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Dream puff

The chic 1960s pastry is on the rise again. Home cooks, you'll succumb to the cream puff's charms once you discover how easy it is to make.

By JANET K. KEELER
Published June 22, 2005

[Times photos: Scott Keeler]

An eggy shell cradles instant lemon pudding in an easy version of cream puffs. Lemon zest and blueberries add the extra touch.

	[Times photo: ]
	1. Water, milk, salt, butter and flour forms a quick paste over medium heat on the stove. Use a wooden spoon to combine.
	2. Eggs are added, one at a time. The paste is shiny and separates, but then comes together after vigorous mixing.
	3. Use pastry bag or spoons to shape puffs on parchment-lined baking sheet. Dough spreads, but puffs when baked.
	4. Finished puffs will be golden. Pierce with a sharp knife to release steam. Best served within a few hours.

The cream puff is making a comeback.

So says Bon Appetit magazine, so says Omaha Steaks, whose cream puffs are its No. 2-selling mail-order dessert, so say the folks lined up outside Beard Papa's Sweets Cafes in Manhattan. Customers there are paying $1.45 each for vanilla cream puffs.

According to USA Today, Wisconsin State Fair food hawkers expect to sell $1-million worth of cream puffs during the August event. Could the cream puff be the new deep-fried Twinkie at next year's Florida State Fair?

We seem to be nostalgic for everything, why not deserts? The cream puff was big in the 1960s, its popularity driven by Julia Child and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, two influential American Francophiles. Somewhere along the way, the puff, deemed too frou-frou, was sent to the back of the class with creme de menthe over vanilla ice cream.

The sign of cream puff resurgence isn't evident in my world, but I agree with Child that versatile puffs, like bechamel sauce, are something every home cook should know how to make. The legendary French Chef has been gone for nearly a year, but her wisdom and wit endures, especially so in her seminal 1967 book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

"When you have done puff shells once or twice you will find that it takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish to make them ready for the oven, and that they are a wonderfully useful invention," Child wrote.

The cream puff is a made from French pate a choux (pronounced paht-ah-shoo), a thick, warm paste of water, milk, salt, flour and eggs. Small dollops of the paste puff when baked, resulting in airy shells that hold savory or sweet fillings. When the paste is baked in a log, it becomes an eclair shell.

The paste is made on the stove in a skillet or saucepan, whichever is easier for the cook. The most difficult aspect of pate a choux is incorporating the eggs, one by one, into the stiff paste. Forget biceps curls; this is musclemaking work. (You can use a mixer or food processor, but why dirty another piece of equipment?)

There is no added leavening in the recipe; the eggs and steam make the sticky mass double when baked.

Puffs made from pate a choux are also the elements of the elaborate croquembouche, a towering triangular tree of puffs. I saw Martha Stewart make one on TV once, wrapping it round and round in a web of spun sugar. Gorgeous, though I'd never have the patience (or occasion). I like the idea of tiny puffs covered with powered sugar, sort of like beignets without the frying oil.

Traditionally a pinch or two of sugar turns pate a choux into dessert shells, though I don't sweeten mine. There is plenty of sweetness in the filling for my tastes.

The addition of cheese, usually Gruyere, produces gougeres (pronounced goo-zhair) or cheese puffs. Served warm and crispy with a glass of robust shiraz, gougeres are lovely cocktail fare. Beat in mashed potatoes or cooked semolina and pate a choux becomes gnocchi, the dense Italian pasta. And, as Child instructed, with ground fish, veal or chicken it transforms into a savory mousse.

I am a 21st century cook and would rather buy gnocchi at an Italian market. I'll pass on making fish mousse, saving that for a restaurant visit.

Here's my secret, with apologies to Child: I fill cream puffs with instant pudding. You can make pastry cream, and I've included a recipe, but I find that experience less than satisfying. I don't want to spend limited cooking time making something that tastes fine from a fool-proof mix, plus it's available sugar- and fat-free.

Frozen cream puffs are sold at most grocery stores. Filled with an indiscernible cream, they are nonetheless dangerous because they can be eaten in one bite, thawed or not.

Pudding mixes give me a range of flavors not as easily accomplished with homemade cream. Chocolate, vanilla, lemon, banana, butterscotch and more can be nestled inside an eggy shell. A puff filled with lemon pudding, dusted in powdered sugar and served with random strands of lemon zest and plump blueberries is company-worthy dessert.

I even walked in on the 9-year-old teaching his best buddy to make profiteroles (pro-FEET-uh-rolls) by loading a puff with chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream. Making a good thing better was the addition of extra-creamy whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

Yes, dear, it is like an ice cream sandwich, only better. After dessert, he stuffed a puff with ham and Swiss cheese. Better than a regular sandwich, he said. (Except no white-bread sandwich ever won me as many smack points.)

Most choux recipes call for the paste to be piped from pastry bag onto a baking sheet. I don't have a pastry bag, having thrown my last one out in frustration. For this job, and for me in general, the pastry bag is unwieldy and messy. I drop paste onto parchment paper using two spoons.

The mounds aren't nearly as perky as those pictured in Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Baking but my guess is those cooks and photographers didn't have to battle Florida humidity. Regardless, my flat dollops puffed nicely.

