Grandma B's Cream Puff Dessert

Sorry for no post on Monday--I've been sick (again! Second time this month!) But I'm back and with a killer recipe.

Back in the day, when Mr. Kim Chee and I would head to his family's house for the holidays, we could always expect that someone would bring the cream puff dessert. While Mr. Kim Chee tells me that it's not necessarily a Christmas-related dish, I always remember having it at Christmas. It's a relatively quick dessert to make (made even simpler if you use premade ingredients like Cool Whip and readymade chocolate syrup rather than making your own) and it's something you don't see every day.

The base of this dessert is a simple cream puff (or, if you want to get fancy, choux) dough. The dough starts with water and butter in a sauce pot.

Once the water and butter are boiling, you add flour.

Stir the flour in until a dough forms.

It should form into a ball of dough.

Remove the pot from the heat and add four eggs, one at a time. Beat really well after each addition--you want to make sure the eggs are fully incorporated, and you want to stir vigorously to avoid your eggs from scrambling.

Here's what the dough should look like after all the eggs are added.

Turn the dough out onto a well-greased cookie sheet (or jelly roll pan.) Spread the dough out on the sheet. The dough is a bit sticky--using a wet spatula helps. If the dough starts to stick again, just run the spatula or spoon under the faucet for another second to re-wet it.

All spread out.

Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Like this!

If your dough puffs up in places, just press the bubbles back down. Now set the dough aside and get to work on the topping!

I made the whipped cream first. I poured a cup of heavy cream into my mixing bowl.

The original recipe used Cool Whip, which you can certainly use if you like. I find Cool Whip makes my tummy feel funny, so I try to avoid it when possible, but I know Mr. Kim Chee could finish off a tub of Cool Whip by himself if left to his own devices.

Give your cream a whipping. When it starts to thicken, sprinkle in a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar to sweeten things up.

A teaspoon of vanilla would be nice too.

Whip until the cream has very stiff peaks. Which I am afraid to say I didn't take a picture of. But I like to overwhip a bit--better to overwhip a little than underwhip, in this case.

Set the cream in another bowl so you can re-use the mixing bowl. Toss in a brick of softened cream cheese.

Give the cream cheese a quick whip, just to spread it out a little in the bowl.

Now for some Jello. I used two small packages of instant vanilla.

Pour the pudding in with the cream cheese. Beat them around a bit.

Some milk will thin things out.

All mixed up!

Be sure to follow the instructions on the back of the pudding when whipping--you want to make sure you stir long enough to make sure your pudding thickens up.

Spread the pudding mixture over your cooled cream puff base. It will seem like a lot, but the more, the better!

I like to leave a little of the cream puff showing along the edges.

Now top the pudding with the whipped cream. You can see how stiffly I beat it here.

I like how all the layers look.
















Top your assembled dessert with some Chocolate Syrup For Your Sweetie and you're all set! Take this to your next potluck or party and people will be raving for the recipe!

Recipe: Grandma B's Cream Puff Dessert

Cream puff base:
1 c. water
1 stick butter
1 c. flour
4 eggs

Whipped cream:
1 c. whipping cream
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Pudding layer:
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 small (3.8 oz) packages instant vanilla pudding
4 c. milk


For cream puffs: In a medium sauce pot, combine water and butter. Bring to a boil. Once mixture is boiling, sprinkle in flour and stir until the dough forms a ball.

Remove dough from heat. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Pour and spread the dough out onto a well-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.


For whipped cream: Pour whipping cream into a large mixing bowl. Whisk until cream starts to thicken. Sprinkle in sugar and add vanilla. Whip cream until very stiff. Move cream to a different bowl and re-use mixing bowl.


For pudding layer: Whip cream cheese briefly in the mixing bowl. Add pudding mix and beat together. Add milk gradually until all the milk is added.

Top cream puff base with pudding. Top pudding with whipped cream. Top entire dessert with chocolate syrup. Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Maple Pie with Homemade Whipped Cream

One of my favorite "food"holidays is coming up, and what's more Thanksgiving-esque than pumpkin pie? There's just something about a spicy, homemade pumpkin pie that makes you go, "Mmmmmm ... " No store bought pie can do that, and using premade filling from a can lags behind, too. Pumpkin pie is one of those foolproof, anyone-can-make pies, and this one is especially good.

