German Cream Puffs with Vanilla Cream

This year, my son's class had an assignment to read a book about a country of their choice and to do a book report on that country. One of the kids in his class chose a book on Germany and brought in for their report, German Cream Puffs. Evidently, he really enjoyed them because I received an e-mail from him a couple of days ago asking me to make German Cream Puffs, please. I did some searching online and found a recipe that sounded good and even referenced her grandma - sounded good.

I made up a batch of the puffs and as they were baking, I was so glad that I had put them in a lipped pan - there was butter everywhere! Then, I went to make the filling and she referenced reserved milk, but there was no milk listed in the recipe. I had already started mixing the other ingredients, so I had to find a replacement cream that used those quantities (or more) of egg yolks, corn starch and sugar.

As I looked deeper, I found some comments on another post where there was too much liquid. It referenced a slightly different ratio for the puffs and I think I will try that next time.

German Cream Puffs

(what I did)
1/2 c butter
1/4 c water
1/2 c flour
2 eggs

(what I will try next time)
1/2 c butter
1 c water
1 c flour
4 eggs
1 tsp salt

Heat the butter and water to boiling in a saucepan.

Stir in all of the flour and beat quickly for about a minute until a nice ball forms. Remove from heat and add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.

Once all have been added, beat until the mixture is smooth and shiny.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 35 - 40 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Vanilla Cream
2 c milk
1/4 c sugar
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1/4 c cornstarch
1/3 c sugar
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla

In saucepan, combine milk and 1/4 c sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

While that is cooking, in a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and eggs. Stir together the remaining sugar and cornstarch and stir them into the egg mixture.

When the milk has come to a boil, remove from heat and slowly, with stirring, add it to the egg mixture. Return all of the mixture to the saucepan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly so the eggs don't cook to the bottom. When it comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat and add the butter and vanilla, mixing until the butter is fully melted and mixed in. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface, so that a skin doesn't form. Refrigerate to chill before using.

Assembly: Cut cooled cream puffs in half, fill with cream and replace the top.

Have you made cream puffs? Does the modification sound right to you?

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