I've been seeing all this caramel cream puff that's all the rage in Japan lately, and I'm so curious about what it tastes like! Since I'm back to being a full-time housewife, I've had plenty of free time, so I decided to try making it at home! First off, the caramel crust is really sweet, but the texture is so unique—it's like a candied hawthorn skewer with cream puffs! 🤣 The puffs themselves are quite sweet, so you can eat them on their own! It's just so sinful after eating them; I feel like I'll have to start dieting from the Qing Dynasty after that first bite! 😂
Materials
Caramel shortcrust pastry recipe steps
First, make the custard sauce. Cut the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds with a knife.
In a small saucepan, combine granulated sugar A, whole milk, vanilla pod, and vanilla seeds. Cook over medium-low heat until the mixture boils around the edge of the pan. Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Add granulated sugar B to the egg yolks and beat with an electric mixer until the sugar dissolves and the mixture turns pale.
Mix the egg yolks until they turn pale and the granulated sugar dissolves.
Sift in the cake flour and cornstarch, and mix well.
While stirring, pour in the hot milk and mix well.
Strain the egg and milk mixture back into the small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat.
The custard will set in about 3-4 minutes.
Pour it into a small steel bowl, cover it tightly with heat-resistant plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
Next, make the shortcrust pastry. Soften the butter at room temperature beforehand, add the granulated sugar, mix well with a spatula, and then beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.
Sift in the cake flour and mix well.
Mix the ingredients into a dough that is not sticky to your hands or the bowl. Shape it into a cylinder about 3cm long, wrap it in plastic wrap, and freeze for about 15 minutes to set.
Next, make the caramel sauce. In a small saucepan, combine butter, granulated sugar, corn syrup, and salt.
Cook over medium-low heat until all ingredients have melted.
Add flour and mix well.
This is roughly the state it should be in. Put it into a piping bag and set it aside.
Next, make the cream puff batter. In a small saucepan, combine butter, granulated sugar, salt, and drinking water, and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Remove from heat and pour in flour that has been prepared in advance or dried.
Mix until a dough without any dry powder is formed, then heat it again over medium-low heat until a film forms.
The dough is so good that you can see a thin film on the bottom of the pot.
Add the cooked batter to the egg mixture in 4 batches (make sure each batch is fully absorbed before adding the next).
When you lift the spatula after making the cream puff batter, the batter should fall in an inverted triangle shape. Transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a 13mm round piping tip.
Stand the choux pastry vertically upwards, about 3cm thick, and seal the edges by swishing in a circular motion. Cut a 1-2mm thick slice of puff pastry and place it on top of the choux pastry. Finally, pipe on some caramel sauce.
Preheat the oven to 220°C with the convection setting. Place the baking tray on the lower rack of the oven and adjust the temperature to 180°C. Bake for about 20 minutes.
Whisk the vanilla custard until smooth, then add heavy cream and sea salt. Whisk until fluffy, then poke holes in the bottom of the cream puffs with chopsticks and pipe in the vanilla cream.
It's delicious, but it's really, really, really sweet!
Tips for making caramel puff pastry
1️⃣ After adding sugar to the egg yolks, start stirring immediately, otherwise the yolks may harden. 2️⃣ Stir constantly while cooking the custard sauce to prevent burning! 3️⃣ The custard sauce can be made a day in advance; simply whisk it before use. 4️⃣ Caramel sauce hardens easily, so make and use it as needed. Keep it warm with a towel after making it; do not place it directly on the work surface. 5️⃣ The egg mixture for the choux pastry batter must be at room temperature, otherwise it will affect the consistency of the batter. 6️⃣ You may not use all the egg mixture for the choux pastry batter; observe the consistency of the batter. 7️⃣ The oven temperature and time are for reference only; please adjust according to your own oven. 8️⃣ Do not open the oven during baking; otherwise, the choux pastry will flatten before it sets and will not rise properly!
