Cream Puffs and Pie, Oh My!

For most people, Valentine's day weekend means chocolate, flowers and cards. But for me, it also means baking! I made two recipes this weekend, Pies (mixed berry and key lime) and Cream Puffs!

I'll start with the pies. My friend Lanie and wanted to bake some pies for our guys (yes, i like to rhyme!). So i invited her over to show her how its done.

For pie crust, I use a recipe that my Godmother Peppy taught me years ago. I have been baking with Peppy since I was about five. I would stand in the kitchen with her as she would whip up cakes and tarts, and finally, she let me in on the secret to her amazing pie crust. Light, not too flaky or buttery, perfect for any type of pie. Now this recipe is a secret, so I can't share, but trust me its delicious! It starts with a roux of sorts, which starts in a mug, like the picture above! This is added to a flour mixture, then mixed with your hand to get the perfect consistency- yes, mixing with your hands is messy, but worth it!

After the crust is mixed, separate it into 2 balls and chill. Any pie recipe will work for these pies, so use your own!

Now time for the filling. For my pie, I went Mixed Berry: I used frozen berries (Blackberries, Strawberries, Blueberries and Raspberries), and to counteract the juices melting all over the pie (no one likes a runny pie!) I mixed the berries with sugar and cornstarch, which thickens up the mixture perfectly.

Lanie wanted to make a Key Lime Pie, which involves making a basic custard, and adding fresh limes.

Now that the filling is done, time to roll out the dough! The Key Lime Pie will have a meringue topping, so we only need to add a top crust to my pie. Check out how I transfer the delicate crust from the cutting board to the pie without breaking it in the video below.

Now the pies are ready to go into the oven! While they are baking, it is the perfect time to whip up the meringue for the Key Lime Pie (literally! haha).

In the KitchenAid, I mixed up egg whites, sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt.

This will become stiff, and you can

shape it into those distinctive peaks.

And then our pies are done!

Now onto Part Two: Cream Puffs!

I made these Cream Puffs adapted from 3 different recipes, but the basic structure is always the same: A choux pastry, filled with a vanilla creme center.

To make the choux, you boil a butter and water mixture (with sugar and salt), and then shift flour into the boiling liquid. This creates a light and flexible dough.

Then eggs are added, one by one, to make the mixture more pliable and hold its shape better.

Now its time to pipe the dough and bake it. Because you want your cream puff to be in a circular shape, the best way to bake them is by piping them with a pastry bad onto your baking sheet. This ensures a smooth, even puff and even size between the batch. If you don't have a pasty bag, spooning the dough into a large Ziploc bag and cutting off the tip.

When the puffs come out of the oven,

you have to preserve the shell of the puff by removing the soft, gooey inside of the puff.

The easiest way to do this is by cutting the puff in half with a serrated knife, then scooping out the inside.

Then pop the scooped-out shells in the oven to crisp them up just a bit more. While they are in the oven, you can start to make the pastry creme. I used instant vanilla pudding, with whipped cream and sugar to create a creme that was both light and rich.

After chilling the creme, and letting the puff shells cool, it is time to assemble the cream puffs!

Using the same piping technique I used for the pastry, I pipe about a one inch circle of creme onto each puff, then replace the top.

Repeat about 20 times, then dust with powdered sugar for a sweet- yes that was a pun :)- finish!