This week’s themes at iHeartFaces is “My Story in Photos: Dessert Recipe Edition.” A dear friend had a small birthday party today, and I made cream puffs for dessert—the perfect opportunity for an iHeartFaces dessert photo story.

Cream Puffs

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
3 cups whipped cream, pudding, or ice cream (whipped cream recipe below this recipe, with separate photos)
Powdered sugar (optional—dang! I forgot the powdered sugar today!)

1. In a medium saucepan combine water, butter, and salt. Bring to boiling (see photo 1). Add flour all at at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball (see photo 2). Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition (see photo 3).
2. Drop 12 heaping tablespoons of dough onto a greased baking sheet (see photo 4). Bake in a 400° oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. Transfer cream puffs to a wire rack; cool (see photo 5).
3. Cut top 1/3 from puffs; remove soft dough from inside (see photo 6). Fill with whipped cream (see photo 7). Replace tops (see photos 8 & 9). If desired, sift powdered sugar over tops.

Photo 1:

Photo 2:

Photo 3:

Photo 4 (tip: mounding the dough higher works better than flat and wide):

Photo 5:

Photo 6 (tip: the insides will be mostly hollow; remove soft dough with a fork):

Photo 7:

Photos 8 & 9:

Whipped Cream

1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Chill a medium mixing bowl and the beaters of an electric mixer.
2. In chilled bowl, beat whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form (see photos 10 & 11).

I made 2 batches of whipped cream, since this recipe only makes 2 cups and the cream puffs needed 3. The 2nd batch was chocolate, prepared as above, but with an additional 1 tablespoon sugar plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder.

If you do the math, you will see that there were 4 cups of whipped cream and the recipe called for 3. I did what any smart chef would do and ate the rest. 🙂

Photos 10 & 11:

The cream puffs will get soggy if you put them together too far in advance of eating; two hours or less is best. I transported ours to the party in this nifty container that I found at BJ’s Wholesale Club recently. Ice goes in the bottom to keep them chilled.

Enjoy!

{This is not my personal recipe. It is out of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, which if you’re lucky just might be sitting on your shelf.}