This recipe is made in several steps and requires assembly – read through the entire recipe for an overview before making the cream puffs.
Tart Dough
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon heavy cream
Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolk and salt. Add flour in two batches, alternating with the cream. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.
Puffs
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups flour
4 large whole eggs
In a saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt and bring the mixture to boil over medium-high heat. Add flour, and continue mixing over heat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat. Place dough in the mixer and beat to cool dough slightly. Add eggs one at a time until the dough is smooth and satiny. Using a pastry bag, pipe 2-inch circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes.
Roll out TART DOUGH with granulated sugar to keep it from sticking. Cut out into 1 ½ – 2-inch rounds, using a cookie or biscuit cutter. Place tart dough rounds on top of puff dough. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until puffs are golden brown. Allow to cool and prepare pastry cream filling.
Pastry Cream Filling
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
Pinch of salt
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
Fruit of your choice (pitted cherries were used in the winning recipe)
In a saucepan, combine milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla bean, and salt. Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat.
Whisk yolks, remaining ¼ cup sugar, and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Gradually add the hot milk mixture to the yolk mixture, whisking, and return the incorporated mixture back to the saucepan. Whisk over heat until the cream begins to thicken or reaches 160°. Remove the vanilla bean. Whisk in butter, until it melts. Cover with plastic wrap (place directly on the cream mixture to prevent a film from forming) and refrigerate for 2 hours. Just before serving, whip heavy cream and fold it into the cream mixture.
To Assemble:
Make small slits in puffs and stuff in the fruit of your choice. Pipe pastry cream into centers of puffs.
SOURCE: Second Place Winner, Eliza Bradbury, Berry Festival 2007
