Maple Cream Puffs

Maple Cream Profiteroles

By: Laura Sorkin

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: Serves 4-6 people

I have wanted to make maple profiteroles for some time and with Valentine’s Day coming up, it seemed the perfect opportunity. Profiteroles are made with choux pastry stuffed with pastry cream or ice cream and served with a sweet sauce like chocolate or raspberry. For this version I used a maple pastry cream for the center and put them in a decadent puddle of Bourbon Barrel-Aged Maple Sauce. I took them to our new Fairfax plant for tasting and everyone in the front office was speechless. They were devoured.

If you would like to make these for a Valentines treat, you can pipe the choux pastry into a heart shape with a pastry bag. After cooking it, gently cut it in half through the center and spoon the maple cream into the middle. Put enough in so it is spilling over the sides a little. As you serve it, pour just a little sauce on the plate and put the pastry on top. If you want to make regular profiteroles just shape the dough into 1 ½” balls and give them some space on the tray.

The tricky part of this dessert is that you need to make the maple cream no more than one day ahead and the choux pastry on the same day you are serving it because it dries out quickly. Is this a lot of effort for Valentine’s? It is but then again, so is love.

Ingredients

Pate a choux

1 cup milk
2 ½ Tbsp butter
Pinch salt
¼ tsp granulated sugar
1 cup flour
4 eggs plus 1 for egg wash

Maple Cream

2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup maple syrup
Pinch of salt
¼ cup cornstarch
2 large egg yolks
3 tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla

Maple Bourbon Sauce

¼ cup Runamok Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup
¼ cup heavy cream

Instructions

1 Preheat oven to 400.
2 Heat the milk, butter, salt and sugar in a medium sized pot.
3 When it has just come to a boil, add the flour and stir vigorously. Continue stirring until the mixture has dried a little and forms a ball. Remove from the heat.
4 Add the 4 eggs one at a time making sure each are fully incorporated before adding another.
5 Prepare a sheet pan with parchment. Put the dough into a pastry bag and pipe out your preferred shapes. For profiteroles, make small rounds that are roughly 1” apart because they will expand a little. You can also make a log shape for éclairs or a heart shape for Valentines.
6 Whisk the remaining egg in a small bowl and lightly brush the tops of the dough with egg.
7 Place in the preheated oven and cook for 20 to 30 minutes or until they are brown on top and fully cooked in the middle (you may have to sacrifice one if you are not sure.) Remove from the oven and let cool.
8 Put one cup of milk, the cream, maple syrup and pinch of salt in a medium-sized pot. Heat until puffs of steam start to come off the liquid then turn off the heat (about 8 minutes).
9 In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining cup of milk adding the liquid slowly so the cornstarch doesn’t clump. Whisk in the egg yolks.
10 Take about a cup of the hot milk mixture from the pot and slowly add it to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
11 With whisk at the ready, and the heat on medium-low, slowly pour the yolk mixture into the pot stirring constantly. Continue stirring when it is all combined making sure it is not scorching on the bottom of the pot.
12 When the mixture starts to thicken after several minutes, turn off the heat, add the butter and vanilla and continue stirring until they are absorbed. Set aside to cool.
13 Combine the two and set aside.
14 To assemble, cut the profiteroles in half and spoon the maple cream in the middle. Put the ‘lid’ back on and put on a dessert plate (3 per plate). Spoon a little of the Maple Bourbon Sauce onto the plate or serve it on the side for guests to pour themselves.