I love a good base recipe. You know — one of those great, solid recipes that can be endlessly riffed on once you’ve got the technique down? Choux pastry is one of those recipes for me. It can be savory, cheesy gougères. It can get long and skinny and become an eclair. It can go into the fryer and turn into churros! Or… it can get all cute and round and be the perfect little cream puff.
And cream puffs just remind you of a party, don’t they? I remember my mom buying frozen cream puffs when I was a kid. On special occasions, she would leave them out to defrost and then they would get a generous dusting of powdered sugar before hitting the dessert table. And they rarely stayed there long, thanks to the fact that I would usually be piling as many of those little pillows of joy onto my plate as possible!
This recipe combines my go-to choux recipe with a flavor combo that I encountered recently at Hartwood’s restaurant in Tulum, Mexico — chocolate and cardamom! I know that cardamom is one of those spices that you either love or you don’t, but I love the way that the spice plays off the richness of a good dark chocolate.
I like my cream puff fillings to be light and airy, so I landed on a mousse-like texture for the filling. I also think the lightness of it helps to balance the richness of the flavor! As a bonus, if you end up with extra mousse after you fill your cream puffs, there’s no reason not to dig right in to the leftovers with your spoon! You can top these guys with a simple chocolate ganache, or take a page out of my mom’s book and give them that magical sprinkling of powdered sugar!
Chocolate Cardamom Cream Puffs
Makes 16 cream puffs
Ingredients
Chocolate Cardamom Mousse
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips or chunks
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. milk
1/2 — 3/4 tsp. ground cardamom (depending on taste)
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. water
Pastry Puffs
1/2 c. water
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 eggs
Chocolate Glaze
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips or chunks
1/3 c. heavy cream
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Cardamom Mousse
Fill a small saucepan with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. In a heat-proof bowl that fits over the saucepan, combine the chocolate, salt and milk. When the water is boiling, turn off the heat and set the bowl with ingredients over the saucepan to melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Stir in the cardamom (use up to 3/4 tsp., depending on how strong you like the flavor) and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks. Cover and refrigerate.
In another medium heat-proof bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, sugar, vanilla and water until well combined. Turn on the heat under the saucepan of water again and set the bowl with the egg yolk on top of it, whisking until the egg and sugar begin to thicken and grow in volume (about 4 minutes). Turn off the heat, remove the bowl from the saucepan, and continue to whisk the egg mixture with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until cool and increased in volume, another 4-5 minutes. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg.
Working with about 1/3 of the whipped cream at a time, gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, being careful not to deflate the cream. Fold until completely combined, cover and refrigerate for one hour before using to fill the cream puffs.
Make the pastry puffs
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, salt and butter. Bring to a boil.
Remove the saucepan from the heat, add all of the flour to the pan at once and stir vigorously until a soft dough has formed.
Return the saucepan with the dough to the stovetop over medium-low heat. Stir to cook the flour and evaporate some of the moisture, until the dough comes together into a smooth ball (this usually takes about 3 minutes).
Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 3-5 minutes. Add in one egg and stir vigorously — don’t worry if it seems like the dough is breaking… it will get there with a little bit of muscle! When the first egg is completely incorporated, add the second and stir vigorously until you have a smooth, sticky dough.
Transfer the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip. Pipe 1-inch round blobs of dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, leaving about 1-inch of space in between rounds. You should get about 16-20 rounds. Pat down any peaks on the top of the dough with your fingertip.
Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake puffs for about 20 minutes until golden brown and totally baked through. Remove to a wire rack, immediately pierce the bottom of each puff with the tip of a paring knife to let steam escape and let cool completely before filling.
Make the chocolate glaze
Put chocolate into a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream on the stovetop until just steaming (not boiling) and immediate pour over the chocolate. Gently whisk to melt the chocolate into a smooth glaze. Let cool slightly.
Assembly
Transfer the chocolate mousse into a piping bag fitted with a small round tip. Take each cooled pastry puff and insert the piping tip into the small incision you made on the bottom. Gently pipe to fill the cream puff and stop when the mousse starts to come out the bottom.
Dip the top of each cream puff into the chocolate glaze and let the glaze set. Store in the refrigerator until time to serve!
Notes
Comments