Cream Puffs And Pastry Swans Recipe

• "Choux" (French) means "cabbage", referring to the shape when the dough is piped on a sheet.


• Pate a choux is pronounced "pat ah shoe".


• Profiteroles are small spheres (cream puffs) filled with pastry cream.


• Cream puffs are larger than profiteroles, halved and filled with pastry cream (vanilla pudding/custard) and/or whipped cream. The top is usually dusted with powdered sugar and positioned like a "lid".


• Choux paste (pate a choux) is used to make profiteroles, cream puffs, swans, eclairs, and Gateau St. Honore.

Yield: about 16 puffs, 5" by 1 3/4" high, or 15 - 20 "swans".

Let's do it!

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt and bring to a rolling boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add all the flour at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mix comes together in a "ball" and off the sides of the pan. Return the pan to low heat and cook the flour "out" for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly so it won't stick to the bottom too badly. (Your pot will need a bit of soaking before you run it through the dishwasher.)

Let's (not) get mixed up!

Beat the pate a choux in a mixer for a minute or so, to cool it off a bit before adding the eggs. Incorporate the eggs one at a time, until the batter is smooth and shiny. The whole process shouldn't take more than 2-3 minutes.

Now fill a (disposable) pastry bag half-full with pate a choux, and pipe 3-inch mounds on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving a 2-inch space in between. Of course, you can make smaller puffs, too - for a higher yield. For swans, pipe an "S" shape. Create a "head with beak" by first increasing and then diminishing the pressure right before pulling off at the end. Use a round tip or star tip for this procedure.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F; bake your pastries for about 30 minutes to a rich golden brown. Keep the oven closed for at least 20 minutes before checking the first time.

Don't turn the oven off! Remove the sheet pan(s) and cut a 1/4-inch slit in the bottoms of the puffs (not the swan heads) to release some steam. Place the sheets back into the oven, turn OFF the heat and prop the oven door open with the handle of a wooden spoon. After about 10 minutes, close the oven door and let the puffs dry out completely for about an hour and a half, or so. The oven is turned off, right? Good.

Cut the tops off your puffs and dust them with powdered sugar. Or, drizzle chocolate over them. Or dip them in dark and/or white chocolate. Make a batch of pastry cream (creme patisserie) from scratch, or prepare a package of vanilla pudding for the filling. Top with whipped cream. Or use whipped cream only. Fill the puff bottoms and replace the lid. Voila! (You may serve a little ice cream on the side...

Can we make swans now?

Cut the tops in half for a pair of "wings". Fill the bottoms with pastry cream and whipped cream, add the neck/head and the wings, and place the swan on a dessert plate - nicely "painted" with fruit sauces from squeeze bottles.