Cream Puffs w/ Vanilla Bean Crème Diplomat
These cream puffs may be petite but they are still absolutely delicious, nonetheless! These perfectly little puffed pastries are filled with a silky Vanilla Bean Crème Diplomat, which is pastry cream that is lightened with whipped cream, and are topped with an easy chocolate glaze!
Ingredients
Cream Puffs
- 1/2 cup Whole Milk
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 cup (120g) Flour
- 4-5 Large Eggs
- 1 Large Egg, for egg wash
- 1-2 tsp Water, for egg wash
Vanilla Bean Crème Diplomat
- 2 cups Milk, preferably Whole Milk
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 1 Whole Large Egg
- 2 Egg Yolks
- ¼ cup Cornstarch
- 1/3 cup Sugar
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (or Vanilla Extract)
- Pinch of Salt
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
Chocolate Glaze
- 135 g Semi-Sweet Chocolate, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 3 tsp Light Corn Syrup
Instructions
Cream Puffs
- Preheat oven to 475°F. Prepare 2 baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Also prepare a pastry bag by adding a plain ½” tip.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add milk, water, butter, 1 tbsp sugar, and salt, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add flour in the pot, all at once, and begin to stir very quickly. A ball of dough should form relatively quickly. Continue cooking, stirring vigorously, until a dry film begins to form on the bottom and sides of the saucepan. Remove from heat.
- Place dough into a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat for about 30 seconds to a minute, to cool the dough down. Add one egg and beat until completely incorportated (the dough should look dry again). Continue adding eggs one at a time, ensuring that each is completely incorporated before adding the next, scraping at the sides of the bowl occasionally. After the 4th egg, place remove paddle from mechanism and place deep into the batter, if the batter forms a nice “V” shape off the paddle, it is ready. If the batter still looks thick and does not form a nice “V” then add another egg. Dough should be thick and sticky, but also shiny and smooth.
- Add dough to the piping bag, and pipe directly onto parchment lined baking sheets. Pipe about nine 2” rounds per baking sheet (about 18 total). If your piped rounds have peaks, dip your finger into water and press down to flatten the peaks.
- (Optional) For cream puffs that are more “perfect” in shape, freeze the cream puffs for 1 hour.
- Add an egg and water to a bowl and whisk together to form an egg wash. Using a pastry brush, brush over the piped rounds. Place into the 475°F oven, for exactly 1 minute then immediately turn the oven off. After 9 minutes, turn the oven back on to 350°F, and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Rotate pans and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cream puffs are puffed and golden (~ 30 minutes total baking time). To ensure the cream puffs are finished, remove one of the oven and check if it deflates within 45 seconds – if it deflates they are not finished.
- When done, turn the oven off, and crack the oven 1/3 way open. Allow cream puffs to cool for 30-45 minutes in the cracked oven. Then, remove from oven and allow to cool completely before filling.
Vanilla Bean Crème Diplomat
- In a large sized bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and whole egg. Add in the 1/3 cup sugar and the cornstarch, and whisk well to combine. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring milk and ¼ cup sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once it begins to boil, remove it from the heat, and very slowly drizzle the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture, stirring vigorously while drizzling. Once all of the hot milk mixture has been added, pour the entire mixture back into the sauce pan and place back onto medium-low heat.
- Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, until the mixture has thickened and resembles the thickness of pudding. Add in the butter and vanilla, and place into a heatproof bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the surface of the custard, so a skin does not form, and place into the fridge to cool completely.
- In a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, add heavy cream. On medium-high speed, beat the cream until stiff peaks have formed. Add the whipped cream to the cooled custard, and fold together using a spatula, until completely incorporated.
- Using a serrate knife, cut off the top of each cream puff. Using a spoon or a piping bag, fill each cream puff with the crème diplomat.
Chocolate Glaze
- Add chopped chocolate to a microwave proof bowl and place in microwave for about 1-2 minutes, or until melted (check at 1 minute, stir, and return to microwave if needed).
- Once the chocolate has completely melted, add the butter and corn syrup and stir together until the butter has melted and everything is well combined.
- Glaze each cream puff top with the chocolate glaze, place back onto the filled cream puffs, then allow the glaze to set for 10-15 minutes before eating.