About this Recipe

Cream Puffs are one of my husband favorite’s pastries. We usually eat them at the Italian gathering made y the amazing Italian women but yesterday I wanted to try to make them and start my own traditions. They came out perfectly.

It’s not difficult to make cream puff but you need to follow the recipe, the steps and the tricks. This recipe doesn’t have sugar so they could be savory appetizer too. I highly suggest you to use a food scale I did the conversion too but I’m not sure it will be accurate enough. Don’t forget to add a sprinkle of love and to have fun. Before we start here few tips.

Mamma Marzia’s Tips:

• When you have to add the flour move the pot away from the heat.
• Before adding the eggs you must let the dough cool down otherwise your cream puff will taste like omelet.
• The eggs must add one at the time making sure that is fully incorporated before adding the next egg.
• The recipe asked for 4 eggs but I used 3 large. It all depends by how big are the eggs, the flour and the humidity. You need to pay full attention at the final consistency
•  The cream has to make a v shape when you fold it.
• Grease the baking pan before to cover it with parchment paper. This step is important, the cream puff need to be still while they are cooking.
• DO NOT open the oven while the cream puff are baking.

1. In a pot on medium heat, add the water, butter and salt mix and let the butter melt completely.

2. When it starts to boil and the butter is completely melted remove the pot from the heat and add the flour all at once and mix quickly with a wooden spoon.

3. Put the pot back to the heat and this time has to be low heat.

The dough need to get dry, mix constantly. It’s ready when it has a shape of a ball and has a white skin on the bottom of the pot.

4. Put the dough on wood board or clean counter and with the wooden spoon or spatula open it up constantly. This step it’s just to cool it down before adding the eggs.

5. When you touch the dough with your hand and it’s not hot anymore but cool you can start to add the eggs one at the time. You could do this in a Standard mixer or as I did, with wooden spoon.

6. Pour one egg in and mix vigorously. When it’s completely incorporated add the other egg.

7. When you are at the third egg check the consistency of the cream: if you are able to see a v shape when you fold it up and down do not add the fourth egg. Keep in mind that you need to put the cream in a pastry bag and you have to be able to shape the cream puff.

8. Put the cream in a pastry bag with large round nib (it should be the size of 5 cents Canadian or I used A1) and form mounds of pastry. The cream puff should be large like a 2 dollar coin Canadian.

9. Grease a baking pan and cover it with parchment paper. The parchment paper has to stick to the pan so the cream puff won’t move while they bake.

10. Wet your fingers with water and flat down the pointy parts on the top of the cream puff.

11. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes without open the oven. Do not open the oven. After 25 minutes you low the temperature to 380 F and cook for 5 minutes if necessary.

12. Take them out of the oven and let them cool a bit before filling them.