Pink Cream Puffs filled with a rich vanilla pastry cream. So cute and delicious you’ll want to keep them all to yourself.
Course Dessert
Cuisine French
Total Time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Servings 14
Calories 140kcal
Author Tracy
Ingredients
Pastry Cream
1cupmilkany percentage
1/2cupheavy cream
1/2cup(100g) granulated sugar
2tablespoonscornstarch
1/4teaspoonsalt
4large egg yolks
1teaspoonvanilla extract
Pate A Choux
1/2cupwater
1/4cup(2oz) unsalted butterdiced
1teaspoonsugar
1/4teaspoonsalt
1/2cup(60g) all-purpose flour
2to 3 drops red food coloring
2large eggs
Egg Wash
1large egg
1tablespoonwater
Instructions
Pastry Cream
In a medium saucepan, heat milk and cream until just before simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and egg yolks. SLOWLY drizzle in hot cream mixture, whisking constantly so you don't scramble your eggs.
Continue whisking and pouring until all of the liquid is incorporated. You can speed up the pouring as you go and the temperature of your eggs is brought up.
Transfer egg mixture back to your saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue to cook until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 3 to 6 minutes. It's ready when it is the consistency of a thick pudding. Whisk vigorously until smooth, remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
Place your strainer over a medium bowl and strain pastry cream, using your whisk to push the mixture through.
Place a piece of plastic wrap directly over the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming and place in the refrigerator to chill completely, at least an hour.
Pate a Choux
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Have your flour measured out and ready to go. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. As soon as the butter is melted and the mixture reaches a boil, stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Stir until flour is incorporated and the mixture pulls away from the sides and forms a thin film over the bottom of the pan.
Transfer dough to a large bowl and allow to cool for about 4 minutes, until no longer hot to the touch. Add 2 to 3 drops of red food coloring and your first egg. Use your wooden spoon to work the egg and coloring into the dough until completely mixed. It will seem slow going at first, but it will come together. Repeat with the second egg.
Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch tip. Pipe 14 1 1/2-inch mounds at least 1 inch apart. Once finished, use a little water on your fingertip to pat down any tips that are sticking up from piping so you have smooth rounds (otherwise the tips sticking up will burn).
In a small bowl whisk together egg and water and brush gently over the pate a choux.
Bake for 25 minutes. Do not open the oven. At 25 minutes, check the puffs. They should be lightly browned. If not, cook for an additional 2 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before filling.
Filling the Puffs
Use a chop stick or small, sharp knife to poke a small hole in the bottom of each cream puff. Transfer your cooled pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a 1/8-inch round tip (if the cream has firmed up too much in the fridge, you can whisk it for about 30 seconds until it is smooth and the right consistency for piping.
Fill each of the cream puffs with a generous amount of pastry cream. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Cream puffs are best on the first day, but can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.