Custard and Chocolate filled Cream Puffs

These are heavenly if I can say so myself! You will love them!

Ingredients

Custard Filling

570ml milk
55ml of single cream
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 eggs (yolks only)
30 g caster sugar
3 teaspoons of cornflour

Chocolate Filling

50g dark chocolate
1 teaspoon butter
2 tablespoons water
85g icing sugar

Choux Pastry

125ml water
50g butter
60g flour
2 eggs beaten

Start off by making the custard.
Pour the milk and cream into a pan and let simmer over a low heat.
Mix the yolks, sugar and cornflour together until blended.
Pour the hot milk and cream over the eggs and sugar and whisk well .
Return the mixture to the pan and add the vanilla extract and stir with a wooden spoon continuously until thickened.
Put in the fridge to cool down.
(If you find that the custard is not thickening after cooling down, then put it back into the pan add a tablespoon of flour and stir over a low heat until you can see a difference in thickness).
Then refrigerate because it needs to be cool when you fill the cream puffs.

The next step is making the choux pastry.
Pour the water and butter into a saucepan.
Over medium heat, wait until the butter melts, once it begins to boil, take off the heat and pour in all of the flour at once.
Stir until the mixture turns into a soft dough, it will look like a soft ball and shouldn't stick to the sides of the pan anymore.
(Do not over beat otherwise it will get lumpy).
Once the mixture is warm to touch, add the beaten eggs a tablespoon at a time and mix until the batter has a silky and glossy consistency.

Spoon out the batter onto the baking paper a tablespoon per puff at a time, leaving a 3cm gap between them.
Before you place them in the oven, sprinkle them with a few drops of water. (This helps them rise in the oven).

Put them into a 200C preheated oven for the first 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180C and bake for the remaining 20 minutes. (Do not open the oven whilst baking, otherwise they will sink).
They will be golden when ready.

Whilst the pastry is cooling down you can start with the chocolate filling.
Place the chocolate, water and butter into a heat safe bowl. Place the bowl over a pot with simmering water inside.
When the chocolate has melted start adding the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time. Keep stirring to avoid lumps. Once it is smooth take off the heat and let it stand for a while to cool down and also so that it becomes thicker.

Take the cooled puff pastries and cut them in half. Then with a teaspoon scoop the slightly thicker chocolate filling into the bottom half until reaches the top edge. Then fill the thick custard into a piping bag and pipe the custard over the chocolate filling. Then replace the cream puff top.

And you are finished! And made with love! :)