Directions

Preparing the choux pastry:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 220C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Mix the flour, xanthan gum, sugar and salt in a bowl.
3. Add the milk and butter in a saucepan and turn the heat on to medium/low, stirring constantly. Then once you reach a light simmer and the butter has fully melted, turn the heat off.
4. Immediately add the dry ingredients and stir until the dough comes together, with a spoon or spatula. Then turn the heat back on and cook the dough briefly on medium/low, mixing constantly, to get a dryer dough / get rid of any excess liquid. Then transfer it back into the bowl and allow it too cool down before carrying on with the next step. Don’t rush it, you don’t want the heat to start cooking the eggs (which we’re adding next).
5. Once the dough is lukewarm, add the eggs little by little (beaten in a bowl first) and mix with a spoon, spatula or an electric hand mixer (with mixing paddle attachments; not whisks) on low speed. At first it will look lumpy and not at all like dough, but this is normal. Keep on mixing until smooth. NOTE: add the eggs slowly until you reach the perfect texture i.e. the dough should be wet enough to run downwards when you hold the spatula up, but solid enough not to actually drip into the bowl (like in the picture collage above). This quantity will vary for everyone depending on what flour blend you use and how much liquid was left in your dough before adding the eggs.

Making the cream puffs:

1. Transfer the dough into a piping bag with a large nozzle and pipe the dough onto the baking tray (little balls, about 1.5 to 2 inches wide). Note: leave enough space between each creme puff to allow for spreading.
2. Shape the cream puff with your fingers. Note: wet your hands first to prevent sticking.
3. Brush a bit of milk on top with your fingers or a pastry brush.
4. Bake on the middle shelf for 10 minutes at 220C (425F), then turn the heat down to 175C (350F) and cook for another 20 minutes.
5. Turn the oven off, open the door and let the cream puffs sit in the oven for another 15-20 minutes, until they’ve cooled down. Note: you can also poke a hole a the bottom of each cream puff which helps them dry out inside in the process.

Filling and decorating the cream puffs:

1. Poke a hole at the bottom of each cream puff and fill them up with a filling of your choice using a piping bag (with a small nozzle). Alternatively, you can slice the top open, add the filling and place the top back on. Note: for a tutorial on how to make the pastry cream, check out my churro donut holes recipe {here}.
2. Add a dusting of icing sugar on top or any icing of your choice.