After making pavlova, what do you do with the egg yolks? After making two pavlovas, what do you do with 8 egg yolks?! I had made a vanilla pastry cream which used up 3 egg yolks because I was going to use that as part of the topping on the pavlova. In the end, I decided against using the pastry cream. So what to make? A cream puff would be a wonderful alternate home for the vanilla cream. I haven't made cream puffs since high school. It's been awhile. And even better, a chocolate pudding-like filling would use up the rest of the yolks.

The vanilla pastry cream and cream puff recipes are adapted from one of my favorite cooking magazines, Fine Cooking. The holiday edition from 2006 is turning out to be a classic, and one which I seem to be turning to often. The pastry cream is combined with whipped cream to give it a more light and creamy texture. The chocolate pudding cream recipe yields a bit more so you will end up with more chocolate-filled puffs than vanilla. Goodness!

Cream Puffs

Makes about 24 small puffs

1/4 cup (56g) unsalted butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, salt and 1 cup of water to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to cook the dough for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be thick and form a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan. There will be a thin layer of dough that will stick to the bottom of the pan. 

Remove the ball of dough into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low until the dough cools down a bit, about 3-5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. The dough will separate after each addition of the egg, but the mixture will come together. After the last egg is added to the mixture, mix the dough well. Scrape down the bowl and beat on medium low for another 30 seconds.

Using a regular spoon, scoop out the smooth dough and drop it on the parchment lined baking sheet, spacing each puff about 2 inches apart as the dough will puff up. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Vanilla Pastry Cream

1 cup whole milk

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 vanilla bean, scraped or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until tiny bubbles appear. Meanwhile, in a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Add the cornstarch and salt and whisk well. Pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens to the consistency of thick pudding, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and scrape the cream into a clean bowl. Whisk in the vanilla and lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface. Cover the bowl with another sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Chocolate Pudding Pastry Cream

1 cup whole milk

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

5 large egg yolks

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until tiny bubbles appear. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl in the microwave until softened, about 1 minute. Whisk in the egg yolks and sugar. Add the cornstarch and whisk well. Pour the hot milk into the chocolate mixture slowly, 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until mixture thickens to the consistency of thick pudding, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and scrape the cream into a clean bowl. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface. Cover the bowl with another sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

To assemble cream puffs:

1 cup (200ml) heavy cream

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Beat cream with sugar until soft peaks form. Do not overbeat.

Fold in about 1/2 cup of whipped cream to the vanilla pastry cream. Fold in the remaining whipped cream to the chocolate pudding pastry cream.

Insert a round tip in the bottom of a plastic pastry bag. Fold over the top of the bag and fill it with the vanilla cream.Unfold the top of the bag and twist shut.

On the bottom of each cream puff, make a slit using a small knife. Insert the pastry bag tip into the slit and pipe in the cream filling until some of the filling oozes out of the slit. Repeat until all the vanilla cream is used up. Fill the same bag with the chocolate cream and fill the rest of the cream puffs in the same way.

Dust some powdered sugar on the vanilla-filled cream puffs and some cocoa powder on the chocolate-filled puffs.