Pâte à choux
Makes 32 puffs
120g milk (whole or 2%)
120g water
1/2 tsp table salt or 1 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher (2.8g)
1 tsp sugar (4g)
113g unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 8 pieces
142g bread flour, sifted
230g eggs (weighed without shell) beaten with a fork in a liquid measuring cup with a spout (about 4 extra large)
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) with the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
Put water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar into a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until butter melts and the liquid comes to a full boil. Take off heat. Immediately, add all the flour at once and stir vigorously with a spoon or spatula until all the flour is incorporated and the flour lumps are smoothed out. Put back over medium heat and cook stirring constantly for 5 minutes.
Option 1: Incorporating the eggs with a Stand or Hand Mixer
Fit the stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer with spiral hooks. Place the dough in the mixer bowl and cool for 5 minutes, turning the mixer briefly on low speed for a few seconds a few times to release the steam. Turn the mixer on medium-low speed (2-3 for KitchenAid), pour in roughly a quarter of the eggs. The dough will break and gradually become creamy again. Keep adding the eggs in 3 more additions waiting for the mixture to smooth out before each addition. Scrape down the bowl and beat on medium speed about 30 seconds or until completely homogeneous.
Option 2: Incorporating the eggs with a Food Processor
Place the dough in the food processor and run it for 10 seconds with an open tube to release the steam. Keep the processor running and pour the eggs through a feeding tube. Run the processor for 10 seconds and stop. Scrape the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula and run it for 30 seconds to finish incorporating the eggs.
Piping and Baking
Move the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a 1cm French Star Tip (Ateco 864). A half inch (1.25cm) round tip works too. Invert a half sheet (18x13” / 46x33cm). Dab the sheet with dough in the corners and then put the parchment paper on it.
Pipe 16 puffs on each sheet (4 staggered rows of 4 puffs) 10-12g for small puffs / 15-17g for medium puffs. Spray the puffs with water. Dab up the tails with a wet finger.
Fill 1 or 2 small pans with 1 inch of boiling water and place on the floor of the oven. Place the two baking sheets in the oven. Turn on the convection fan if you have it. Bake for 25 min for small / 35 min for medium puffs before opening the oven door. Peek to see if the puffs are brown. If not, shut the door immediately. When the puffs are brown and completely firm to the touch, remove them from the oven. Turn off the oven and remove the pans with water.
If filling from the top, poke the sides of the puffs with a skewer to release the steam. If filling from the bottom, make a hole in the bottom of each puff with the Ateco 864 tip and wiggle in the skewer to make sure the webs of dough won’t block the cream. Return the puff to the turned off oven (with the holes facing up) for 10 min.
Filling
Cool the puffs completely on a wire rack and fill with Diplomat cream (see below) using Ateco 804 tip. Dunk the top of the puffs in chocolate glaze and refrigerate at least 30 min before serving. Can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours after filling. Unfilled puffs can be frozen in a zip lock bag for later use. Defrost frozen puffs for 30 minutes and re-crisp in a 350F (180C) oven for 5 min.
Diplomat Cream
1 recipe chilled pastry cream (see below)
230g cold heavy cream
60g cold creme fraiche
Place the pastry cream into a bowl and beat with a whisk to restore creaminess. In a chilled mixer bowl with a chilled whisk attachment whip heavy cream on high speed until foamy. Add the creme fraiche and continue beating until the cream holds stiff peaks. Fold a third of the whipped cream into the pastry cream using a spatula, then fold in the rest. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with Ateco 804 opening (or whatever tip will fit into the holes in the bottom of your puffs).
Pastry Cream (make a day in advance)
242 g whole milk
242 g heavy cream
100g sugar
1/2 Vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 1 tsp vanilla extract or paste)
2 large eggs (100 grams weighed without the shell)
32 grams corn starch
Pinch of salt
1 Tbsp Grand Marnier (or liquor of your choice)
42g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 3 pieces
If you have professional grade plastic wrap, line a small baking sheet with it. Or prep a heat safe container with a piece of parchment paper that fits the top perfectly.
Place the milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla bean with scraped out seeds into a 2-3 quart saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Whisk the eggs and cornstarch in a small bowl until completely smooth. When the milk mixture comes to a simmer, remove the vanilla bean. Add roughly 1/2 cup of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking. Strain the egg mixture through a fine mesh strainer into another bowl.
Bring the milk mixture to a boil and take off heat. Add the egg mixture and whisk immediately. Place over medium heat and whisk constantly (make sure your whisk can reach the corners). After the mixture thickens, wait for a boil and then cook for 1 minute, whisking the entire time. Take off heat. Add grand marnier, salt and butter. Whisk until the butter dissolves. Pour the mixture into a prepared baking sheet or container. Press a piece of plastic or parchment paper directly into the top of the cream. Cool on a rack for 30 minutes and refrigerate at least 3 hours for a baking sheet and overnight for a taller container. Smooth out with a whisk before using.
Chocolate Glaze
Only make when ready to use since it doesn’t reheat well.
113g heavy cream
113g chopped chocolate (roughly 60% cacao content)
25g light corn syrup
Bring the cream to a boil. Take off heat. Stir in the chocolate and whisk until smooth and glossy. Add the corn syrup and whisk thoroughly.