Crunchy choux puffs filled with a silky smooth ube custard, these ube cream puffs are the perfect combination of textures and flavors and are going to have your guests raving for sure!
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What is choux au craquelin?
Choux au craquelin, aka cookie choux, is choux pastry baked with a thin cookie on top to create a sweet and crunchy shell. This shell called 'craquelin' is usually made up of flour, sugar, and butter.
What is ube?
If you aren't familiar with ube, it is a purple root vegetable originating in the Philippines. It has a sweet, slightly nutty, vanilla-y taste and is commonly used in desserts.
Ube is often made into a jam in order to be used in desserts. The jam is called ube halaya and is prepared by cooking ube, sugar and dairy together. This can be eaten as it is, but it is most commonly used to create other sweet treats.
Ube halaya can be readily found in Filipino supermarkets and some Asian stores, otherwise, it's widely available online too! If you are unable to find ube halaya you can also use fresh or frozen ube and prepare the jam yourself. There are heaps of recipes online for ube halaya so you won't have any trouble finding your way around.
Another way that ube is commonly used in desserts is using it in the form of an extract. Ube extract can be found in any Asian grocery and is the easiest way to get ube flavor into your desserts. A couple of drops not only adds ube flavoring, but also creates a stunning deep purple color.
How to make perfect choux pastry
Choux pastry seems easy, but there are couple of key points to keep in mind in order to achieve the perfect cream puff...
Drying out the 'panade'
The panade is the mixture of milk, water, butter and flour. Drying out the panade is one of the most important steps when making choux pastry. It's important to dry out the dough sufficiently as this can affect the pastry during baking.
Too much moisture will cause the choux pastries to deflate and become soft and soggy after baking.
Adding the eggs slowly
The eggs also add to the moisture of the dough. Like I mentioned earlier, too much moisture is detrimental for the choux pastries, so it is important to keep a close eye on how much egg is being added to your dough.
The amount of egg can differ depending on how much your dough has dried out, and how much liquid your flour is absorbing.
I like to crack my eggs into a jug and pour the egg into the dough in intervals, checking the texture of the dough as I go.
You can tell the dough is ready when you lift up the spatula/paddle attachment and a 'V' or 'beak' forms. At this point you can stop adding egg and transfer it to a piping bag to be piped.
Keep the oven door closed
This is the MOST important tip.
Choux pastry relies on the moisture built up in the oven to rise.
If the oven door is opened during the baking process, the built up moisture is released and the choux pastries will deflate. Ensure your choux pastries are fully baked before opening the oven door!
Poke holes in your choux pastry with a toothpick once baked
Once the choux puffs have been baked there will be a build up of moisture inside the puff. This is what helps it rise, but once it's out of the oven moisture will cause the choux pastries to become soggy.
In order to prevent that and keep them crisp use a toothpick to poke a few holes on the bottom of each puff right after they come out of the oven. This allows the excess steam to escape, resulting in a perfect choux pastry ready to be filled.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do cream puffs last?
Cream puffs are best eaten on the day they're made, as the shell is still crisp and crunchy. However, if you store them in an airtight container in the fridge they will last for up to 2 days.
Can I make these ahead of time?
Yes, you can make cream puffs ahead of time, or even the day before. If you are preparing them in advance I'd recommend storing the baked puffs in an airtight container on the bench top. Then when you are ready to serve poke a hole on the base of the puff and fill them with the ube cream.
Why are my cream puffs flat?
There are a couple of reasons why your cream puffs turned out flat:
Too much egg was added to the batter
You need to check how much egg you are adding as you go. Too much will cause your batter to spread and stay flat due to excess moisture
The oven wasn't preheated to a high enough temperature
The oven should be preheated to 230C/445F before dropping it to 160C/320F just before baking. This initial high heat helps to give the puffs rise higher.
The oven door was opened too early
As the pastries bake they are building up moisture, the moment the oven door opens the moisture will escape causing the choux puffs in their half-baked delicate state to deflate immediately.
Why is my creme patissiere lumpy?
There are a few reasons:
- The egg yolk mixture wasn't combined properly before adding the milk
- The combined custard mixture wasn't whisked consistently as it was cooking
- The heat of the stove top was too high when cooking the custard, causing the edges to cook faster
Let's Get Cooking
If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went. Also don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts so I can see and share your desserts.
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Print📖 Recipe
Ube Cream Puffs
Crunchy choux puffs filled with a silky smooth ube custard, these ube cream puffs are the perfect combination of textures and flavors and are going to have your guests raving for sure!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 Cream Puffs 1x
- Category: Pastry
- Method: Intermediate
- Cuisine: Asian Fusion
Ingredients
Craquelin
- 65 g Brown sugar (⅓ cup)
- 65 g Plain flour (½ cup)
- 65 g Unsalted butter, softened (⅓ cup)
Choux Pastry
- 50 g Milk (3 tablespoon 1 tsp)
- 50 g Water (3 tablespoon 1 tsp)
- 45g Unsalted butter (3 tablespoon 1 tsp)
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of sugar
- 55 g Plain flour (⅓ cup 4 tsp)
- 100 g Beaten egg, approx 2 eggs
Creme Patissiere
- 30 g Egg yolk, approx 2 egg yolks
- 60 g Sugar (4 tablespoon 2 tsp)
- 25 g Cornflour (3 tablespoon 1 tsp)
- 200 g Milk (¾ cup 4 tsp)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 25 g Butter (2 tbsp)
Ube Cream
- 200 g Thickened/Heavy cream (¾ cup 2 tsp)
- Creme Patissiere, prepared and cooled
- 1 tsp Ube extract
Instructions
Craquelin
- Combine brown sugar, flour and butter in a mixing bowl
- Rub the butter into the flour and sugar using your fingertips
- Place between two sheets of baking paper and roll out to 4mm in thickness
- Freeze
- Cut into 4cm or 1 ½" inch round discs and reserve in freezer until ready for use
Choux Pastry
- Preheat the oven to 230°C
- Heat milk, water, butter, salt and sugar in a small aluminium saucepan
- When it starts to boil remove from heat and add the flour in one go, mixing vigorously until smooth
- Return to heat and flatten the dough to the bottom of the pan, listening for crackling of the dough without mixing
- Give the pan a shake and when you notice a thin film on the bottom of the pan the dough is sufficiently dry
- Mix the dough and remove from heat
- Using a wooden spoon/spatula beat the dough to let steam evaporate and then cool for 10 minutes
- Slowly add the beaten egg and combine until the dough is smooth, but still holds structure (the batter will form a 'V' or a 'beak' on the spoon/spatula when lifted)
- Pipe small 3.5cm or 1 ⅓" round mounds on a lined baking sheet
- Top with a disc of frozen craquelin
- Turn down the oven temperature to 160°C and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown
- Remove from oven and poke a hole in the bottom of each puff to release steam
- Cool on a wire rack
Creme Patissiere
- Heat milk until just boiling in a small saucepan
- Meanwhile, in a medium sized mixing bowl combine egg yolks and sugar, whisking until doubled in volume
- Sift in the cornflour and matcha powder, mix until combined
- Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture and whisk until smooth
- Return the mixture to heat and whisk constantly until thick
- Remove from heat and add butter
- Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, ensuring it touches the surface of the pastry cream
- Cool in fridge until use
Ube Cream
- Whisk the cream and ube extract together until medium-stiff peaks are reached
- Add the cooled creme patisserie and whisk until stiff peaks are reached
- Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip
- Reserve in the fridge until use
Assembly
- Poke a hole at the bottom of each choux puff
- Fill the choux with the ube cream
- Repeat until all puffs are filled
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 2 days of filling
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