This is my mother's recipe and it has to be over 60 years old but it is really good.

Custard Cream Filling

Recipe By : Mom
Serving Size :
Categories : Desserts

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/3 cup sifted Swans Down cake flour
7/8 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks -- beaten slightly
2 cups milk -- scalded
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine, flour, sugar and salt. Add egg yolks. Scald milk in double boiler. Add a small amount of the scalded milk to the egg mixture, stirring vigorously. Add the rest of the scalded milk, return to double boiler and cook 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Cool and add vanilla. Makes enough filling for 3 9-inch layers or use to fill Mom's cream puffs.

Remember the nanner pudding thread? There are lots of pastry cream recipes there.
Cream puffs, filled with a lovely eggy vanilla scented cornstarch custard..? be still my heart! I would serve a few strawberries on the side....but I am a hedonist!
Linda c

Dip them in melted chocolate!

Or jsut drizzel them with melted chocolate.... yum indeed!

A

Can someone post the recipe for the pastry? Do you cook it in a pan and pipe it onto the baking sheet???

I used to buy chocolate covered profiteroles when we were in Holland. They were sooooo good - tasted like mini Boston creme pies!!

seagrass

My family's favorite:

* Exported from MasterCook *
Cream Puffs
Recipe By : Mom
Serving Size : 18
Categories : Desserts
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 cup Spry
1 cup boiling water
1 cup sifted all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, unbeaten
Bring Spry and water to boiling point in saucepan. Sift flour and salt together. Add to water all at once and beat vigorously until mixture is thick and smooth and comes away easily from sides of pan. Remove from fire. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition until mixture is smooth and blended. Drop mixture from tablespoon about 2 inches apart on baking sheet greased with Spry. The mixture should hold its shape and not spread. Bake in very hot oven (450) for 10 minutes, then reduce heat slightly to 400° for 25 minutes longer. Cool; slit each puff and fill with Mom's custard cream filling. Dust with confectioner's sugar. Makes 18 puffs.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NOTES : They no longer make "Spry" - substitute Crisco shortening.

I use butter....and cook at 400 the whole time....So easy to do....and soooo good!
Linda c

Thanks for the recipe, Paprikash, and for the footnotes, LindaC. I am going to try to make these.

Can I just melt some chocolate bars in the microwave for the chocolate topping???

seagrass

I melt chocolate chips in a baggie and cut a hole in the corner and squeeze.....then turn the bag inside out and lick it clean!

In the middle of this recipe you'll find the recipe for Dulce de Leche cream filling.....oh my, over the top delicious!

Dulce De Leche Cream Puffs With Frangelico And Hazelnuts

Puffs
1 c water
1/2 c unsalted butter
1/2 t salt
1 c AP flour
4 cold eggs
1/2 c chopped hazelnuts
Filling
3/4 c dulce de leche at room temp
2 1/4 c 18% cream
4 T sugar,divided
pinch salt
3 T AP flour
3 egg yolks
2 T Frangelico
1/2 t vanilla
Sauce
3/4 c dulce de leche at room temp
2 T Frangelico
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 c chopped hazelnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 425. Place rack just below oven centre. Line a
baking sheet with parchment.

Heat water, butter and salt in a sauce pan over medium heat until water
is quite hot and butter melts. Add flour and stir frequently for 3 to 5
minutes, or until mixture easily forms large smooth ball.

Place ball in bowl of mixer , break up by mixing briefly with paddle.
Cool 5 minutes then beat in eggs 1 at a time on low to medium speed
until well mixed. Using a spatula fold in hazelnuts.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inces apart on the
prepared pan. Using wet hands shape into 2 inch rounds leaving the tops
somewhat rough.

Bake 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and bake another 25 minutes or
until deeply golden. Turn off oven and open door, Let puffs cool in the
oven for 15 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack. (can be nade weeks
ahead and frozen. To restore crispness reheat in a 350 oven for 10
minutes or until puffs feel dry and crisp)

To make filling whisk room temp DDL (dulce de leche) while gradually
adding cream until smooth. Stir in 2 TBSP sugar and salt. Cook over
medium heat whisking occasionally. Meanwhile in a small bowl stir
remaining 2 TBSP of sugar with flour, stir in egg yolks and Frangelico.

