These Italian cream puffs with a rich custard filling are a classic Italian dessert. They are traditionally eaten on St. Joseph's Day, but I say indulge in them year-round!
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 2¾ cups unbleached AP flour
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 cups water
- 9½ tbsp butter
- 6 large eggs
For the custard
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp rum
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| Italian Cream Puffs with Custard Filling |
Instructions
For the pastry
- Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together and set aside.
- In a heavy saucepan, heat the water. Add the butter. When melted, remove the pan from the stove and add the flour mixture all at once. Beat with a wooden spoon, then return the pan to medium-high heat, beating the mixture until it comes away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon or hand mixer in-between additions to mix well.
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch tip with the cream puff batter. Squeeze out 3-inch puffs, about ½ inch apart on a cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. When done, carefully slit the side of each cream puff with a knife to allow steam to escape and to prevent the puffs from becoming soggy inside. Transfer to cooling racks and let cool.
For the custard
- In saucepan over moderate heat, combine sugar, flour and salt. Add milk gradually, cooking and stirring until mixture is thick and bubbly.
- Lower heat, stirring for 2 minutes and remove from heat. In a small bowl, add cream mixture to eggs slowly. Return mixture back to pan. Bring to gently boil for 2 more minutes, adding butter, rum, and vanilla. Tranfer to a shallow bowl to cool, placing plastic wrap on the top of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate.
- Once custard has cooled completely, pipe into opened pastry shells until they are so full they might pop, top with a cherry, and dust with powdered sugar.
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