Cream Puffs

Filled with cream? Enough said... Here are cream puffs that are inspired by a bakery in Vancouver that served green tea puffs. Anyways, how often are you able to fly over to Oahu to get the ones at Liliha Bakery? Now you can bake these up right at home.

Green Tea Cream Puffs

Chantilly Chocolate! 

When Liliha Bakery is on the wrong island!

Makes 9 bomboocha cream puffs, 12 medium, or 20 mini puffs

Ingredients

Cream puff shells

1 stick butter

1 cup water

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 cup flour

4 eggs

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan combine the butter, water, salt and sugar and bring to a rolling boil.

2. Remove the pan from heat then add the flour and stir vigorously for about 3 minutes. You want most of the moisture to steam off.

3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Dough should be smooth and satiny.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

5. Drop the dough in spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Use a heaping spoonful for large puffs and Tablespoon for mini puffs. Yes, they will look flat like a cookie at this point but that will change!

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and puffy. Meanwhile, make the cream filling (see below).

7. After puffs have fully cooled, poke a hole in the bottom with a chopstick/cut in half then fill a plastic ziploc bag with the cream filling, snip the corner, and inject the puff with the cream.

8. Garnish with powdered sugar, matcha powder, whipped cream, chocolate shavings or whatever your heart desires.

9. Eat up and try to share!

Variations of cream filling

Green Tea

1 cup heavy cream (or container of cool whip)

1 1/4 cup milk

1 package vanilla pudding mix

1 1/2 - 2 teaspoons Matcha powder (depending how strong you want it)

1. Mix together the milk, pudding mix, and matcha powder until smooth. 

2. Whip heavy cream with an electric mixer until it forms soft peaks, about 4 minutes. Skip step if you are using Cool Whip.

3.  Fold the green mixture into the whipped cream and chill in fridge until it's ready to fill the puffs

Chocolate/Chantilly

Chocolate Cream:

1 small box chocolate pudding

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2-1 container cool whip (depending on the desired consistency)

1. Mix together milk and chocolate pudding mix

2. Fold in cool whip. Use whole container of cool whip if you want the cream to be more fluffy.

Chantilly:

1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup white sugar

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup finely ground macadamia nuts ( I used my blender)

1. Mix together evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter, and vanilla in a bowl placed over a saucepan of boiling water.

2. Cook over medium heat and stir constantly until thick, about 12 minutes.

3. Remove from heat then add in macadamia nuts and let cool.

4. Refrigerate until ready to fill cream puffs