Vanilla Cream and Chocolate Puff

This week I will be posting recipes with puff sheets or filo pastry. I have prepared quite a lot of recipes with this pastry during the long winter holidays.They have been patiently lying there in my drafts since then.

French Napoleons were on my mind when I was making these cream puffs .Napoleons not something to do with Napoleon Bonaparte, is a classic French dessert made with puff pastry.

Although I must say, I really think I need some more practice before I should claim them authentic Napoleons. So I would let it remain cream puffs as that is what my DD and DH told me while eating them.

Napoleon is made with many layers of creamed filled pastry and is also known as mille-feuilles. Sometimes fruit preserves are also used along with cream. I have left out the fruit preserve part and made only with cream and chocolate.

Now to the recipe

Vanilla Cream and Chocolate puffs

 Recipe requirements

• 1 packet puff pastry
• For the cream stuffing
• ½ cup of double cream
• ¼ cup of sugar
• 5-6 tbs of thick custard
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• For the glazing
• ½ cup of icing sugar
• ½ tsp of vanilla extract
• 3-4 tbs of milk or as desired to make glaze
•  4-5 dark chocolate pieces or 3-4 tbs of melted dark chocolate

Method

• Preheat oven at 175 deg C.
• Line up a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
• Now cut the pastry into half. I have used half pastry sheet for making the cream puffs.
• Now cut half of the sheet into equal size squares approx of 1 inch wide.
• Place them over the baking tray.
• Bake them for 5 mints. Take them out and prick them with fork so that puffs don’t rise much.
• Again transfer them in oven. Bake them for 15- 20 mints at 175 deg C or till they turn out barely golden. Transfer them over a cooling rack.
• Meanwhile the puffs are baking in oven. Mix in milk and icing sugar properly for the glaze.
• Prepare the instant cream filling
• Mix in a bowl, double cream, caster sugar, vanilla essence and thick custard .You may use only vanilla custard in place of double cream. But cream does add a good texture. Beat till they turn out thick.
• Now take the puffs, with gentle hand or with the help of tines of fork, try to separate them from the middle. Place generously the instant cream filling and place the other end over it.
• Now prepare the glazing. Mix in milk and icing sugar and vanilla extract. If you think the glaze is thick add some more milk or if you think this has turn out thin.
• Now glaze the evenly over the baked puffs by drizzling the mixture over the baked puffs.
• Melt in an M/W safe bowl, dark chocolate pieces for 1 mint.
• With the help of a small dessert spoon, drizzle chocolates over the glazed cream puffs. You can make marbled appearance if you wish to decorate more.
• Keep them covered in refrigerator till all is set.

You are ready with chocolate cream puffs. Best if eaten within 2-3 days.

Serve and enjoy.

Note-

• The amount of cream and glaze can be adjusted, we don’t like much cream and sweetness, so we use bare minimum of what is required.
• In place of double cream, you can use only thick pudding or vanilla ambrosia custard as well.

Updated

Sending this post to Srivalli's Chocolate Mela.....

Happy Cooking Friends