Cream Puffs

  • Panade (dough)
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 T. sweet butter, cut into pieces
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup flour
  • 4 large eggs
Filling
  • 16 oz.(1 pint) of whipping cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 T. icing sugar
Topping
  • 3 oz semisweet chocolate
  • 4 t. water

Place the water, butter, and salt in a heavy saucepan, bring to a boil until the butter is melted. Remove from heat, add flour all at once mix rapidly with a wooden spoon. Return the pot to a low heat and "dry" for 5-6 min while mixing with a wooden spoon. When ready dough should be soft and not stick to fingers when pinched. Transfer the dough to the food processor allow to cool at least 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, blending between each egg. Dough will be smooth and shiny and heavy as mayonnaise when ready.

Coat a cookie sheet with butter and a sprinkle of flour. Using a pastry bag, or a plastic bag with a hole cut in the bottom corner or a tablespoon form the pastry into puffs the size of a golf ball or into 3-4 inch oblong eclairs.

Brush tops with egg wash (1 whole egg beaten), pushing down the tails on the puffs or dragging the tines of a fork to make a design on top of the eclairs. Let the egg wash to dry for at least 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 370 Bake 35 minutes shut off heat, open oven halfway to allow the pastries to cool slowly for 1 hour. Cut in half and fill

Filling:

Whip the cream using a mixer or in the food processor, add the vanilla and sugar just as the cream is setting.

Melt the chocolate and water together in a double boiler and top.