Cream Puffs

Cream puffs have been one of those things I never dared to bake. It feels like so many things can go wrong – burnt surface, deflating puffs, uncooked centres… the list goes on and I’m sure you know what I mean. Besides, I’ve never been a fan of cream puffs to be honest. Walking past Beard Papa does not excite my palate. Sometimes I even find the smell repulsive (just like how I find the smell of Famous Amos repulsive, don’t ask why).

However, I’ve been following a discussion on cream puffs on a forum thread and I thought, why not give myself the challenge? I admit that I’m not known to be a meticulous baker (as you can see from my temperature debacle for the meringue kisses). So all the more I should challenge myself to follow instructions. Yes, I’m masochistic in that manner, don’t ask.

I followed a recipe I read on Baking Mum, which I like because it’s a small portion and hence most suited for first-time baking. It turned out that baking cream puffs is so much easier than I thought.

I was really excited watching it rise in the oven. It wasn’t dramatic, and frankly, nothing much happened within the first ten minutes they were sitting in there. I left the oven for a while and caught a whiff of the distinct Beard Papa-ish smell. I ran out to the kitchen to check, and was pleasantly surprised that they had risen and were looking good! When the crunchy surface started to crack and release some gas, I clapped. It looked really professional.

An interior shot of the airy hole – a real indicator that my cream puffs have succeeded.

I didn’t make any custard or cream filling for my puffs. I ran out of whipping cream and milk, so I made do with inserting yogurt ice-cream in my puff. And the result was beyond amazing. For a person who doesn’t like custard or cream-filled cream puffs (like those from Beard Papa), I fell in love with my ice-cream cream puff. The puff was still slightly warm from the oven, the ice-cream was cold, the combination was divine.

A shot to shot the ice-cream in the puff, and my fingers for scale. These are 2-bites sized cream puffs. I yielded 15 puffs of this size from the recipe Baking Mum posted.

I am so excited about my cream puffs I just can’t stop smiling.  My only gripe?  The shape. The conical top is just … reminiscent of my previous baked goods ya? And I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Anyway, there’s about 12-13 puffs left and plenty of ice-cream to fill them. Those in the vicinity can come over and grab some if interested, while stock lasts!

Edit: All 15 puffs add up to about 600 calories, making each puff about 40 calories. Hmm.

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