Cream Puffs With Raspberry Craquelin And Whipped Chocolate Mousse Recipes

Steps:

• For the cream puffs: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Put the butter, granulated sugar, salt and 3/4 cup water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. As soon as it boils, take off the heat and add the flour. Mix vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixtures comes together and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until slightly cooled. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. After adding the last egg, beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Use a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop to place rounds about 1/2 inch apart onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake the cream puffs for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F and continue to bake until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool completely, then use a serrated knife to cut the puffs in half.
• For the filling: Beat the cream, mascarpone and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until it just holds stiff peaks, then gently fold in the jam.
• When ready to serve, use a large spoon to dollop the cream on the bottom half of the puffs and add 1 raspberry to each. Then top with the other half of the puff.

Steps:

• To make the cream puffs: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt, and granulated sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds to evaporate some of the moisture.
• Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and working 1 egg at a time, add 3 of the eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining egg and mix until incorporated.
• Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe the dough onto the baking sheet, in 2-inch diameter rounds or balls. Whisk the remaining egg with 1 1/2 teaspoons water. Brush the surface of the rounds with the egg wash to knock down the points (you may not use all the egg wash). Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until puffed up, and light golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• To fill the cream puffs, place a pastry tip on your finger and poke a whole in the bottom of each puff. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff. Pipe whipped cream into each cream puff and chill until ready to serve, no more than 4 hours.
• Notes about the recipe: The moisture in the eggs turns to steam and puffs the batter to try to release itself. You can fill them with anything.

Steps:

• To make the craquelin: Pulse the butter, sugar and salt in a food processor until just blended. Add the flour, and pulse until you have moist curds; pulse in the vanilla. Scrape the dough out onto the counter, and pull it together into a ball. Divide in half, shape each half into a disk and roll out each piece between parchment paper until it's about 1/8 to 1/16 inch thick. Freeze for at least 1 hour, and then cut into 1 3/4-to-2-inch-diameter rounds. Freeze until needed (always use frozen).
• Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Have a small (2-teaspoon capacity) cookie scoop, spoon or a piping bag at hand.
• To make the puffs: Bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt just to a boil in a medium pan. Reduce the heat to low, add the flour all at once and start stirring like mad with a flexible spatula. Stir and mash the dough until it comes together and leaves a film on the bottom of the pan. Keep cooking and stirring nonstop for another 3 minutes to dry but not color it. Scrape the dough into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work with a hand mixer). Beat the dough for 2 minutes to cool it down a bit. Combine the eggs and white, stir with a fork to break them up and then add to the dough in three additions, beating on medium speed. Beat until the dough is satiny and runs off the beater smoothly.
• Scoop, spoon or pipe puffs that are about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, leaving about 2 inches between each puff. (At this point, you can freeze them and then, when they are solid, pack them in an airtight container. When you're ready to bake, arrange the frozen puffs on a lined baking sheet and keep them on the counter while you preheat the oven.) Place a frozen round of craquelin on each puff.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheets if needed, or until the tops are golden brown and crackled. The puffs will feel firm when gently squeezed and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer them to racks, and cool to room temperature.