Cream Puffs with Chocolate Ganache-just let everyone else think they are hard to make!
I’m so excited to be grouping up with some of my favorite bloggy friends to celebrate a special Holiday. Festivus. Are you a Seinfeld fan? If so, then you know exactly what I’m talking about. If not (like me) then here’s a little explanation for you.
Today we’re taking a break from all the Christmas celebrations to discuss an odd group of friends, a strange pole and a ‘show about nothing.’ And by now, all you Seinfeld fans are smiling. It’s been 15 years since the TV series left the air but it’s still very much around in syndication, popular culture and a little made-up holiday called Festivus. Celebrated with a bare pole and an airing of grievances, it’s a time to come together and say “I got a lot of problems with you people!” It’s all in good fun, of course, and in its 9 seasons, quite a lot of delicious food came up on the show. So some of my blogger friends and I decided to cook the foods best associated with the Seinfeld years and give away some great holiday gifts.
Aren’t my friends just the coolest? Did you catch that last line? There’s a giveaway involved today as well!
So now I guess I need to get into the spirit of the Holiday and air a few grievances.
I’m a happy person, I don’t really let things get to me, I just go with the flow and if someone annoys me, I just figure karma will catch up with them later.
So, let’s see what I can come up with.
My son’s socks. It’s actually become more of a joke these days. I feel sorry for his future wife, to be honest. My son just can not pick up his socks. I find them all over the house. It’s like they run away from him the minute he takes them off his feet. If you really want to know the full extent of this problem, I wrote a post about it and baked a cake in honor of his socks here. The Cinnamon Streusel Cake is worth the effort to click over.
Another sock issue. Matching socks, can’t stand to do it, I don’t do it. If you wear socks in my house, you’ll find them in a big bucket in the laundry room. Match them yourself.
Dirty dishes left in the sink. We have a dishwasher. Nuff said about that one.
I feel so lame. I really can’t think of much else to complain about. My life’s not perfect by any means, but I just go with the flow and let most of the annoying little things pass.
Now as for these cream puffs. I do have a grievance. My sister first made this recipe when she was in high school. She’s an overachiever like that. Always creating complicated recipes just to see if she could. She’s always made everything she accomplishes look so easy and effortless. I know now how hard she works for all that she’s achieved and I’m so proud of her.
She warned me the puff would be the hard part of this recipe. She’s wrong. The puff was the easy part, and effortless. I know this because I had to make the puffs 4 times before I got the cream filling right. And I ate most of those empty puffs. So light, mostly air in the middle, so I could eat more than one (or 3) and not fill up. No the cream was my issue. The first time I made it, I put the gelatin mixture in the fridge to chill and left it, thinking I could finish it the next day. Eight hours later, chatting with dear sis, I’m informed, no, you can’t just leave it. She was right, I had a hard rubbery, solid blob of gelled goop. The second time, I still let it chill too long, not my fault this time. I had a child calling needing a ride from school at the last minute. The third time. I made them at night. They came out wonderfully but the weather was awful for days and I never got them photographed. The forth time, perfection!
Cream Puffs
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1 Cup water
- 1/2 Cup butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Cup all purpose flour
- 4 eggs
Vanilla cream filling
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
- 1/2 Cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoon all purpose flour
- 4 egg yolks (keep the egg whites for something else)
- 1 Cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a large cookie sheet (or use parchment paper.)
- In 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, heat water, butter and salt till better melts and mixture boils. Remove from heat.
- Add flour all at once. With wooden spoon vigorously stir until mixture leaves sides of the pan and forms a ball. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Using a large cookie scoop (use a small cookie scoop for minis) Drop by rounded tablespoonful onto cookie sheet The drops should be 1.5-2" in diameter. You can smooth out the tops with a moistened finger if you like.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden. Remove to racks to cool.
- For the Vanilla Cream filling, In a 3 qt saucepan mix gelatin, sugar and flour. In a small bowl with wire whisk, beat egg yolks and milk till well mixed. Stir into gelatin mixture. Cook over med-low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until mixture is very thick and coats the spoon well (about 10 minutes). Do not boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 45 minutes (do not over chill)
- In a small bowl, beat heavy whipping cream till soft peaks form. Fold into custard mixture.
- Use a bread knife to slice tops off puff pastries (about 1/3 from the top to 1/2). Spoon cream into opening and a little more to fill the top. Place top back on top of your cream.
- Prepare your Chocolate ganache. Place chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat cream over medium heat. At the first sign of boiling, remove from heat and pour hot cream over chocolate. Whisk till all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Spoon over prepared cream puffs.
Notes
To make eclairs, place pastry dough in a pastry bag with a large, wide tip, then pipe dough into a log on your baking sheet.
These cream puffs are best eaten the day they are made. If you do need to make them ahead of time. Gently cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
recipe source ChocolateChocolateandmore.com
Now this wouldn’t be a Festivus celebration without friends.
Check out all the wonderful creations my friends have come up with
Susan from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen is making Marble Rye from “The Rye”
Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic is making Calzones from “The Calzone”
Renee from Magnolia Days is making Eggnog Frozen Yogurt from “The Non-Fat Yogurt”
Isabelle from Crumb is making Cherry Almond Muffin Tops from “The Muffin Tops”
Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake is making Challah Pretzels from “The Alternate Side”
Shanna from Pineapple and Coconut is making Lobster Scrambled Eggs with Wasabi Hollandaise and Crispy Leek and Potato Cakes from “The Hamptons”
Kelli from Kelli’s Retro Kitchen Arts is making a Big Salad from “The Big Salad”
Kelly from Kelly Bakes is making Mulligatawny Soup from “The Soup Nazi”
Joan from Chocolate, Chocolate and More is making Cream Puffs from “The Gymnast”
Marnely from Cooking with Books is making Apple Pie from “The Pie”
Diane from Created by Diane is making Black and White Cookies from “The Dinner Party”
Anita from Hungry Couple is making Chocolate Babka from “The Dinner Party”
Happy Festivus Everyone!
feel free to leave me a few grievance comments, after all it’s what this Holiday is all about!