Start off with a can of pumpkin. You can roast and puree your own if you want, but it's so easy to get good, consistent pumpkin in the can year-round. Plus, if it is around Thanksgiving, your oven is probably overflowing with other goodies that need that heat.

I love how pumpkin smells.

Now the pumpkin's gotta get some flavor.

Add the spices and some brown sugar to the pumpkin.

Give everything a good stir.

Now comes the highlight of the pie--maple syrup!

The darker the syrup, the more maple flavor will come through.

Stir the maple in, and then add some half and half. If you don't have half and half on hand, you could use evaporated milk (this is different than condensed milk!), cream, or even coconut milk.

A little flour goes in, just to bind everything together.

Finally, whisk an egg and then pour it in. Then do the same to two more eggs.














All right, now that your filling is done, you need a crust. I'll admit it, I use premade crusts. I used to make my own crusts from scratch, but then I noticed that Mr. Kim Chee was not eating much of the crust, and decided it wasn't worth the effort. Plus, our kitchen is small and it's sometimes hard to find the space to roll out dough. I did find a recipe not long ago for pie crust you can make in your stand mixer--I'll have to give that a try sometime.

I get the refrigerated pie crust. The frozen is fine, too, but sometimes can crack and since it's frozen there's not much you can do to fix it. But the problem with refrigerated crust is that it's usually just large enough to fill the bottom of the pie tin, so you don't get that pretty, crimped edge. Since I usually only make one pie at a time, I use the second crust in the package to make an edge.

I find a little cookie cutter and cut out shapes from the second crust.

Looks like I need some autumn-themed cutters.

Here's a stack of shapes.

The second crust should give you just enough to go all the way around the base crust.

Then I get out some liquid--milk, half and half, or egg is what I usually use. Today I used half and half. Brush one side of your shape with whatever liquid you're using, and then press it gently onto your base crust.

I let them overlap a little. Here's the whole piecrust.

Now that my crust is ready, my filling can go in.

As a last touch, I brush the edges of the crust with more half and half.

Then I sprinkle the crust with some decorating sugar.

All ready to go into the oven!















While your pie is baking, it's a great opportunity to make some whipped cream. Yes, yes, I know they sell whipped cream (and Cool Whip) already made. But there's just something about homemade whipped cream. Plus, you can lick the beaters when you're done. 

Grab a bowl. If you've got time, it works even better if your bowl is cold and has spent some time in the freezer. But it works out pretty well with a bowl fresh from the cupboard, too. Pour some heavy whipping cream into your bowl.

Let your beaters do their job.

If you've got a kid in your house with a lot of extra energy, or a spouse wandering around looking like they're not busy, you can do this by hand, too. It just takes a little longer.

Whee!

When your cream starts to thicken, add a tablespoon of sugar.

And don't forget to add vanilla. I'm using paste here (yum, vanilla bean specks), but regular vanilla would be fine, too.

Now get back to beating!

Beat until your whipped cream is fluffy and can hold its shape. I like my whipped cream on the stiffer side. It keeps better overnight that way--it loses some of its thickness when you store it, and if you don't beat it enough the night before than you sometimes end up with some not-very-fluffy whipped cream.





Now slap a big spoonful of your vanilla cream onto your pie, get out a fork, and dig in. Who cares if the turkey's not done yet? That just means you can have another slice for dessert.

Recipe: Pumpkin-Maple Pie with Homemade Whipped Cream

Pie:
1 can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. maple syrup

1 1/4 c. half and half
1 tbsp. flour
3 eggs

1 piecrust

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, brown sugar, and spices. Stir to combine.

Add maple syrup; stir well.

Add half and half; stir well.

Add flour; stir until just combined.

Beat each egg before adding, one at a time.

Pour into piecrust. Bake for 1 hour. Cool before serving.


Whipped Cream:
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring (paste or extract)

In a large bowl, beat whipping cream until it begins to thicken.

Add white sugar and vanilla. Continue to beat until fluffy and whipped.