Directions

Pate A Choux Dough

1Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, add the flour all at once, and stir well. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the dough begins to come away from the sides of the pan, about 5 minutes.

2Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle and beat at medium speed until cooled to body temperature. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the egg white.

3Transfer the dough to a pastry bag with a plain round tip and pipe into desired shape on parchment lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and light golden brown, 20 minutes. There may be beads of moisture on the sides. Lower the temperature to 325 degrees and continue to bake until the puffs look dry, 20 minutes more. Transfer to wire tracks and allow to cool before filling.

Pastry Cream

1Combine the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of the sugar in a mixing bowl, then stir in 1/2 cup of the milk. Blend the yolks into the cornstarch mixture, stirring with a wooden spoon until completely smooth. Combine the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the salt in a nonreactive saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat.

2Temper the egg mixture by gradually adding about 1/3 of the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly. Add the remaining milk mixture to the eggs. Return the mixture to the saucepan and continue cooking over medium heat, vigorously stirring with a whisk, until the mixture comes to a boil and the whisk leaves a trail in the pastry cream, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and the butter, and cool over an ice bath. Stir occasionally until cool, about 30 minutes.