Yep, it’s still unicorn month on our blog which means lots of rainbow and sparkle themed recipes and tutorials. This week we decided to a make something a little fancy for the unicorns who enjoy the finer things in life. Introducing our Strawberry Milkshake Cream Puffs recipe! Don’t worry though… it’s still fun and great for all ages.
Strawberry milkshake cream puffs recipe!
Makes approximately 18 cream puffs
Ingredients needed for the choux pastry:
- 100g diced butter
- 300ml water
- 150g plain flour
- 4 medium eggs lightly beaten
Ingredients needed for the strawberry cream filling:
- 284ml double cream (aka heavy cream or whipping cream)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- Strawberry essence (add how ever much you like in, but make sure you taste test)
Ingredients needed for the ‘icing’:
- 250g Belgian white chocolate
- Pink food colouring (not all work with chocolate - this is the brand and colour we used)
Step 01:
To start this Strawberry Milkshake Cream Puffs recipe pre-heat your oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas mark 6. In a saucepan add your diced up butter along with the 300ml of water and heat until the butter has melted. Once melted turn the heat up so that the ingredients come to a boil.
Step 02:
As soon as the butter and water mix boils (you really don’t need to leave it too long) add in your plain flour and mix until a ball of somewhat shiny dough forms. Nothing should stick to the sides of your saucepan at this point.
Step 03:
This step takes a bit of energy and a lot of arm work! Slowly add in your beaten egg whilst mixing the dough vigorously. Your dough should get slightly stiffer and glossier as you add the eggs!
Note: You don’t want your eggs to cook separately and end up with lumps of scrambled egg in your pastry. To help stop this when you add and mix in the egg take your saucepan off the heat. Once the egg has incorporated into the mixture add the heat then repeat until all of the lightly beaten egg has been added in. Make sure that you are constantly and vigorously stirring too!
Step 04:
Lightly spritz your silpat / silicone baking mat with a little bit of water (an unused spray bottle really helps). You could just flick water on using your fingers or a clean pastry brush too.
Step 05:
Scoop the choux pastry into a piping bag fitted with a large plain round tip and pipe equal sized balls of dough onto your baking trays.
Step 06:
Now place in your pre-heated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes!
How do you know your cream puffs are ready? Well, you’re going to have to remove one from the oven and slice it open. They tend to weigh or feel a lot heavier than they look. The inside of your eclair should also feature a lovely hollow middle and should feel a little dried out – perfect for fillings!
Step 07:
Create your pink strawberry cream filling by adding your double (heavy or whipping) cream to the bowl of a stand-up mixer. Add in the vanilla bean paste and strawberry essence too! We also included a drop of pink food colouring before whipping as this helps minimise the risk of over whipping the cream.
Note: If you do over whip your cream and end up with a clumpy looking filling it’s easy to fix! Yay! Just add a tablespoon or two of unwhipped double cream (though you can also use full fat milk) and whisk for a few seconds before checking.
Step 08:
To fill your cream puffs add the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a bismark / filling piping tip (we used a 230 by Wilton). Insert the tip into the base and slowly pipe your strawberry whipped cream into the choux pastry puff! You should see the level base of the puff begin to fill a little. Remove the tip and bag and you should see a little cream poking out!
Step 09:
To coat melt some Belgian white chocolate and add in your food colouring. Remember that not all food colours can work with chocolate. This is the brand and colour we used, which worked really well with our melted down white chocolate. Some brands can separate, go a murky colour or even seize up. If you’re unsure of how your colour will work you can keep your chocolate coating plain and instead add instant colour with lots of sprinkles!
Step 10:
Take each cream puff and dip into the chocolate. Tap each whilst upside-down to help any excess chocolate from dripping down the sides. Leave to the side to set! If you want to add sprinkles, dried pieces of strawberry etc then you should add these whilst the chocolate coating is still melted. To add splattered effects wait until set!
Now you can enjoy your (grown-up unicorn inspired of course) Strawberry Milkshake Cream Puffs! We pilled ours into our new gold rimmed champagne coupes / saucers from Sainsbury’s! Why not try these cream puffs teamed with strawberry gelato, extract whipped cream and fresh berries.
We finished ours with a liberal splattering of edible gold paint for a touch of luxe, but you can party up yours with sprinkles! Try freeze dried chopped strawberries or white chocolate sprinkles for a little extra flavour. Or for an afternoon tea or a bridal shower get-together you can even add edible petals and flowers to decorate.
