Steps for Pistachio Craquelin Cream Puffs

• To make the craquelin cream puffs, start by preparing the craquelin in advance. Place the butter, sugar, and flour in a bowl and knead by hand until you get a homogeneous dough. The warmth of your hands will soften the butter. Compact well and roll out with a rolling pin between two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of 1 mm and place in the fridge to firm up for about 20 minutes. Retrieve the shortcrust and cut out disks with a 2.5 inches round cutter. If you want to make smaller craquelin cream puffs, you can use a 1.2 inches round cutter. Place all the disks on a tray lined with parchment paper and put them in the fridge.

  

• I should mention that I used a kitchen robot to prepare the dough in this case, but below I will give you the classic stand mixer recipe. In a saucepan, pour the water, butter, salt, and sugar and bring to a simmer. As soon as it boils, pour in the flour all at once and stir quickly, cooking the roux until a white film starts to form at the bottom of the saucepan. It will take just a few minutes. Pour the dough into the bowl of the stand mixer, attach the flat beater (K) and let the dough cool, occasionally turning at speed 2-3. When the mixture reaches a temperature of 122°F, incorporate the eggs one at a time. Do not add another egg until the previous one is completely absorbed. The choux dough is ready when it is smooth and elastic, and inserting a spatula or wooden spoon into the dough makes it stand upright, forming a sort of triangle or ribbon. If you’re not using a stand mixer, you can do this last step, i.e., adding the eggs by hand, stirring with a wooden spoon or electric beaters until the dough is firm and creamy. Now place the obtained mixture in a piping bag with a plain tip of 0.8 inches. Squeeze the mixture onto a micro-perforated mat or a simple baking sheet lined with parchment paper, creating cream puffs about 1.5-2 inches in size. If desired, you can also make them smaller. Position the craquelin disk on each cream puff and bake in a preheated static oven at 374°F for about 35-40 minutes or until the craquelin is golden. For a convection oven, bake at 356°F for the same amount of minutes. I recommend baking them on the second bottom rack of the oven. Obviously, each oven is different, so pay close attention to the baking because if the cream puff doesn’t dry perfectly inside, it may collapse when you take it out. If desired, you can bake the cream puffs with the oven door slightly open using a wooden spoon, or when they are cooked, let them dry in the oven. In short, use any method you prefer. These cream puffs are much larger than traditional ones, so they bake much longer, don’t worry about the baking times. When the cream puffs are ready, let them cool completely at room temperature.

  

• To make the diplomat cream, start by preparing the custard. Pour the milk into a saucepan and place it on the heat to warm. Separately, in a bowl with a hand whisk, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and vanilla extract. Then add the cornstarch, salt, and mix well. Pour the egg mixture into the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly with the whisk to prevent lumps from forming and allowing it to thicken completely. Remove from the heat and lay the plastic wrap in contact with the mixture and let it cool at room temperature for a few hours. When the cream is cold, in a separate bowl, whip the fresh cream to stiff peaks. Add it in two batches to the custard, using a spatula. Mix gently to avoid deflating the mixture until you get a smooth and well-blended cream. Place in the fridge for 1 hour.

  

• After the resting hour, place the diplomat cream in a piping bag fitted with a plain tip. Place a few spoonfuls of pistachio spread in another piping bag. Take the cream puffs and pierce them at the base with the back of a pastry nozzle or with a teaspoon, then place the tip of the piping bag on the hole and fill them well first with some diplomat cream, then a little pistachio spread, and finally more diplomat cream.

  

• Finally, place on a serving plate and decorate the top of the craquelin cream puff with a dollop of diplomat cream and a dollop of pistachio spread. Serve.

  

• I hope you enjoy my latest recipe, see you next time, friends.