon of the pastry into a mound on the prepared baking sheet; continue piping until all the pastry is used, spacing pastry about 1 1/2 inches apart. Combine egg white with remaining 1 tablespoon of water, and brush the top of each mound with the egg wash. Bake until the puffs are golden brown all over, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

For the Vanilla Custard:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
Pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Step 1:

Bring milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Step 2:

Whisk egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Whisking, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of hot milk mixture into yolk mixture. Slowly add remaining milk mixture until incorporated. Pour mixture back into the saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking, until it begins to bubble in center and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; discard vanilla bean.

Step 3:

Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add butter; beat on medium speed until butter has melted and mixture has cooled, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, beat on low speed or whisk by hand until smooth.

Enjoy !