The Ultimate Heavenly Cream Puff

The Angels are Singing!

 I have to admit, I think this is my favorite sweet treat.  They are not overly sweet, they are light, and quite frankly, heavenly.  The only problem is, I can't just eat one.   Making these from scratch is so well worth it, and not that hard or time consuming.  It truly is very easy and not expensive.  They taste so much better than the frozen ones from the supermarket.  I am hooked!!

Why is this the ultimate? First off, they are super easy to make. The Bavarian Cream uses a pudding mix to start, and added whip cream to give it a light and heavenly texture. A topping of chocolate Ganache for good measure and I actually think this is better than a cupcake. Maybe this should be the next bake shop fad. If your planning a fancy dinner, I highly recommend wowing your guest with homemade Cream Puffs. For some holiday fun, crush some red and white peppermint candies and sprinkle on top or how about some
home-made caramel sauce for a topping.  Yummo!

 Slice in Half to make sure they are dry in the middle and Cool

Spoon or Pipe the Bavarian Cream and dip the top part of the

Cream Puff in the Chocolate Ganache.

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Use a cookie sheet/ungreased

Makes 12 medium cream puffs

Bavarian Cream Filling

1 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cups heavy cream (Do not use premade Whip topping, YUCK!)
3/4  cup whole milk

Mix first three ingredients and whip with a hand held balloon whip until very thick.  Put into fridge

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup powder sugar (heaping cup)

Whip on high on your counter top mixer until thick.
Fold the whip cream into pudding custard.  Gently fold and put into fridge.


Cream Puff Batter
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 T. sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2.In a large pot, bring water, butter, sugar and salt to a rolling boil. Stir in flour  until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls (the size of a large golf ball) onto an ungreased baking sheet or use a large pastry bag with a large round tip. 

3.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Centers should be dry.  At around 20 minutes of baking, you can take a wooden skewer and punch a hole in the sides to let the moisture out.

4.When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.  Dip the tops into Chocolate Ganache or just sprinkle with powder sugar.

Basic Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat heavy whipping cream to a low simmer in a heavy bottom pot.  Becareful not to scorch the cream.  Remove from heat add the chocolate chips and stir until melted and smooth.