Cream Puffs

My french relatives Celine and Perrine taught me how to make chouquettes! ( which are basically creamless cream puffs covered in sugar). My Auntie Annie taught me a creme patissiere recipe so between the two I have delicious cream puffs!

Cream (Creme Patisserie)
4 yolks
35 centiliter milk
80g sugar
30g cornstarch
pinch vanilla extract

1. add sugar to the yolks and beat until lighter (color of mayonaise and it thickens)
2. add cornstarch and mix well
3. add boiled milk slowly while mixing constantly or your eggs will scramble (looks foamy now)
4. place onto stove med heat (can start on high and then bring heat down) until thicker and bubbles disappear

if it's too liquidy you can add a bit more cornstarch mixed with milk (not straight) to thicken it more 
        The most recent time I made it my pot got pretty hot and it seem to set in lumps all over the place. I beat it with my hand mixer and it got smooth and thick like it should be. I might take out a little of the cornstarch next time or start on med heat and go to low with my pot. This was not an issue while I was in France and sometimes we had to add a little cornstrach.
5. Let cool before filling.

Chouquettes
makes about 2 dozen

160g Flour
4 eggs
80g butter
240g water
pinch of salt
sugar cubes (crush them for topping because they don't sell it this way in the US)(optional)

0. Set oven to 180 deg C (that's 350 F)
1.Measure out water and butter. 
2.Boil the water and then add the butter until melted.
3. Take the pot off the heat, add all the flour and stir vigorously.
4. Place pot back onto med heat and stir until the dough no longer sticks to the pot and makes a ball, basically it comes away from the sides kinda and sticks to itself, then take off heat.

5. Beat the eggs
6. add eggs little by little until lifting the spatula makes a soft peak (at first it will be too sticky with itself and stick straight up and not follow the spatula much)

7. Place dough into piping bags
8. pipe onto a baking sheet on parchment paper in shapes as you like
smaller for plain and larger if you want to fill them
9. Add the sugar bits now or they will not stick 


10. push the tips/peaks down or they will burn (use a wet finger and press them down)
11. bake until golden brown , if you open the oven during then they will not rise
12. little ones may be about 15 minutes (10-20 minutes bake time avg) taking them out is based on color
larger is about 25 minutes give or take

13. you can fill with cream via piping bag if you stick it up the choux butt (but I like a heavy cream to puff ratio so I cut them almost in half and fill with a spoon, less pretty)