Japanese Cream Puff Recipe

I was introduced to Japanese cream puffs when Beard Papa's first Vancouver shop opened. There were huge line ups throughout the first day of opening. It was pretty crazy! I didn't get to buy any till a week later...and even then I still had to line up. The cream puffs were super delicious. It was light, creamy, and had just the right amount of sweetness. The most important thing it wasn't heavy or filling at all.

When I stumbled on this recipe a while ago, I knew I had to give it a try. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be...and the cream puffs taste just as good as Beard Papa's in my opnion...which was nice! There are a number of steps to the recipe though but it was definitely worth the time and work. When I first saw the need to use vanilla bean pods in this recipe, I wondered if I can use vanilla extract instead coz I never used vanilla bean pods before. I'm glad I stuck with the bean pods coz it gave the cream a really pleasant vanilla flavor and scent. Very nice!

Japanese Cream Puff Recipe

Makes 9 cream puffs

Ingredients:

60g cake flour

3 eggs

100ml water

60g unsalted butter

400ml milk

4 egg yolks

100g sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp cake flour

100ml heavy cream 34% - 35% fat

1/3 vanilla bean pod

1/2 tbsp sugar

Pinch of salt

Electric mixer

Ice cubes

2 Pastry bags

Large round decorating tip

Spray bottle with water

 

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, add water, butter, and pinch of salt. Cook under medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook till butter is dissolved. Turn off the heat and add 60g of cake flour. Stir with a spatula. Turn on the heat again and stir under medium heat for about 1-2 minutes. Transfer mixture into a bowl.

2. In a small bowl, beat 3 eggs. Add the beaten eggs in small batches to the flour mixture. Mix the mixture after adding each batch of beaten eggs to make sure the eggs are absorbed into the mixture. Make sure the entire mixture is well mixed. 

3. Preheat oven to 390F

4. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Prepare pastry bag with a large round decorating tip. Scoop the mixture into the pastry bag. Gently squeeze out the batter into approx 2" circles on the parchment paper. Leave about 1 1/2" apart.

5. Spray the entire baking pan (including the batters) with water to avoid dryness in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes or until light golden brown.

6.  Remove puffs from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.

7. In a saucepan, add milk. Cut the 1/3 piece of vanilla bean pod in half. Scrap the seeds off using the back of a knife. Add both the vanilla seeds and pods into the milk. Cook under low heat. Gently stir, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat.

8. In a bowl, sift corn starch and 2 tbsp of cake flour together.

9. In a separate bowl, mix 4 egg yolks with 100g of sugar till light in color. Add corn starch mixture to the egg yolk mixture. Mix. Then gradually add the milk mixture and mix. 

10. Using a strainer, strain the mixture into a sauce pan to remove the pods and unwanted clumps. Turn the heat on medium. Stir the mixture till it thickens. Turn off the heat when mixture begins to bubble. Transfer into a shadow bowl or small pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge till the mixture is cool and feels kinda gelatin/jelly like.

11. In a large bowl, add some ice cubes and place a smaller bowl inside. Add heavy cream and1/2 tbsp of sugar. Use a electric hand mixer and whip into whipping cream. (Stiff peak) 

12. Remove the mixture from the fridge, and gently stir the mixture a bit to soften it up a bit. Gradually add the whipped cream to the mixture. Fold the cream into the mixture. 

 

13. Prepare a pastry bag with a large round decorating tip. Scoop cream mixture into the pastry bag.

14. Make a diagonal cut on each of the puffs. Open up the puffs and gently squeeze in a generous amount of cream into each puff.

All done! Enjoy! =)