“Light & airy, in a bite
You seem like nothing, but have that might
Creamy, oozy, Mmmm.. you sound
Of happiness, smiles, and love newly found
Pop in a few, and those worries run
It’s song and dance, and all things fun
What’re you waiting for, c’mon off you go
Roll up your sleeves, and make a few!”
I have always been scared of puffs. And all things pastry. But these little bites of cloud were very so easy to make, and turned out pretty darn well for my first attempt! Oh, and as always, I filled them with a cardamom flavored chocolate cream for a sneaky indian twist!
Hopefully this post will encourage all those who have been shying away from making puffs, to don that apron and give it a bake.
Ingredients
Puffs (makes 15-18 bite sized puffs)
½ cup boiling water
¼ cup (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
½ cup flour
A pinch of salt salt
2 large eggs
Filling
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon brown sugar
2 green cardamom, crushed
Make the filling
Whip the cream till soft peaks form. Fold in the sugar, cardamom & cocoa. Give it another quick whip till the cocoa is well blended. Discard the cardamom skin and refrigerate for at least an hour to get it chilled.
Make the puffs
Boil the water in a saucepan. Add the butter to the water and stir until melted. Stir in the flour & salt, and mix well till the dough starts to come together and a sticky, homogeneous ball is formed (see below).
Remove from heat and add 1 of the eggs. Beat well and let the mixture stand for 3-5 minutes. Add the other egg and, once again, beat well. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Mix for the last time and put the mixture into a piping bag. Snip off the edge of the bag, and put dollops of the mixture on a cookie tray, approximately 2 inches apart. You may use a spoon to do this, but the dough is rather sticky so I find it easier to use a bag!
Pre heat the oven to 375 F and bake for 20-25 minutes, till the crust is light brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Mine were done in 22 minutes.
Cool completely and then fill with a teaspoon of the cocoa cardamom cream. Eat immediately.
You can use a variety of fillings such as banana cream, rum ganache (trust me on this one!), vanilla custard, ice cream (mmm!) or even go savory with chicken or a creamy salad. Let your imagination run wild, and enjoy this light & creamy snack bite-sized snack!
