Luscious cream puffs bring back memories of my favorite dessert my mom made for our family in Yugoslavia. Now you can make them, too! ~ Sandra Mihic
Preheat oven to 375 °F
Bring milk, butter, sugar and salt to boil.
Put the flour all at once(with baking powder) and mix rapidly until the dough cook and it forms a ball.
Turn off the heat and let the dough cool down a bit (I waited for 5 minutes)
Mix eggs in the bowl and pour just a little at the time, mixing as hard as you can with your wooden spoon. It is real workout just to let you know. Honestly, next time I will use an electric mixer! :))
When all the eggs are incorporated put it on the side.
Use spoon or Head/neck: round tube with 1/5 inch.
Body: round tube (2/5 inch) to push them out in a un-greased baking pan.
Spray the puff shells with water. The puff shells will stop growing as soon as the surface turns dry (and crunchy). Therefore, when spraying the puff shells with water, it takes more time before they turn dry and they grow bigger in the oven.
Bake but DO NOT OPEN the oven for the next 30 minutes +20 min. to dry.*
Cut them and fill when they are cooled down or like did here just insert pastry bag to pipe the filling on the bottom of the cream puff shell.
For the filling: Mix 3 cups of cold skim milk (fat free) with large vanilla pudding, about 2 minutes until it forms. Add 4 Tbs. Of Whipped Cream and combine well just by folding.
Put it in the fridge!
*I added 1 teaspoon of the fat free whipped cream on top of the pudding, but it's optional. Also, you can sprinkle some powdered sugar or chocolate rind on top.
*The 20 minutes are needed to dry the surface of the puff shells and make it more crunchy. Otherwise, it is too soft. The puff shells look well done after 30 minutes already… that’s normal. I let them rest in the turned off oven for 20 minutes and than 10 more minutes out of the oven.
Adapted from Keiko Master-Pastry by Sandra of Sandra's Easy Cooking.