Crispy Shell Cream Puffs Recipe (Pai-Shuu)

Today I made some Pai-Shuu (Cookie Crust Cream Puffs, also written Pie-Shu)

My in-laws loved them so I couldn't wait to share my recipe.  In America, Australia and some Asian Countries you can get Shu-Cream a little similar at Beard Papa's.  These Pai-Shu cream puffs have a real pai-shu cookie crust, a bit like some the pai-shu or cookie-shu cream puffs in Japanese Patisseries.

Pai-Shuu Cream Puffs (20-24 large)

(Australian Metric 1 cup=250 mL) Click here for my recipe with American measurements


Cream Puff Pastry (Choux)

120 g butter

3/4 cup water

1 1/3 cup plain flour, sifted (must be sifted)

5 eggs (60g each egg)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Custard Cream:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

3 cups milk
30g real butter

1/2 or 1 vanilla bean OR Vanilla extract

+/- a cup of whipped fresh cream


Pai-Shuu Crust:
30g butter
1/3 cup icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1/3 cup SR flour    (OR plain flour with 1/2 tsp baking powder (or a pinch bicarb soda))

• STEP 1:  Make Custard Cream several hours before or the day before
• STEP 2:  Prepare Pai-Shuu Crust Dough if desired
• STEP 3:  When everything's ready, make the Cream Puff Shells
• STEP 4:  When Cream Puff Shells are fresh out of the oven, fill with cold Custard Cream and serve. (Or within 24 hours if possible.)

Custard Cream

1. Using a whisk, Combine flour and sugar, 

2. Add:  4 egg yolks and about 40mL of the milk, whisk until combined.  Add remaining milk and scrape in vanilla pod.

3. Stir over medium heat, till it thickens (Often scraping the bottom). When it's thick and bubbles start to blob up, remove from heat.

4. Stir in 30g real butter

5. Allow to cool with plastic wrap on surface to prevent a "skin". Refrigerate until cold.

+/- 6. If you like, fold a cup of whipped fresh cream into the cold custard cream.

Pai-Shuu Crust
1.  Gently melt butter (microwave or small saucepan)
2.  Stir in Sugar and Flour.


Cream Puff (Choux) Pastry

1. Place butter, salt, sugar and water in a large saucepan over high heat.  When butter is melted and it starts to boil, remove from heat and...

2. Immediately tip in flour all at once, and beat into a firm dough with wooden spoon.

3. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk 5 eggs.  Add approximately one egg to the dough at a time, beating well in between with a wooden spoon.

4. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe directly downward onto paper-lined tray.  If you like, use chopsticks or fingers to pull pastry upwards on the sides, to make them taller and rough-surfaced.
5.  Place discs of Pai-Shuu Crust Dough on top.

6.  Immediately bake in a very hot oven 210-220 degrees Celcius, 25-30min until well puffed and browned then down to 100 degrees C for 40 min or more to dry.
7.  Allow to cool (the puffs will firm up and become strong) before peeling the baking paper from the bottom of the puffs.



**oven MUST be well pre-heated, esp for big cream puffs.  And don't turn the heat down too early, or they might fall. Wait until they're well puffed and the colour is fully developed. 

TIPS:

• Custard Cream can be made the day before, but Cream Puff shells are best made the day they will be served.  If you need to make them the day before, leave them out on a tray or plate in the open air or in the oven (switched off, of course).  Placing them in a lidded container or in the fridge will allow the shells to loose their crispness as the inner moisture equalises with the outer crispness.
• Fill cream puffs as close as possible to serving time, to preserve crispness.
• If storing shells in the fridge or freezer, freshen them before serving by placing in a moderate oven for 5 min.  They will come out crisp and delicious.
• If you want them really dry and crisp (like Beard Papa's) leave them in a cool oven (100degC or less) for longer (1 hour or more), until just before you serve/eat it.  Put the cold filling in right before serving.
• Cream Puffs can be made using margarine, but the custard cream needs real butter if you want the flavour just right.
• Vanilla Beans: I got excellent quality vanilla beans from India on ebay, sooo cheap!
• Custard Cream: If you prefer a lighter, velvety custard cream, whip 1/2 cup fresh cream and then fold into the cold custard cream.

QandA

1.  Q) My cream puffs turned out flat.  What went wrong?

A) Actually it's pretty easy to do. In my early shu cream experiences I did that a few times and I think I know just about every mistake that can possibly be made. There are a few points that are vital to getting the cream puff magic right.

1. Add the flour to the butter/water mixture when it's still at boiling temperature, and as you mix, it slightly cooks the flour and makes it a very firm ball. 
2. Beat in each egg really well before adding the next egg. 
3. I use eggs from the fridge, they cool the mixture slightly as you beat them in. 
4. As soon as you've piped the pastry onto the tray, place it in the very hot oven immediately (so that the pastry blobs don't droop), and quickly, so that the oven temperature doesn't drop. 
5. If you've done everything else right it must just be the egg size is different. I used 58-59g eggs. If the volume of egg is too much it may make the pastry too runny. When you get to the 4th egg, consider "will adding one more egg make it too runny?" If so, leave it out or add half an egg. 

2. Q)  did you add fresh whipped cream to yours or not? 
A)  No, I didn't add whipped cream this time as fresh cream is so expensive in Japan! It doesn't really need it, but it does make the custard cream lighter (maybe more like beard papa's?).
Another thing that some Japanese Patisseries do is "pair cream": Put in mostly custard cream and then pipe whipped cream on top. Oh, there's so many variations...

If you don't have a piping bag:
I used to fold a sheet of cooking paper into a cone shape, cut off the end, and fill it with the entire batch of pastry. Make it a decent sized hole, as the pastry's quite thick.  You won't get quite so many cream puffs because some of the pastry will stick to the bag and be wasted. 
OR Just spoon the pastry onto the tray.

(22 Oct Update: Now I use disposable plastic pastry bags because I discovered them 8 for 100yen at daiso!)