Description
These Delightful Ube Japanese Cream Puffs combine the light, airy texture of classic choux pastry with a rich, creamy ube-infused custard cream filling. Topped with a crunchy ube craquelin layer, these elegant pastries offer a perfect balance of subtle sweetness and vibrant purple ube flavor that will amaze your taste buds and impress your guests.
Ingredients
Scale
Ube Pastry Cream Filling
- 2 cups Whole milk
- 1.5 cups Heavy cream
- 7 large Egg yolks
- 1 tsp Ube extract
- 0.5 cup Granulated sugar
- 0.33 cup Cornstarch
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Unsalted butter
Ube Craquelin Topping
- 8 tbsp Unsalted butter (softened)
- 0.5 cup Granulated sugar (brown sugar preferred)
- 1 cup All-purpose flour
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Ube extract
Choux Pastry Dough
- 0.5 cup Water
- 0.5 cup Whole milk
- 8 tbsp Unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp Granulated sugar
- 0.5 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 cup All-purpose flour
- 4-5 large Eggs (adjust as needed for dough consistency)
Instructions
- Prepare the custard base: In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, granulated sugar, ube extract, salt, and cornstarch until the mixture is smooth and light yellow.
- Heat milk: Warm 2 cups of whole milk in a saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edges, but do not boil.
- Cook the custard: Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture while whisking continuously, then return the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the custard thickens to a pudding-like consistency.
- Add butter and cool: Remove custard from heat, whisk in 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter until fully incorporated. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface to prevent skin and cool completely.
- Whip cream and fold: Whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add 1 teaspoon ube extract and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled pastry cream to create a light, fluffy ube cream filling.
- Make ube craquelin dough: Cream together softened butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in flour, salt, and ube extract until a soft dough forms. Roll into a thin sheet between parchment paper and freeze until firm, then cut into discs matching the size of the cream puffs.
- Preheat oven: Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C), and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Prepare choux dough: Combine water, milk, butter, vanilla, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and quickly stir in all the flour at once, mixing vigorously to form a smooth dough ball.
- Incorporate eggs: Let the dough cool slightly, then beat in eggs one at a time until the dough is smooth, glossy, and pipeable.
- Pipe and top: Pipe mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, then carefully place the frozen craquelin discs on top of each mound.
- Bake cream puffs: Bake at 400°F for 12 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until the puffs are golden brown and crisp.
- Fill with ube cream: Once cooled, create an opening at the bottom or slice open the top of each puff and pipe in the ube pastry cream filling. Serve immediately or chill before serving.
Notes
- Adjust the number of eggs in the choux dough to get the right consistency; dough should be glossy and pipeable but not too runny.
- Freeze the craquelin discs well before baking to prevent them from melting into the dough.
- Do not open the oven door during baking to avoid deflating the cream puffs.
- Use high-quality ube extract for the best flavor and vibrant color.
- Store filled cream puffs in the refrigerator and consume within 2 days for optimal freshness.
