Cream Puff Ring Recipes

ALMOND CREAM-PUFF RING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour a cookie sheet, or use parchment paper. Using a dinner plate as a guide, trace a circle on the sheet.
• In 2 quart saucepan over medium heat, combine water, butter, and salt. Bring to a boil. With a wooden spoon, vigorously stir in flour all at once, until mixture forms a ball, and leaves the sides of the pan. Remove from heat, and beat in the eggs one at a time, until mixture is smooth. Drop batter into 10 mounds inside the circle traced on the cookie sheet, to form a ring.
• Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn off oven, leaving ring in for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool on wire rack. When cool, slice in half horizontally, and place bottom ring on serving plate. Spoon Almond Cream Filling on bottom ring, then replace top ring. Chill in refrigerator.
• To make Almond Cream Filling: Prepare pudding according to instructions on package, but use only 1 1/4 cups milk. Fold in whipped cream, and 1 teaspoon almond extract.
• To make Chocolate Glaze: In a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, combine chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons milk, and 1 1/2 teaspoons corn syrup. Heat until melted and smooth, stirring occasionally. Spoon over the top of chilled ring.

CHERRY CREAM PUFF RING

Steps:

• 1. Heat oven to 400 º.
• 2. Heat water & butter to boiling in 1 quart saucepan; stir in flour Stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute Remove from heat.
• 3. Add eggs; 1 at a time beat until smooth
• 4. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet to form an 8 inch ring (for Valentine's Day I make a heart shape) Smooth with a spatula
• 5. Bake until puffed & golden; around 50-60 minutes.
• 6. Cool
• 7. Cut off top with a sharp knife; pull out any soft dough.
• 8. Beat milk, sour cream, pudding mix (dry) and extract in a small bowl until blended, about 1 minute.
• 9. Fill cream puff ring with the pudding mixture
• 10. Spoon ½ cup cherry pie filling onto pudding mixture
• 11. Replace top of cream puff and spoon the rest of the cherry pie filling on top
• 12. Refrigerate until serving time.

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY CREAM PUFF RING

Steps:

• Mash raspberries, reserving juice; strain and discard seeds. In a small heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt; stir in jelly and reserved juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Transfer to a small bowl; refrigerate until chilled., Cover a baking sheet with foil; grease the foil. Trace a 6-in. circle onto foil; set aside. , In a large saucepan, bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. , Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared pan, along the inside of the circle (mounds should be slightly touching). Bake at 400° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown., Lift foil and transfer to a wire rack. Immediately cut a slit in the side of each puff to allow steam to escape; cool. Carefully cut ring in half horizontally and set top aside; remove soft dough from inside with a fork. Place ring bottom on a serving plate. , For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form. Stir in 1/2 cup fudge topping until combined. Fold in chocolate chips and pecans. , Spread filling over bottom of cream puff ring; replace top. Drizzle with chilled raspberry sauce and remaining fudge topping. Refrigerate until serving.

CHERRY CREAM PUFF RING

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring the water, milk, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. , Drop by 1/4 cupfuls into a 10-in. ring on a greased 12-in. pizza pan (mounds should be slightly touching). Bake at 400° for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. , Remove to a wire rack. Immediately cut a slit in the side of each puff to allow steam to escape. Carefully cut ring in half horizontally and set top aside; remove soft dough from inside with a fork. Cool. , In a small bowl, whisk the milk, sour cream, pudding mix and 1/4 teaspoon extract for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. , Just before serving, place bottom of cream puff ring on a serving plate. Fill with pudding mixture. In a small bowl, beat the cream, confectioners' sugar and remaining extract until stiff peaks form. Spread over pudding. Top with pie filling. Replace cream puff ring top. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

CHOCOLATE CREAM PUFF RING

Steps:

• CREAM PUFF. Preheat oven to 400°F Lightly butter a cookie sheet, set aside.
• In medium saucepan over high heat, heat water with butter, sugar, and salt until mixture boils. Turn heat to low and add flour. Stir vigorously over low heat until dough leaves the side of the pan in a smooth compact ball about 1 minute.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition; continue beating until dough is smooth and satiny (it should have a sheen to it). You can also transfer the dough to your KA mixer and use your paddle to beat in each egg.
• Drop heaping spoonfulls of dough in a large oval, making sure each dropful touches the one next to it (this is what will hold your ring together once baked).
• Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Pierce the ring with a skewer or narrow knife in about 4 or 5 places and let cook for a few more minutes (this allows steam to escape, which keeps the ring crisper).
• Cool on a rack. Ring can be prepared 1 day ahead and wrapped when cool.
• FILLING. Prepare while baking the ring or earlier in the day.
• Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in chocolate and vanilla.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Continue to beat until sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Chill for a least one hour.
• GLAZE. In top of a double boiler, melt butter and chocolate together, stirring until smooth (you can use a microwave).
• ASSEMBLY. Slice cream puff in half horizontally, gently move the top and set aside, fill the bottom of the ring, then replace the top of the ring. Drizzle glaze over the top of the ring. Chill until ready to serve.
• Serves 6. Double the recipe for 12 servings.
• For bite size puffs (great for buffets) use a teaspoon or small ice cream scoop, puffs should be about the size of a walnut or a little smaller. To fill- snip open tops and pipe in filling, Drizzle on Glaze.
• I have made slightly larger puffs and served 3 on a plate, or divided dough into 6 puffs for a full size serving.

