Old School Cream Puffs

This cream puff does brings back fond memories of my childhood. We used to enjoy these from Chin Mee Chin Confectionery, one of the very few old school coffee shops left. Cream puffs, egg tarts, pineapple tarts and their onion buns were ever so popular then. They are freshly baked every morning and if you don’t go early enough, they will be sold out. And my mum will always ensure she gets there early to bring home a box of these for our breakfast or tea. Yup, that was how she expresses her love for us….through these yummy fresh puffs!

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Old School Cream Puffs

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 20 mini pcs

Ingredients

Choux Pastry

• 113.5 g Unsalted Butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 4 small Eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Creme Patissiere

• 1 cup Milk
• 2 nos Egg Yolks
• 1/4 cup Castor Sugar I use maple syrup
• 1 drop Vanilla Extract
• 2 tbsp Cornflour
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1/2 tsp Unsalted Butter For additional shine and firmness

Instructions

Choux Pastry Method

1. Put butter and and water into a saucepan on low heat. Turn off the heat once butter has melted.
2. Add in the flour and salt. Stir quickly until a dough is formed and does not stick to the saucepan. Let cook for about 1-2 minutes to dry up the water a little bit.
3. Transfer the dough to a different container and leave to cool for about 10 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time using an electronic mixer (low speed) until the mixture is well combined and sticky.
4. Using a plastic bag with one of the corners cut off (cut into a small opening), scoop the dough into the plastic bag and push it to the part where the corner is snipped off. You can also use a piping bag.
5. Squeeze and pipe the dough onto a greased baking sheet. When pipping the dough, use a clock-wise motion to form a small coil shape. Leave enough room in between each pastry.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 220 degree C for about 10 minute, or until they turn golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm.

Cook's Notes:

1. Some eggs are bigger (or more "watery") than the others. Use small eggs or just barely 1 cup of eggs if you can’t decide on the size of the eggs.
2. In warmer countries, the pastry dough might be too "runny" and hard to form a shape when you're ready to bake the choux pastry. Chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes before piping them for baking
3. You can use aluminum foil for baking but not ideal as the bottom will be burned. I ran out of baking sheet hence I used aluminum foil.
4. Creme Patissiere Method
5. Add yolks, 1/4 cup milk, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, corn starch in a bowl.
6. Bring the remaining 3/4 cup milk to a scald in a saucepan. Pour the hot milk in small stream into the egg mixture, whisking consistently with a balloon whisk as you pour. Once incorporated, pour everything back into the saucepan.
7. Whisk the mixture over over medium heat until it thickens and firm up. Remove the heat and whisk in butter.
8. Once it reaches room temperature, scoop the creme into a piping bag or container. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Experiment with other flavours

1. You may try other flavours such as fruit puree, instant coffee granules, rum or your favourite orange liquer. For pastry cream with a light almond flavour, add 3/4 tsp almond extract along with the vanilla.