The trick to making puffs, Child explained, is to make sure to pierce them to release steam, otherwise they become soggy. Larger ones should be slit in half and doughy strands in the middle removed. If not, the wet dough can spread dampness to the rest of the shell and make it mushy. (More detailed instruction are in accompanying recipe.)

"This is actually the only secret to puff making," Child wrote.

Puffs are best served within an hour or two of making. Cooled puffs can be frozen though they will need to be recrisped. Do that in a 375-degree oven for five minutes. Cool again before filling.

From one basic recipe, can come hors d'oeuvres, entrees and dessert. If you haven't already, it's time to take the French Chef's advice.

- Janet K. Keeler can be reached at 727 893-8586 or krieta@sptimes.com

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup water

6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

4 large eggs

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine milk, water, butter and salt and bring to a full boil. When the butter melts, remove pan from heat, add the flour all at once, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until blended. Return pan to medium heat and continue stirring until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Remove from the heat and let cool for three to four minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk 1 egg. When the batter has cooled, pour the egg into it and beat with the spoon until incorporated. Add the remaining eggs, one at a time, by whisking each one first and then stirring it into the batter. After each egg is added, the mixture separates and appears shiny, but it returns to a smooth paste with vigorous beating. Let the dough cool for about 10 minutes before shaping.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and position the racks in the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

For small puffs, place about 1 teaspoon of dough onto the baking sheet by either piping it through a pastry bag or by spoonfuls. For larger puffs, use 1 to 2 tablespoons of batter. Space the mounds at least 2 inches apart.

Bake the puffs for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 and continue baking until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes longer for the small puffs and 15 to 20 minutes longer for large puffs.

Remove from the oven and immediately prick the side of each puff with the tip of a sharp knife. Turn off the oven and return baking sheet. Leave the door open slightly and allow the pastries to dry out for 10 to 15 minutes. Let the pastries cool completely on the pan on a wire rack before filling.

Makes about 40 small puffs or 15 large.

Source: "Essentials of Baking" by Williams-Sonoma (Oxmoor House, 2003).

1 1/2 cups water

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

5 large eggs

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (can add more if desired)

Cayenne and ground nutmeg, to taste

1 1/2 cups finely diced Gruyere cheese

3 tablespoons whole milk

1/4 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place rack in middle of oven.

In a saucepan, heat the water, butter and salt over high heat, stirring to melt the butter. When the butter is melted, remove from heat and stir in the flour all at once, until the mixture is smooth and thick.

Return the pan to low heat and cook, stirring constantly. The dough will begin to get shiny and pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat. One at a time, beat in the eggs with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer. Beat in each egg so that it is well blended and the dough is smooth after each addition. Mix in the mustard, cayenne and nutmeg. Fold in the Gruyere.

Drop by rounded, heaping teaspoons onto the baking sheets. Brush the tops with a little of the milk and sprinkle with some of the Parmesan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes four to five dozen.

Source: www.about.com

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk until small bubbles appear along the edges of the pan. Remove from the heat. In a bowl, whisk together the vanilla, egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch until blended. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, about 3 minutes.

Continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 minute longer. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Stir in the butter until melted and smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Poke a few holes in the plastic with the tip of a knife to allow steam to escape. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least two hours or up to two days. Makes about 11/2 cups.

Source: Adapted from "Essentials of Baking" by Williams-Sonoma (Oxmoor House, 2003).

1. Water, milk, salt, butter and flour forms a quick paste over medium heat on the stove. Use a wooden spoon to combine.

2. Eggs are added, one at a time. The paste is shiny and separates, but then comes together after vigorous mixing.

3. Use pastry bag or spoons to shape puffs on parchment-lined baking sheet.

4. Finished puffs will be golden. Pierce with a sharp knife to release steam.

PUFF POSSIBILITIES

STRAWBERRY CREAM PUFFS: Sweeten sliced berries with sugar and chill for 30 minutes. Fold berries into whipped cream. Slit puffs in half, fill with strawberry cream and replace tops. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with more berries.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PUFFS: Beat 1 cup whipping cream with 1/4 cup chocolate syrup until stiff. Fill puffs and top with more chocolate sauce.

BANANA CREAM PUFFS: Fill puff with banana (or vanilla) pudding and banana slices. Top with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

COFFEE PROFITEROLES: Fill shells with coffee ice cream and dust with powdered sugar. Garnish with chocolate-covered coffee beans.

MUSHROOM-CHIVE PUFFS: Saute about 8 ounces chopped mushrooms in olive oil. Drain and cool completely. Add mushrooms and snipped chives to warm pate a choux. Bake according to recipe instructions.

SALAD PUFFS: Fill with chicken, lobster, salmon, tuna, ham or egg salad.

TANGY PUFFS: Goat cheese and fig jam in the middle.

BLACK FOREST PUFFS: Thinly sliced Black Forest ham, Jarlsberg Swiss cheese and a bit of brown mustard.

PUFFS A LA KING: For entree servings, make large puffs and fill with chicken a la king, or other creamed meat mixture.

- JANET K. KEELER

[Last modified June 21, 2005, 09:31:54]