Raspberry Cream Puffs

Fact: Making these puffs is really hard! I still have not mastered them. It might be hard for you to see, but they're rather flat. When I figure out the secrets, I'll add them. Success! After a few attempts, see specifics below! (Makes 12)

Ingredients
Pastry
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup water
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Egg Wash Glaze
1 large egg
1/8 tsp salt

Whipped Cream
2 cups heavy cream
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp almond extract

Raspberry Filling
3 cups raspberries (can thawed frozen berries)
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 cups water, divided
4 tbsp corn starch

Directions
Pastry
In a bowl sift together flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

Place butter and water in a saucepan over med heat and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and with a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly add dry mixture.

Return to heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball. (This will take about 5+ minutes, even though the dough seems to come away from the pot instantly. You want to get as much moisture out as you can. Apparently, the key is to flatten out the dough then form a ball again, repeating several times until a film of pastry is formed in the pot.)

Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl (or stand mixer) and beat on low speed 2-3 minutes to release the steam from the dough. Let the dough rest until lukewarm. (**This step is crucial, the dough must be lukewarm before adding the eggs. I'm not sure of the science behind it, but without this step the puffs will come out flat.**) Once lukewarm, start adding the lightly beaten eggs and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste. (You will see the batter go from clumpy and sticky to a smooth, shiny consistency. The batter should form a peak when you take out the mixer.

Spoon 12 mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them a couple of inches apart.

Beat together the egg and salt for the glaze. With a pastry brush, gently brush the glaze on the tops of the dough.

Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the oven temp. to 350F. Bake for another 30-40 minutes (or until shells are golden brown and when cut open, they are dry inside).

Turn off often, but leave the puffs in the oven with the door ajar to dry for another 10-15 minutes. Finally, remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. (They must be completely cooled and dry before storing otherwise any moisture remaining will make them mushy.) Store in the fridge.

Raspberry Filling
Heat raspberries, sugar and 1 1/2 cups water to a pot on medium heat until mixture comes to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes (or until raspberries have broken down), stirring occasionally.

Remove mixture from heat. In a small dish, stir together remaining water and corn starch to form a slurry. Whisk slurry into raspberry mixture and return to heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and store in refrigerator up to a couple of weeks.

Whipped Cream
Add cream, sugar, and almond extract to a large bowl (or stand mixer) and beat on high speed until stiff peaks form when you remove the beater (about 4 minutes).

Assembling the Puffs
Do so the same day, or even one day before planning to serve. Cut off the top of the puffs. Place about 2 tablespoons of raspberry in the bottom of the puff and top with as much whipped cream as you'd like. Place the lid on top and sprinkle with icing sugar for decoration.


Special thanks to Mike, who helped assemble the puffs and beautified this plate for the photo!
*Recipe courtesy of: http://www.joyofbaking.com/CreamPuffs.html