Coconut Cream Puffs
 
Yield: 24 cream puffs • Preparation: 35 minutes • Bake: 20 minutes • Cool: 30 minutes
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup water
  • 6 tablespoons salted butter, cut in pieces
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 recipe Vanilla-Coconut Pastry Cream (recipe follows)
  • Garnish: confectioners’ sugar and toasted coconut
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
  3. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Cook over medium heat until butter melts. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Cook, and stir until dough pulls away from sides of pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and let stand for 2 minutes, stirring a few times to cool dough.
  4. Add eggs one at a time, stirring constantly and vigorously with a wooden spoon until each egg is well incorporated. (Dough should be smooth and shiny.) Transfer dough to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (Ateco #809). Pipe dough onto prepared baking sheets in 1½-inch mounds 2 inches apart. Using a damp finger, pat down dough peaks.
  5. Bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire cooling rack. Using a skewer or the tip of a pointed knife, poke a small hole in side of each cream puff to allow steam to escape. Let cool completely.
  6. Using the tip of a paring knife, cut a small slit in the side of each cream puff.
  7. Place Vanilla-Coconut Pastry Cream in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe custard into cream puffs to fill, making sure not to overfill.
  8. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar and toasted coconut before serving, if desired.
Notes
Make-ahead tip: Cream puff shells can be made a week in advance and frozen in a resealable plastic bag. Let thaw completely before filling and garnishing. Fill and garnish just before serving.
Recipe by TeaTime Magazine at https://teatimemagazine.com/coconut-cream-puffs-recipe/