Cream Puffs with Custard Filling & Chocolate Ganache

Makes 25 to 30 cream puffs.

For the Custard Filling:
Whisk together the egg and egg yolks in a medium bowl and set aside.

Whisk together the milk, sugar, flour and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and very slowly ladle the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking, adding just a drop at a time at first. Transfer the custard back to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Turn heat off and whisk in the butter and vanilla. Strain the custard into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate to chill.

Before filling the pastries, beat the custard until smooth with a handheld electric mixer.

In a separate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the custard, adding 1/3 of the cream at a time. Pipe this mixture into the center of each pastry. (See below for more detailed instructions on filling the pastries).

For the Choux Batter:
Preheat oven to 400F and line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Bring the water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When it starts to boil, remove pan from heat. Pour in all the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon to blend thoroughly. Put the saucepan back on the heat and continue to stir until the mixture thickens, forms a ball and starts to film on the bottom of the pan. This will take about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Make a well in the center of the dough. Break an egg into the well, and beat vigorously until the egg is absorbed. Continue this way until all 5 eggs are incorporated.

While the dough is still warm, use a 1 1/2 tablespoon ice cream scoop to scoop out it out onto the prepared baking sheets. Leave about 2 inches between each pastry when placing them on the sheets. Combine the remaining egg and 1 Tablespoon of water in a small bowl. Lightly dip a pastry brush into the egg wash mixture and very gently flatten each puff with the brush. Be careful not to let the eggwash drip down the puff onto the baking sheet (this will prevent the puffs from rising).

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes (rotating the pans once halfway through). Then turn heat down to 350F and bake until the puffs are golden brown and firm to the touch. This will be about 5 to 15 minutes more. Make sure to check them every few minutes to make sure they don’t get too brown.

Remove the puffs from the oven and immediately pierce the side of each with a sharp paring knife (so the steam can escape). Turn off the oven and put the pastries back into the turned-off oven. Let them sit in there for 10 minutes with the door ajar. After this, transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

To fill the puffs:
Fit a pastry bag with a basic small-medium tip (I like to use a 3/16-inch tip). Fill the bag with the custard filling. Once the puffs are completely cooled, insert the tip of the pastry bag into the puff through the slit that you cut to let the steam vent. Gently squeeze the custard into the puff and continue this way until all the puffs are filled.

For the Chocolate Ganache:
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a microwave or double boiler. If you use the microwave, make sure to only heat for 30 seconds at a time and stir in between each heating. Stop once the mixture is melted and smooth. Add the milk and stir until smooth. Spoon over the filled pastries and let the chocolate set before serving.