Earl grey cream puffs (choux au craquelin)

Instructions

• Make the pastry cream
• Add 2 cups of milk to a saucepan and heat over medium low heat until slightly simmering. Remove from the heat, add the tea bags and salt, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags, pressing out the remaining milk from the tea leaves/tea bag with the back of a spoon to help concentrate the flavor.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and egg yolks, mixing vigorously until the mixture turns pale and develops a lighter texture, 2-3 minutes. Whisking constantly, slowly stream in approximately half of the tea-infused milk. Then, pour this mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk, continuing to whisk constantly.
• Return the saucepan to the stove and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the pastry cream has thickened enough to hold the marks of the whisk and when you momentarily pause, you can see large bubbles forming beneath the surface and popping. Once it gets to this stage, continue to stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes, then remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Stir in the butter until it has fully melted into the pastry cream. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic down to directly cover the pastry cream. Refrigerate until cold, at least 4-5 hours and preferably overnight.
• Make the craquelin
• Using an electric beater or stand mixer, cream together the butter, salt, and brown sugar, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Pour in the flour and mix on low speed until the flour is incorporated and mixture is crumbly. Then, use your hands to press the dough together into a ball.
• Place the dough inside a gallon-sized ziploc bag or between two pieces of parchment and roll it out until it is just 2-3mm thick (about the thickness of a nickel). It should fill up most, although not all of the bag. Remove excess air and zip the bag closed. Lay flat in the freezer until completely frozen.
• Prepare the cream puffs
• When you’re ready to make your cream puffs, remove the craquelin from the freezer. Carefully remove it from the ziploc bag and user a cookie cutter or a small lid/cap measuring 1.5 inches in diameter (I used the cap of my milk carton). Cut out circles and then return them to the freezer.
• For the choux, add the milk, sugar, salt, butter, and water to a saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the butter has melted and the mixture has reached a lively simmer.
• Pour in the flour and stir to mix it into the liquid. Once you see no more white specks of flour, begin stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough. There will be a light film that forms along the interior of the saucepan. Continue to cook the dough over medium heat for about 3 minutes, slapping it against the sides of the pan with your spoon. The dough is ready when it is smooth and holds together as a ball, and when most of the film on the bottom has been reabsorbed by the dough. It may also start to smell slightly more fragrant.
• Transfer the dough ball into a bowl. Allow to cool for a moment while you prepare your parchment. Trace your 1.5 inch cookie cutter/round on your parchment paper to serve as a guide for the size your cream puffs. You can trace circles in a 4 x 6 grid. to fit your baking sheet. Then flip your parchment over so the pen marks are on the bottom.
• Return to your dough and beat in two eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly with a paddle attachment or by hand between each one. The dough may split, but it will come back together as you mix. Crack the last egg into a small bowl and mix with a fork to break up the yolk. Pour about half of the egg into the dough, beating it in. The dough is ready when it is glossy and smooth. When it falls off the end of a spoon or the paddle, it should leave a thin V-shaped trail. If the dough still seems quite stiff or the V is very thick, pour in a little bit more egg until you achieve the desired consistency.
• Transfer the dough to a pastry bag (you can also use a gallon-sized ziploc bag).
• Preheat the oven to 425F. Snip a 1/2-inch opening in the bag, center the opening inside a circle, and squeeze gently just until you have filled the circle. The tip of the bag should maintain contact with the surface of the dough while piping each circle. Continue until you have used up all of the dough. The recipe should yield 20-22 cream puffs.
• Gently place a craquelin circle on top of each dough mound, pressing gently to adhere it to the top, like a little hat. Place in the preheated oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 375F. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the choux buns are a deep golden brown. Turn off the oven, prop the door open, and allow the buns to cool inside for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the choux buns from the oven and poke a small hole in the bottom of each cream puff with a small paring knife so that steam can escape. Cool completely.
• Assemble
• Wait to fill the cream puffs until the day you plan to serve them, ideally just a short while before serving. Prepare the creme diplomat first. Place the 2 Tbsp of room temperature water in a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin on top. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then, microwave for 10 seconds to dissolve the gelatin.
• Add the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla to a mixing bowl. Start whisking by hand or with a hand mixer and stream in the gelatin. Continue beating until soft peaks have formed.
• Remove the earl grey pastry cream from the fridge and whisk to loosen it up. If it’s not already, transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Then fold in the whipped cream mixture, one-third at a time until well incorporated. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Transfer to a piping bag and cut an opening of about 1/4 inch. Pipe into the hole at the bottom of each cream puff until filled. You will feel the cream puff get heavier and feel when the pastry cream starts meeting resistance/coming back out the opening, which signals to you that the cream puff is properly filled.
• Once filled, serve immediately. After 2-3 hours, the cream puffs should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.