Lightly Citrus Cream Puffs

Mmmmm-mmmmmm! You know those gourmet light cream puffs that you can get at the grocery store or are served at fancy-schmancy events? The ones with the airy pastries and the pineapple or lemon custard filling?

I love those things. And they seemed like they were too difficult for just little ol' me, a cook not baker, to make. Well, it's not true! They are so easy and delicious and fun to make! I know because we made them tonight. It was part of an evening with my little brother where we chose cooking as the main event for Saturday night. I used 2 recipes I found online and they were fantastic. I wish I had cooked the shells just another 5 minutes to make them a little crisper/ drier, but the filling was great and not too sweet. They look oh so pretty too! These might be my next "bake to impress" item!


Lightly Citrus Cream Puffs
Pastry Shell
From allrecipes.com

• 1 C. Water
  
• 1/2 C. Butter
  
• 1 C. Flour
  
• 1/4 tsp. Salt
  
• 4 Eggs

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
   
2. In a medium saucepan, heat water and butter to rolling boil.
   
3. When water is boiling, add in flour and salt and immediately stir. When a ball forms, remove from heat and transfer to either a Kitchen Aid or to a large mixing bowl.
   
4. While mixing on a medium speed, add one egg at a time, mixing rapidly into batter after each.
   
5. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, leaving a few inches between each puff. (They will expand quite a bit.) Bake for 20-25 minutes until both golden brown on the outside and dry on the inside.
   
6. Once cooked and cooled, use a serrated knife to split shells for filling. After filled and closed, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Filling
Modified from epicurious.com

• 1 C. Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
  
• 1/2 C. Marscapone Cheese
  
• 1 C. Powdered Sugar
  
• 1/4 C. Heavy Cream
  
• Finely Grated Zest of 1/2 Lemon and 1/2 Orange

1. In a heavy bowl or Kitchen Aid, combine all ingredients and mix first on a low speed, and then high speed for a total of about 1 minute. Mixing on high speed will bring the cream to a semi-solid state and give the filling some additional thickness.