Cream Puffs

My daughter wanted to make dessert for me for Mothers Day, and when she suggested Cream Puffs, I just knew we had to make them! Today was definitely a Cream Puff Day!!!

They are quite simple to make and they are oh so fun to eat!


For the Filling:

Make 1 recipe vanilla pudding. (I made homemade vanilla pudding from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, but a box of pudding made according to directions works well too). Whip about 1 cup of cream, adding vanilla and sugar. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding until fully incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.

For the pastry:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells.

When I split the shells, I pulled out a little of the inside to create a little pocket to hold the filling, but this is optional.

Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle some homemade hot fudge sauce on top.

This is like my recurring dream...

For years I had this recurring dream. Not frequently, but maybe once or twice a year. It was something like this:

Phone rings. I answer, but forget to say hello. Because I never say hello, noone responds. I'm sure that someone is there and I know that if I had just said hello, that person would respond. But, since I missed my chance to say hello (and there is an illogical dream rule that states that once missed, I couldn't get that chance back). The mysterious caller and I would just sit there in a dreamy stalemate, listening to silence. At this point I would wake up, rather frustrated.

A few weeks ago, I realized that this blog had turned into something like this dream. Once I had gone a couple of weeks without posting, I felt like I had lost my chance! I would look at it and just continue to wait...

Well, this morning, I made crepes, and they were fabulous!!! Oh my! I can't just let this one slip by my blog, oh no.

So here goes. I just woke up from my dream, and now I'm going to post again. Wish me luck!

This recipe comes from my Mother-in-Law. When she made it for me the first time (just after I was married), there was no fruit in it, just the crepes, syrup, and whipped cream. It was so good! We have added the fruit and I think its even better!



Fruit Filled Crepes with Orange Syrup

For the Crepes:
1 c. milk
3 eggs
3/4 cups flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine the ingredients in the blender and blend on high speed 1 minute until smooth. Allow to sit for a while (I made the syrup during this time).

Heat an 8" crepe pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle a few drips of water on the pan; if they sizzle, the pan is ready to use. Coat hot pan with a spray of oil, or a drizzle of butter.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet. Immediately pick up the pan and tilt and swirl it so that the batter covers the entire bottom of the pan. Pour any excess batter back into the bowl.

Loosen the edges of the crepe with a metal spatula. You can use a spatula to turn the crepe, or you can use your fingers. Using both hands, pick up the loosened edges with your thumb and index finger and quickly flip it over.

Cook on the other side until lightly golden (usually less than a minute). and slide it out onto a plate. I stacked them on top of each other and they didn't stick. If you are making them for later use, you may want to separate them with wax paper.

For the Syrup:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Bring honey and butter to a boil, remove from heat and add the orange juice and orange peel. At this point, I added a bit of vanilla.

To Serve:
Sliced bananas
Fresh or frozen fruit: blueberries, strawberries, etc.
Unsweetened or lightly sweetened whipped cream
Orange Syrup
Crepes

Roll crepes with fruit inside (and a little syrup). Top with additional fruit, syrup and whipped cream.

Hannah's Cake

I've recently started subscribing to the Family Fun Magazine. Every issue has a section that spotlights a child making a recipe with a parent's guidance. Hannah always gets excited and wants to make that recipe.

This is the result:



Honestly, we didn't like this recipe so much. The cake was a little dry. We prefer the Amazing Tunnel Cake. For some reason it was much better.

Evolution of the Sticky Bun: Maple Walnut Sticky Buns

Remember my Walnut Sticky Bun Post? And my Sticky Buns Revisited? Well, I'm going to repost the recipe. I find that if I make a recipe often enough, it goes through changes. While this recipe is still very similar to the previous ones, I just wanted to update everyone on what I do now. Yes, I actually make these more often than I'd like to admit.

I now call these Maple Walnut Sticky Buns. And they are good good good!

To get a nice close up of this sticky bun, click on the picture. Its just beautiful!! Brings tears to my eyes! Seriously, click on it right now. I'm not joking. After you have looked at the full size picture, you have permission to keep reading this post.

Ok, now that you have looked at the full sized bun, wipe the tears (of joy) from your eyes and proceed:

Maple Walnut Sticky Buns
Dough:
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (the kind that you add to the flour without proofing)
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup milk
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (I used 4 cups in the dough)

Filling (the way I make it, which is doubled):
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter

Topping:
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (yes, the good stuff!)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons cream or half and half

The Dough:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Stir to combine.

In a microwaveable bowl (I use a two cup pyrex measure), melt 1/4 c. butter. Then add the milk and microwave for about 30 seconds. Add the eggs. Whisk until smooth.

Add the liquid mixture into the dry, and mix on low speed until blended. Switch to a dough hook and then, again on low speed, slowly incorporate the remaining 2 to 2 1/2 cups of flour. Increase speed to medium, kneading dough until smooth and slightly sticky (adding a little more flour if too wet), 3 to 5 minutes. I like to make sure the dough is quite sticky at this point. It makes for a more tender dough.

With oiled hands, remove the dough from the mixing bowl, and place in a large, oiled bowl. Turn dough over in bowl to coat with the oil from the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour (or 2 hours if not in a warm place).

While the dough is rising, I make the filling and topping.

The Filling:

I just melt the butter in a microwaveable bowl and then add the cinnamon and sugar and stir until smooth.

The Topping:

In a 1-quart saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and maple syrup over low heat; stir until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Pour mixture into a greased 9" x 13" pan and sprinkle walnuts on top.

After the dough has risen, gently punch down. Turn out onto a lightly floured cutting board or counter top and let sit for 5 or 10 minutes (ok, I don't usually let it sit, but I think that if you let it rest for a few minutes, the dough will relax a bit and be a little easier to shape).

Roll dough out into a 12" x 18" rectangle (I never measure and my rectangle is never picture perfect). Spread cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the top of the rolled dough.

Starting with the long side, roll dough into a long cylinder. (my cylinder is always pretty lopsided, but it still works just fine). Place seam side down on a flat surface and cut crosswise into 12 slices. Dental floss is good for this, but I often just use a serrated knife.

Place dough slices, flat side down, on top of prepared topping in the 9x13 pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake buns until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove pan from oven and immediately (and carefully as not to spill hot topping on your toes!) invert onto a serving tray or baking dish.

Let buns cool slightly and serve warm.