Cream Puffs

I am basically a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants baker. I like to use a recipe, but I don't always check to see if I have all the ingredients. And if I don't have something, most likely i've already mixed up half the batter, so I tend to improvise a bit. Cakes, cupcakes, breads, muffins, I love making them all and they seem to be okay with my non-exact baking practices. I make a mean pie crust, but that is the extend of my pastry baking experience. I've always been a bit scared of pastries, because they seem more 'exact'. With that in mind, I decided to try making cream puffs!!!

I found a great recipe here, at Our Best Bites. There was also a tutorial, which was super helpful. I mixed up my batter and dropped teaspoons full on my cookie sheet. And the actually did puff up in the oven, amazing!! I also tried dropping the batter with a normal spoon and that worked too, and they were a bit bigger. I think I liked the bigger ones.


Now I had big plans to fill them with bavarian cream or chocolate mousse, but time ran out. So I made some fresh whipped cream (whipping cream + sugar + kitchenaid mixer = yummy!) to fill them up. I cut off the top of each puff.


I dug out the inside if there was too much dough and I added a big dollop of whipped cream.


Then topped it off again.


Now, it's time for embellishing!!!!! I found some leftover chocolate ganache in my fridge and went to town with that and some powdered sugar.


Oh, aren't they pretty!!!


I think in the end I liked the smaller ones the best. You could just pop one in your mouth and forget about the calories you just ate and then pop another one in your mouth. Repeat. Over and Over. I brought these to Christmas dinner and I think they were a hit! When I have more time, I definitely want to play with fillings. Imagine bavarian cream or mint chocolate mousse or espresso ganache or...or...so many ideas, so little time!!


Now i'm a little bit less afraid of pastries. Thanks for stopping by!!!