March 19 is St. Joseph’s Day, Father’s Day, and another delicacy arrives that we Romans cannot resist: St. Joseph’s Cream Puffs. A stunning dessert that requires the use of choux pastry: a creamy dough that, once cooked, makes the dessert light and crispy and, like a treasure chest, contains delicious and velvety creams.
The ingredients are simple, the key to success for the cream puffs is the cooking. If the dough is cooked correctly, you will obtain light and crispy pastries with great volume.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 1 Minute
- Portions: About
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
ST. JOSEPH’S CREAM PUFFS
- 2 cups milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- Half vanilla bean
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups peanut oil
- as needed powdered sugar
ST. JOSEPH’S CREAM PUFFS
First, prepare the custard, so that it will have time to cool.
Heat the milk with the vanilla bean, split open lengthwise.
Separately, beat the egg yolks with the sugar using a whisk until they are nice and frothy, then incorporate the flour.
Remove the vanilla bean and pour the milk, which should be warm but not boiling, over the egg mixture, stirring vigorously to remove any lumps.
Return it to the heat and cook until the cream has thickened.
Transfer it to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap in contact with the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and let it cool.
Boil the water with butter and salt. Once the butter has melted, pour in the flour all at once and stir until all the water evaporates and the dough makes a curious sizzling sound. Turn off the heat, let it cool for a few minutes, and start adding the eggs one at a time. Do not add the next until the previous one has been absorbed into the dough. To incorporate the eggs, you can use a wooden spoon, a low-speed electric mixer, or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until you have a smooth mixture with the consistency of a very thick custard.
Now, put the mixture into a piping bag or scoop spoonfuls of it to drop into peanut oil heated to 340°F (170°C). As soon as you drop three or four cream puffs at a time, slightly lower the flame and frequently turn them with a spoon, continuously pouring hot oil onto the dough’s surface that remains uncovered by the oil. You will see that they initially brown quickly, remaining small, then as steam starts to form inside, the cream puff will begin to puff up, taking on its characteristic irregular shape. Let them cool on absorbent paper or, even better, greased paper. Then fill them with custard and decorate with plenty of powdered sugar.