Thank you to our amazing sponsors
Do you still want more?
Easy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Marcia S. says
I love Seinfeld! My kids grew up watching Seinfeld and Friends reruns. You know what irks me? When it’s slippery on the road and some fancy, big 4 wheel drive flies by me and the guy driving gives me a look like I’m a moron going 5 miles under the limit! Oh, and I love your cream puffs, can’t wait to try them!
Susan says
So I guess it’s now 4th times the charm? Either way I’m glad you kept on trying because these cream puffs are calling my name! Also my husband leaves his socks all over the place too! He gets hot, so he takes off his socks, on the couch, under the couch, on the coffee table. I kind of wish the dog still chewed on socks to teach him a lesson.
Jan P says
I just use instant pudding or ice cream for the filling. Try peppermint ice cream – they are WONDERFUL !!!!
SharonF says
This time of year it’s the crazy drivers trying to get somewhere 2 minutes before I can get there.
Lorraine says
Lol…my son leaves his socks everywhere too and the rest of his clothes. Definitely that would be one my grievances. Don’t even get me started on his room..lol
Anita at Hungry Couple says
Absolutely beautiful! Oh, and remind me not to let you wash any of my socks. I just can’t imagine having to stand over that basket trying to match them. π
Lisa says
I detest negative, self-absorbed people…especially during the holidays!!!
Christina @ Christina's Cucina says
I just saw a recipe for something Italian which was named “authentic” but is the furthest from anything even remotely authentic, and it just BURNS MY COOKIES!! Where do people get off saying things are authentic when they clearly have NO clue? Btw, there is no such thing as “Italian seasoning” in Italy! Thanks, I feel better and I hope I win the Seinfeld giveawayt! π
emily r says
Yum!! The cream puffs look so tasty! I’ve never attempted to make any before but I just might have to. I’d have to say one grievance…. My 7 yr old daughter can’t or won’t keep her room picked up!!
Dharshika says
This recipe is amazing, but i would like to know what the “C” , “T”, and “Envelope” stand for / mean, so that i can make it properly π
Joan Hayes says
Cis for Cup, T is for Tablespoon, t is for teaspoon and envelope is how unflavored gelatin is sold here. The wight for one envelope would be .25 ounces. I’ve updated the recipe to spell everything out. Enjoy!
christine says
I made your recipe last night. I have to say AWESOME. I left the cream in exactly 45 mins. I think it was a smidge too long. it took forever to fold all the gelatin into the whipped cream. Eventually I pulled out the hand mixer and whipped it up a bit more then let it sit. On the counter. Once the gelatin reached somewhat room temp, it was MUCH EASIER. And it came out perfect. Tastes better than the best bakery in NY.
Lynne says
It does not say to, but don’t you have to put it back on the stove after you add the flour and stir until mixture leaves sides of the pan and forms a ball?????
Joan Hayes says
No, you don’t put it back on the stove, you mix in the flour off the heat.
Karen says
Is heavy cream and heavy whipping cream the same thing??
Vivian says
Yes it is.
αααΉαΈα‘αααΉαα½ααΉ says
thanks you so much for sharing of cream puffs
Mary says
I Luv, luv, luv Cream Puffs! I’ve only started a new hobby called baking and I could say I’m doing quite well. This is the first recipe I’ve seen for Cream Puffs and let me tell you, am I glad I found it! It was the best! I was afraid I was going to mess up on the shell but it was actually very easy to make. I had a bit of a difficulty with the cream filling but it was an easy fix. Overall, in my opinion, they are to die for!
Elizabeth says
Although I bake a lot, I had never made cream puffs before.. This recipe was so easy!! The puffs came out perfectl. Instead of the vanilla cream filling I used a pumpkin mousse like filling (whipped cream, canned pumpkin, vanilla pudding and pumpkin pie spice). I brought these to a friends house yesterday forTnanksgiving and they were a great success! Thank you for sharing the recipe:-)
Linda Billingsley says
How many cream puffs does this recipe make?
Joan Hayes says
This recipe will make 12 large cream puffs or 18 small ones if you use a small cookie scoop.
Jack says
I have made these many times now and they are so good.I have been a professional chef for over 25 years and I recently decided to improve my baking skills, Chocolate, Chocolate and More has been a huge inspiration to me..I have tried many of the recipes here and they have all turned out beautiful and delicious! Also when you ask a question you get a fast answer. I have worked with a Savory Pate a Choux for years so that part was easy..making the best filling is key..I used Bavarian cream, pasty cream , Ice Cream and all three in chocolate, chocolate malt, vanilla, banana strawberry and raspberry , all homemade of course, I’m a food snob..I won’t use boxed mixes. Try this recipe..it’s fool proof and your family or guests will love them.
Joan Hayes says
You need to share your Bavarian Cream filling with me. I’ve been looking for a good recipe!
Linda Billingsley says
Made the cream puffs the other day! Came out beautiful! Just loved them! The cream filling awesome and the ganache so beautiful!thanks linda
Diane Biernat says
Being a diabetic, I put either sugar free banana or chocolate pudding in the middle of my cream puffs – YUMMY!!!
Joan Hayes says
That’s a great substitution!