Light choux pastry, lemony cream
Simple recipe: fluffy light cream puffs in just 30 minutes
Fluffy, light and wonderfully fluffy with a cream made from fine cream – profiteroles invite you to enjoy them
© Lilechka75 / Getty Images
The cream puff is the king of fluffy pastries. Wonderfully light, it literally melts on the tongue. With this recipe you can easily prepare the dessert yourself.
Cream puffs are one of the favorites among pastries and sweet pastries – and not without reason: the airy, fluffy choux pastry, usually filled with a creamy cream, really invites you to enjoy it. Admittedly, sometimes the chubby dough pieces look a bit awkward – especially when you have to assert yourself against magnificent cream cakes and lovingly shaped cinnamon rolls in the bakery display. But that’s exactly what makes the airy treats so appealing.
Incidentally, this charming pastry originated in France and Italy. Here it is affectionately called “Profiterole”, which translates as “little gift”. The small bites are filled with sweet or savory and are preferably served as finger food on buffets or classic desserts.
The craft: the finest choux pastry
Cream puffs not only stand out visually from other types of pastry. The sweet dough pieces are made from a fine brandy or – to make it sound a little more noble – from a “Choux pastry”. Thanks to this, an airy pastry is created completely free of raising agents such as baking powder, baking soda or yeast. When baking, the bound moisture does not escape as water vapor through the crust of gelatinized starch, cavities are created that puff up the pastry wonderfully.
So that nothing stands in the way of choux pastry happiness, there are a few small things to consider. For the fire mass, water and butter are put in a pot and brought to a boil. As soon as the liquid boils, the flour should be added immediately in one go. Now it’s time to stir like crazy – this is the only way to mix everything evenly. Once everything has been stirred in, the pot goes back onto the stove. Continue stirring until a ball of dough forms, which pulls away from the edges and leaves a white film of starch on the bottom of the pan. Before the eggs are mixed with the choux pastry, it has to cool down a bit, otherwise the egg will set. Keep the door closed while the puffs are in the oven to prevent air from escaping. When the pastries are finished baking, you should let them cool down with the oven door slightly open. To do this, clamp a wooden spoon between the oven and the door to prevent the puffed pastry from collapsing.
Multifaceted enjoyment
Completely cooled, the profiteroles can be filled with a wide variety of fillings. There are no limits to your imagination: whether classic with a delicate vanilla cream, fruity sweet with jam or fruit, with intensive chocolate cream or quite simply with a lemony cream filling. The neutral cream puff pastry also tastes fantastic savory. Hearty cheese creams, spicy dips or a filling of smoked fish, cream cheese and dill make the pastries a highlight on the snack buffet.
Recipe for ten to twelve fluffy cream puffs with a lemon cream filling
ingredients
- 125 milliliters of water
- 1 pinch of salt
- 30 grams of butter
- 90 grams of wheat flour, type 405
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup cream
- 1 packet of vanilla sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 organic lemon (the zest of the lemon)
preparation
- Bring the water, butter and salt to a boil in a small saucepan.
- Once the liquid is boiling, remove the saucepan from the heat, add the flour and stir in with a wooden spoon.
- Place the saucepan back on the stove and continue stirring over medium-high heat until a chewy ball forms and a white skin forms on the bottom of the saucepan.
- Place the batter in a mixing bowl and let cool slightly.
- Gradually stir both eggs into the batter with a wooden spoon.
- When the batter is glossy and has fine peaks when you stir it, it’s done. It should now easily come off the spoon.
- Preheat the oven to 230°C bottom and top heat.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use two teaspoons to drop the dough in heaps onto the sheet.
- Since the choux pastry will at least double its volume during baking, don’t put the particles too close together.
- Place an ovenproof bowl filled with water on the bottom of the oven.
- Bake the cream puffs on the middle rack for about 15 to 20 minutes. The dough should have turned a light golden yellow color.
- Allow the finished cream puffs to cool completely and carefully cut in half with a knife.
- Whip the cream with the vanilla sugar and a pinch of salt until stiff. Finely grate the zest of an organic lemon and fold into the cream.
- Fill the cream puffs with the lemon cream and serve immediately.