Life-Changing Cream Puffs

by Kaesalesa Hamby

Event Team

When I was 15, I had to make some money, fast! My choir was going to take a trip to Europe, and I needed to raise $7,000 to go. I decided my best bet was to do what I do best: bake.

My dad and I sat down and came up with a plan. He does a lot of baking and cooking (he even teaches cooking classes at UVU), so I was glad to have his help. The plan was that I would make cream puffs and sell them to family, friends, and neighbors, and through ads on Facebook. They couldn’t just be ordinary cream puffs, though. We had to make them something special.

First, we came up with our own custard using almond flavoring and whole milk. We also added cardamom to the dough, which gave it a nutty flavor. I had to admit, they were pretty good. With the money they made plus some more help from my parents, I was able to go on the trip.

The Trip

We toured seven different countries all over Europe. We sang in cathedrals and on the front lawn of Windsor Castle. When we rode a coach from London to Italy, I set a personal record of holding my breath through a tunnel for 2 minutes and 5 seconds. In Venice, we watched artists blow glass, and I bought a pair of glass earrings. In France we visited a palace where Napoleon lived, and in Germany we witnessed the crematoriums and gas chambers of Dachau. In every way, it was a life-changing experience.

While some of my choirmates would hunt for a McDonald’s, I ate at hole-in-the-wall places and discovered fantastic food! I still remember the pesto sauce at a tiny Austrian restaurant with ancient furniture and beautiful chandeliers. I don’t know whether they were really the best meals I’d ever eaten or if being in Europe made them so special. But I loved the gelato I had in Switzerland and Italy, the macrons in Paris, the chocolate I savored on top of a Swiss Alp, and the soft drinks with real orange juice instead of orange flavoring. I also had a lot of really amazing pastries, but no cream puffs.

Life-Changing Cream Puffs

(makes 20 pastries)

Pastries

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp cardamom
• almond extract to taste (optional)
• 4 large eggs

Directions

1. Boil water and butter together over medium heat.
2. Stir in the flour, cardamom, and almond extract, mixing vigorously until the flour mixture has absorbed all the liquid.
3. Stir until a ball forms.
4. Remove from heat and let cool until the pan and dough is comfortable to touch.
5. Stir in the eggs one at a time until they are completely incorporated into the dough. Beat until smooth, but don’t overmix.
6. Separate dough and roll into balls. You can make them baseball-sized, which is somewhat traditional here in the United States, or you can make them just an inch or two across, in which case they become the popular European profiteroles.
7. Arrange rolls on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, then bake them for 40 minutes at 400° F.

Almond Custard

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 6 Tbsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp corn starch
• 2 cups milk
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp almond extract

Directions

1. Mix the egg yolks, sugar, and corn starch together in a bowl until smooth.
2. Heat the milk over medium heat until it is almost boiling, stirring constantly.
3. Temper the egg mixture with a bit of the hot milk by whisking the eggs vigorously as you slowly add a little hot milk at a time until the eggs are gradually warmed to the temperature of the milk. (Don’t add the milk too quickly or the eggs will curdle.)
4. Add the egg mixture back into the rest of the milk. Whisk continuously until thickened.
5. Cool the custard in an ice bath to cease its cooking.
6. Add in the butter and almond and whisk until smooth.
7. Inject custard into your cream puffs and enjoy!

Note: Once the custard is made, if you don’t want to use it right away, store it in the fridge with a film of plastic wrap pressed down on the surface so it doesn’t form a skin.