12.4 Steam Leavening: Cream Puffs and Popovers
Objectives
- To prepare baked products that have little gluten development.
- To demonstrate the techniques needed to produce a steam-leavened product.
- To determine the importance of the emulsion to the success of a steam-leavened cream puff.
Cream Puffs
Yield: 5 medium puffs
| 2 tbsp. butter | 1 egg, blended |
| ¼ cup water | ¼ cup sifted flour |
| Vanilla Pudding |
Heat oven to 425°F. Add butter to water in saucepan. Bring just to a boil. Immediately remove from heat and add all the flour. Stir quickly until mixture leaves sides of pan and forms a ball around the spoon. Cool slightly and add egg in two portions, beating well after each addition. Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheet; do not add to puffs already on pan. Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes; reduce heat to 325°F and bake 10 minutes. Turn off heat. Pierce each cream puff on the side with a sharp knife, and let stand in oven for 10 minutes. Cool and fill, with vanilla pudding.
Vanilla Pudding
| ¼ cup sugar | 1 cup milk |
| 1 ½ Tbsp cornstarch | 1 ½ tsp butter |
| 1/8 tsp salt | ½ tsp vanilla extract |
In a small saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Reduce heat; cook and stir 1 minutes longer. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into serving dish and cool.
Popovers
Yield: 4 medium popovers
| ½ cup milk | ⅛ tsp. salt |
| 1 egg | ½ cup sifted flour |
Heat oven to 425°F. Prepare popover pan.* Combine ingredients in small mixing bowl; beat with rotary beater until smooth. Fill cups ⅓ to ½ full. Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°F and bake 15 minutes. Turn off heat, pierce each popover with a sharp knife, and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve warm with butter and jam.
* Cast iron pans require preheating and should be greased before preheating. Coated steel pans require greasing, but not preheating.
Characteristics of the Standard Product:
Cream Puffs
| Appearance | Texture | Flavor |
| Volume three to four times that of dough, irregular surface.
Uniform, golden brown crust. Hollow interior. |
Crisp yet tender outer crust.
Interior slightly moist. |
Mild flavor, with no predominance of egg flavor. |
Popovers
| Appearance | Texture | Flavor |
| Volume up to five times that of batter, dark golden brown crust, irregular shape.
Hollow interior. |
Crisp yet tender outer crust.
Interior slightly moist. |
Mild pleasing flavor. |
Evaluation
| Product | Appearance | Texture | Flavor |
| Cream Puffs | |||
| Popovers |
