Sunday, January 2, 2011

Cream Puffs

I know it's pretty late in the day for me to be telling you, but it's National Cream Puff day!  Just when you think all the hub-bub of Christmas and New Years was over, here's another holiday to contend with.  But don't worry, we'll make it through together.  In fact, thanks to this book I was given the chance to review, Food Fest 365 by Yvan D. Lemoine


 ...we'll know what food is being celebrated each day of the year!  Some of the tasty days we've got look forward to are Nutella Day (Feb 6), Empanada Day (Apr 8), and Roast Suckling Pig Day (Dec 18).  This colorful book is filled with many enticing pictures, and has 365 recipes, celebrating a different food each day.  

Today being January 2, we're celebrating the Cream Puff.



This is my first foray into trying to make cream puffs, and the first batch I pulled out of the oven ended up looking like this...



Not sure what happened, but the second batch turned out a little puffier, with pockets of airiness in them. 

my lovely Christmas Silpat :)

 Instead of pulling the second batch straight out of the oven, I opened the oven door for a few minutes to give them a slower cool down time, maybe that helped them keep their shape a little better.  



I'll put the recipe for you here, but I'll tell you I cheated and didn't make the pastry cream out of the book.  I used something faster with instant pudding found here.

 Makes 1 dozen
1 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt
6 tablespoon butter
5 3/4 ounces all purpose flour (sifted)
4 large eggs and 1 egg white

Combine water, sugar, salt and butter in a pot and bring to boil.  When butter has melted, add sifted flour and stir with a wooden spoon until dough is form.  Cook on medium heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove pot from heat, pour dough into stand mixer and let it cool until lukewarm.  Mix on medium high, adding one egg at a time until you have a smooth mixture.  Pipe or spoon mixture onto greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes at 400.  Then lower temp to 325.

Glaze cream puffs with an egg wash, and return to oven until golden (about 10 minutes).  Remove from oven and leave out to cool (do not refrigerate).  Cut in half and fill with pastry cream.  


 And for your enjoyment/amusement, a little collage of our New Year's Eve eats.



Those Apricot Chicken wings were pretty dang good, in my opinion.  You can find the recipe here if you're interested.   

 

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cream puffs are my favorite! They sure are tricky to make, but looks like your second batch turned out great! Happy New Year!

teresa said...

what a fun book! i'm all about celebrating a different food every day of the week!

The Blonde Duck said...

There's always room for a holiday celebrating cream puffs. My personal favorite is national pie day.

Rita said...

Yum! Cream puffs are my favorite! I didn't know they had a special day.

Bo said...

I didn't know yesterday was cream puff day...I might have to try the cream filling made with the help of instant pudding.

scrambledhenfruit said...

So sorry I missed cream puff day! Your book looks like fun, even though it could get dangerous celebrating every day! Your cream puffs look yummy. :)

Karen said...

Cream puffs! I love them and have only made them once a long, long time ago. I'm putting these on my list of stuff to make! Happy New Year!

velva said...

Happy Cream Puff Day to you! I can see you have taken the opportunity to celebrate these tasty treats. I love cream puffs and would have joined you to eat them until they were all gone:-)

Happy New Year!

Velva

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

Nutella Day . . . I cannot wait!

Fondly,
Glenda

Krista said...

Perfectly lovely! The only time that I have ever made cream puffs was when I was teaching "home ec" and they were a required recipe. I'll have to try them again. I bet my kiddos would love em'!

For the record...you're no better than me...these totally do not inspire dieting! lol.

I'll work on my resolutions next week. I'm sick this week and I NEED comfort food. I did manage to pull my WW journal and ancient points finder out today...you know... for when I feel ready. ;-)

Monet said...

I missed cream puff day...but I think I should still be able to celebrate it tomorrow :-) I love cream puffs, and I'm going to pick one up from our local bakery. And then perhaps, I'll be brave and try to make some! Thank you for sharing with me. I hope you have a happy Tuesday!

Donna-FFW said...

Something Ive yet to tackle but want to try. Happy New year!

The JR said...

That's news to me, never heard of a national cream puff day.

They look good!

ann said...

I can't believe I missed cream Puff Day! Those look so good. I love cream puffs.

Susan at www.ugogrrl.com said...

Very Impressive - they look awesome!

Susan www.ugogrrl.com

Kim said...

I'm all for celebrating food every day. Sounds like a fun book! I've never tried my hand at making cream puffs before. They look delicious!

Happy New Year Julie!

Reeni said...

Your cream puffs look scrumptious! And I love the book! I look for any reason to celebrate food. Happy New Year - wishing you the best for 2011!

theUngourmet said...

Cream Puffs are downright dangerous! I thing the instant pudding is a grand idea. I've only had cream puffs from Costco. I'd love to try making them sometime.

Sara, Ms Adventures in Italy said...

Hi, I noticed you mentioned Nutella Day - it's actually February 5th (I'm the founder & co-host) - was it reported as Feb 6th in the book? I'd like to know so maybe I can drop her a note to correct future editions.

Hope you participate on Feb 5th! :) nutelladay.com

Chris said...

Love the cream puffs but I have to be honest and say the paper plates caught my eye because I have been using those same ones for the past month too, lol. Cute aren't they?

Val said...

I love cream puffs!!! They make me happy!

Monica H said...

What a fun book! I find it amusing/intriguing/ridiculous all at the same time! I'll have to check it out :-)

Your New Year's feast looks good to me. I always like finger foods on that day. Looks better than what I had (actually not bad, just made me sick!)