Raspberry Cream Puffs

Preparation

• Choux Pastry

  • With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a saucepan, bring the water, butter, honey and salt to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add the flour at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms into a smooth ball that comes off the sides of the pan.
  • Place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes or until the mixture forms into a soft and sticky ball. Remove from the heat and let cool for 1 minute.
  • In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, in a food processor or with a wooden spoon, add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well between each addition until the dough is smooth.
  • With a 30 ml (2 tbsp) ice cream scoop or with a pastry bag fitted with a 2 cm (3/4-inch) plain tip, shape 24 balls of dough on the baking sheet, spacing them evenly. Run the scoop under cold water between each ball to prevent the dough from sticking.
  • Bake for 30 minutes or until the choux are golden brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 165 °C (325 °F) and continue baking for 20 minutes. Let cool completely. With a bread knife, cut the top of the choux and set aside for assembly. Remove any moist dough inside the choux.

• Raspberry Cream

  • In a saucepan off the heat, combine the sugar, flour and cornstarch. Whisk in the eggs and milk.
  • Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly and taking care to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan. Pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the warm pastry cream. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until the pastry cream has completely chilled.
  • In a bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. With a whisk, fold the whipped cream in the cooled pastry cream. Stir in the raspberries.

• Assembly

  • With a spoon, fill the bottom of the choux with the raspberry cream. Top with two or three fresh raspberries. Close the choux.
  • In a bowl, combine the icing sugar, water and food colouring until smooth.
  • Drizzle the choux with the pink icing and/or simply dust with icing sugar. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.