When cream is quite hot to the touch stir 3 TBSP into the egg mixture
to temper the egg mixture. Whisking briskly, pour egg mixture into hot
cream. Stir constantly 3 minutes or until mixture thickens, becomes
glossy and whisk leaves a trail in the filling. Stir in vanilla. Tuen
into a metal bowl. Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the cream
surface. Refrigerate immediately. Use when cold. Keeps 2 to 3 days.

To make sauce, stir DDL in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in
Frangelico 1 TBSP at a time. Stir in vanilla. Sauce can be made ahead.
Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temp or heat until barley warm to
serve.

To assemble puffs. Cut each puff in half horizontally, Divide filling
among bottom halves. Replace tops. Serve drizzled with the sauce and
scattered with hazelnuts.

Makes 12.

Dulce de Leche

2 to 4 cans sweetened condensed milk (300 ml each)
Preheat oven to 425

Remove labels and tops from cans.
Cover each can with foil , pressing firmly about 1/2 way down outside
of can.

Place in a large flat bottom casserole dish.

Pour boiling water into dish until 1/2 inch from the tops of the cans.
Cover with casserole lid.

Bake for 2 hours without disturbing except to check to see if you need
to add water. Add more water if level drops dramatically.

After 2 hours lift cans from water bath. Cool on a rack with foil still
in place. The refregerate for up to a week or freeze.

Cold DDL is very thick so bring to room temp before stirring.

Each can makes 1 1/4 cup DDL.

Wow. Yummy offerings! Sharon, that sounds and looks incredible. Since I am taking these to someone else's house and it is meeting of strangers (I know a few) for political discussion I think I'll keep it tidy and just use powdered sugar on the outside this time. I think. I might do a chocolate drizzle.

I made these for the first time when I was 15. I was so surprised to find out how easy it was to produce this elegant seeming dessert.

I'm not that keen on going, really, as I hate rants and I have a feeling I'm in for a few of those. But it is being given by the dear mum of a dear friend and I really have to attend. Maybe I can keep their mouths full...

You can also do an easy filling by using French Vanilla Instant pudding and substituting the milk called for with either half-n-half or whipping cream. The whipping cream makes a very dense filling and the H/H is more custardy... I use the H/H for fillings and the WC for cakes, etc.

Westelle, I've done that before. It's yummy. I wanted to over achieve this time. My pastry cream is yummy. My arm is stiff from whisking.

But my puffs aren't puffing... I'm worried.

I'm curious. Did your puffs puff? Did you use butter or shortening? My mother always used shortening. I tried to "improve" her recipe by using all butter and, also, half butter half shortening but for me my puffs were puffier with all Crisco. Could be I didn't beat the butter puffs enough. I hope yours were a success.

Never had puffs that didn't puff......and I always use butter...never had nor even saw a recipe for cream puffs made with crisco.
The secret of the puff is the eggs....and the hot oven.
So....did it work?

I've been googling cream puffs and most of them do call for butter not shortening. Then I googled Spry cream puffs and came across a site called "Uncle Phaedrus Finder of Lost Recipes" and lo and behold I found the recipe I posted above almost word for word from my mom's recipe box. The filling is different but the puffs are identical. Apparently Spry had a mythical Aunt Jenny who developed this recipe for Spry. It was in a little cookbook dating from the 1930's or 40's. It was fun discovering just where she got this recipe from. I lost her twelve years ago and still miss her....

I used butter. I always use butter! I haven't had a can of Crisco in ages. And then I used it only for greasing baking pans. The little buggers finally puffed. When I wrote they had only been in the oven for about 10 minutes. I forgot these have a long baking time.

I used the recipes in my New York Times cookbook. It has never failed me. I filled the platter I sent to the party and had a few left over. Next time I will double the recipe so that I can stack another layer. Alice and I ate the leftover ones for our dinner. I can see that these will become a regular in our dessert rotation. Next time, a chocolate drizzle. These left here on a platter wrapped in cling wrap, I think a chocolate drizzle would have been a mess unless I could have done it there and I didn't want to be underfoot in the hostess's kitchen.

By the way, Alice froze the last two. She ate them frozen. She said they were even better!