HOW TO MAKE CHOUX PASTRY (PâTE à CHOUX)

Steps:

• Watch the video in the blog post above; it will help guide you through the next few steps.
• Combine the butter, water, milk, salt, and granulated sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted. Bring mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce heat to low and add the flour all at once. Stir until the flour is completely incorporated and a thick dough clumps into a ball. Mash the dough ball against the bottom and sides of the pan for 1 minute, which gently cooks the flour. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or, if using a handheld mixer, a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool down for a few minutes before adding the eggs in the next step.
• With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the eggs in 3-4 separate additions mixing for 30 seconds between each. The mixture will look curdled at first, but will begin to come together as the mixer runs. Pour in the final addition of beaten eggs very slowly. Stop adding when the choux pastry has reached the desired texture: shiny, thick, and smooth with a pipeable consistency. I usually leave a few teaspoons of beaten egg behind, which can be used with the egg wash.
• Your choux pastry dough is complete! You can use it immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush the parchment with water, which creates a humid environment for the pastry shells allowing them to puff up without drying out or burning.
• Transfer choux pastry dough to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1A piping tip. Pipe 2-inch mounds about 3 inches apart. Watch the video in the blog post above for a visual. You can also use a zipped-top bag and cut off the corner for easy piping. Using a water moistened finger, smooth down the peaks and lightly brush each with egg wash.
• Bake for 20 minutes then, keeping the pastries in the oven, reduce oven to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for 10-15 more minutes until golden brown. Do not open the oven as the pastries cook, as cool air will prevent them from properly puffing up. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before filling.
• Split open pastries and fill with homemade whipped cream, lemon curd, pastry cream, jam, a combination of these, or your favorite filling. You can also poke a hole in the pastries and pipe the filling inside. For my pictured cream puffs and profiteroles, see recipe notes.
• Cover and store leftover filled pastries in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cover and store unfilled pastries at room temperature for 1 day, in the refrigerator for 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before filling and serving.

CLASSIC CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil and quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Continue to stir until a film forms on the bottom of the pan.
• Remove from heat and transfer contents to a bowl to cool slightly, about 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously to entirely incorporate egg after each addition.
• For the egg wash, whisk together the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.
• Transfer the pate a choux to a large pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip. Pipe 1-1/2-inch rounds onto each prepared pan. Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Brush tops with reserved egg wash. Bake until puffs rise and are golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.
• Transfer pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/8-inch plain round tip. Insert the tip into the opening of each pastry, and pipe to fill with pastry cream. Serve immediately.

BERRIES & CREAM PUFF RING RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Make the custard: In a medium microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, and milk. Cover with plastic wrap.
• Cook the custard in a microwave for 4 minutes, stirring after every 2 minutes until very smooth. Re-cover with plastic wrap, pressing onto the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming. Chill in the fridge until cool, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Make the pastry: In a medium saucepan, bring the water, butter, and salt to a boil over medium heat.
• As soon as the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the flour. Using a wooden spoon, mix thoroughly to combine.
• Continue stirring (about two minutes). The dough should form into a ball and easily pull away from the sides of the pan. Remove the mixture from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Add 4 of the eggs to the cooled dough, one at a time, being sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding the next. (The eggs will initially be difficult to incorporate into the dough, but continue stirring vigorously and they will eventually come together to form a smooth, shiny dough. When the dough drops making a V shape, it is ready!)
• Transfer the dough to a piping bag and pipe onto the baking sheet in an 7-inch (17-cm) ring shape. Pipe a second ring outside the first ring. Pipe a final ring on top. Beat the remaining egg, then brush over the ring.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Then, without opening the oven, reduce the heat to 350˚F(180˚C) and bake for another 15 minutes.
• Turn off the oven and leave the puff pastry inside for another 10 minutes.
• Cut the choux pastry in half horizontally. Pipe the custard into the hollow center of the shell. Pipe whipped cream on top of the custard. Top with berries. Place the top half of the shell. Dust with powdered sugar.
• Enjoy!

CREAM PUFF RING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and have ready 1 gallon-size ziptop bag and a pastry bag fitted with a large star piping tip. Draw an 8-in. circle on the parchment paper; turn paper over.
• Pastry:
• Bring milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour all at once; stir energetically with a wooden spoon until dough comes together in a shiny mass (bottom of pan will be covered with a thin film of flour). Cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer hot dough to a large bowl.
• Using a sturdy mixer, beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until each is blended (dough will be thick and shiny). Spoon warm dough into a ziptop bag; cut 3/4 inches off 1 corner.
• Pipe a ring about 1 inches thick on circle on parchment paper. Pipe a second ring inside first, just touching first ring. Pipe a third ring on top where rings meet. (If there's extra dough, pipe mounds for cream puffs or strips for eclairs.)
• Bake 20 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake 20 to 25 minutes more until puffed, brown and firm. Transfer sheet to a wire rack; let ring cool completely. (Ring will sink; that's OK.).
• Strain cream into a measuring cup, adding more chilled heavy cream if needed to make 1 1/3 cups. Pour into a large bowl, add 1/4 cup sugar and beat with mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted. Stir remaining 2 Tbsp sugar into crème fraîche; gently fold into whipped cream.
• Using a serrated knife and gentle sawing motion, slice top off pastry ring. Pull out and discard soft dough inside base. Carefully transfer base to a serving platter.
• Spoon cream filling into prepared pastry bag. Pipe large rosettes close together into base. Pipe another row of rosettes on first row, piping top rosettes between bottom rosettes. Add pastry top. Refrigerate while making Glaze.
• Glaze:
• Microwave chocolate, cream and corn syrup in small bowl on high, stirring every 10 seconds until chocolate melts and glaze is smooth. Spread on top of pastry ring; sprinkle with almonds. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours before serving.