What's in a Cream Puff?

A year ago, I bumped into a cream puff bakery and I took a good look at them... very closely. They looked plain and boring but out of curiosity I bought some and when I tasted them, it felt like a breath of fresh air. That was the first time I went crazy over something unexpected. I loved how the creamy filling melt in my mouth, I just couldn't describe it. It was love at first taste. Since then, I regularly buy these heavenly pastry but I realized it was hurting my pocket. For four plain cream puffs, it would cost me 125 pesos. So I searched online for a simple recipe I could follow. Here it is:

Cream Puff Pastry
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup boiling water
1 cup flour
1/4 tspn. salt
4 eggs
Stir butter and water in a saucepan over high heat until melted and until mixture is boiling rapidly. Add flour and salt, raise over flame and continue stirring until it forms into a ball. Cook for 30 seconds, remove from heat then beat in one egg at a time. Form batter into balls and bake at preheated oven for around 35 minutes at 356 degrees F.

Cream Puff Basic Filling
2 tbsp. butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tspn salt
2 pcs. egg yolks (beaten)
Melt the butter, add sugar, cornstarch and salt. Slowly add milk then boil it. Add the egg yolks and cook for two minutes longer, add vanilla and stir constantly.

There you have it! You could also fill your cream puffs with flavored whipped cream and fresh sliced fruits for a simple touch, glaze them with egg yolks for a dramatic shimmer, and sprinkle a lot of things like powdered sugar of candy sprinkles, cinnamon, etc. You could also fill it with your favorite ice-cream flavors! I recommend vanilla and drench it with chocolate syrup.... Mmmmmm... Yummmmy! Cream puff is something that is new to us Filipinos, try it so you'll know what you've been missing.