A few months ago I got to do all the food for a fun white pink and GOLD shimmering New Years shoot with my talented sister Chelsea Peterson Photography! I planned to share it all with you the week after Christmas, BUT my dad got sick and I spent a few weeks in a hospital with him instead. SO just BARELY in time for VALENTINES I have some pretty pink and gold desserts for you (links will show up below as I add the posts)!
And of course Cream Puff’s are PERFECT for a video tutorial! It’s the best way to see the pate a choux dough texture that you want. This video is both Cream Puffs and Eclairs – both made with the same dough (and chocolate pastry cream for the eclairs!)
The ones in the video are much smaller than the ones I made for this photoshoot. You can see how easy it is to personalize them! size, shape, etc.. On the Food Network Halloween Baking Championship doughnut episode Audrey used a pate a choux for her “intestine crullers” and in the last challenge I did – when I get sent home – Scott used a pate a choux to make his “zombie head” base! And of course a Croquembouche (I promise I’ll make one soon)
Ingredients
Pate a Choux - Cream Puffs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup butter
- pinch salt
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 lrg eggs you may need an extra one
Stabilized Raspberry Whipped Cream
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
- 2 Tbsp cold water
- 2 C heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 C granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 C raspberries
Instructions
pate a choux - Cream Puffs
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In medium saucepan, combine milk, water, butter, sugar and pinch of salt.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat
- Add the flour all at once. Stir until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Remove from heat and let cool for three minutes.
- pour into a mixer add while mixing on low add egg one at a time. Thoroughly mix between each addition. You may use more or less, your looking for a smooth glossy dough that when you plop some off the spatula it will leave a nice thin, smooth peak
- Use a large round tip pipe rounds onto parchment-covered baking sheets.
- any size - squeeze, fill in (don't move the piping bag in circles), stop squeezing and circle off to try to avoid points
- carefully brush with water or an egg wash to remove imperfections (water will eave the cream puffs normal looking, beaten egg will leave it glossy)
- Bake in 425 degree oven for ten minutes.
- Decrease heat to 350 degrees. Do not open the oven door. Bake for thirty minutes (depending on size check at 10 and 20).
- In the last 5 mins of baking pierce with a skewer or chopstick to allow steam to escape and dry the inside.
- Let cool.
Stabilized Raspberry Whipped Cream
- stir the gelatin into the cold water and let bloom 5 mins
- puree the raspberries and strain to get the seeds out
- stir in the whipping cream and beat with a mixer
- as it starts to thicken slowly add the sugar, then the vanilla
- Microwave the gelatin until melted, about 15 seconds
- set aside and let cool slightly
- Keep whipping the cream until it reaches soft peaks
- While beating slowly pour the gelatin into the cream
- Beat until you get stiff peaks (don't over beat)
Assembly
- Cut open the cream puffs
- With a large closed star tip pip the stabilized whipped cream into each bottom
- Place tops back on
- sprinkle with powdered sugar
Video
Nutrition
SO easier than you thought they could be, huh? And you can make so many different flavors of fillings! I will say this raspberry whipped cream was DIVINE! seriously I could just eat an entire batch of just the whipped cream myself! What would be your favorite flavor?
Pink and Gold Party
- Pistachio Dessert Lasagna Recipe - April 18, 2020
- Homemade White Bread Recipe - April 17, 2020
- Easter Egg Pinata Cake with Chocolate Nest – recipe and video - April 8, 2020
Trish
Loved your video. I’ve made these years ago, but want to try again. Do you think I could make smaller (one bite) cream puffs and fill them with stabilized vanilla cream, by sticking a hole in it (rather than slicing it open) the same way you did the eclairs?
I want to serve them with raspberry purée dipping sauce…
Diane
Do you have a recipe, (Knowing you I’m sure you do) for old bakery cream horns. I use puff pastry for the shell. The filling was so good. If you have a filling recipe that would be great. Also I would like for you to make some old time bakery recipes. By the way love love your website. Thank you
Ashlee
some bakeries use stabilized whipped cream, some use pastry cream (my vanilla pastry cream recipe is in this post), I’ve read that some people use a marshmallow creme frosting (beat butter, marshmallow cream and powdered sugar) and some mix the pastry cream and stabilized whipped cream – it kinda depends on the history of the bakery – I’d probably lean towards the pastry cream/stabilized whipped cream blend – which makes more of a mousse – but you can change the ratio too fit what your your looking for
Sally
Loved your video! I’ve done a lot of baking but have never tried cream puffs or eclairs. Your video has encouraged me to give it a try for Super Bowl party I’m invited to. I do have a question though can you use canned pie filling in the eclairs in place of making the pastry cream? I’ll be short on time and wondered if that would work? I like to make things from scratch usually and prefer natural versus canned or processed but I do use shortcuts from time to time. Thanks!
Ashlee Marie
I’d recommend going with a pudding vs pie filling. Maybe even half pudding half whipped cream for a lighter filling.
Kim
Can you make the cream puff a few days a head of time and just not fill them and if so how do you keep them fresh. Can I freeze them
Ashlee Marie
a day ahead maybe, I’d be careful not to get too far head, and keep them fresh in sealed bags.