These delicate puffs are filled with a light and fluffy rose cream that are a perfect complement to any tea time, bridal shower, baby shower, or really any time of day (I have no self control).
I made gluten-free cream puffs. For you wheat eaters this sounds like no great feat but for my fellow gluten-ites, I made fluffy, airy, delicious, soft, cream puffs out of gluten-free dough. You can find the original recipe here that uses all-purpose flour. For this recipe my flour concoction actually didn't quite work cup for cup, I had to add about another 1/2 cup which is perfectly fine with me because they tasted AH-mazing still.
I also changed the amount of rosewater in the cream. I like the flower taste to be more delicate and subtle instead of in your face and the only thing you taste. The first time I tried this recipe I put a little too much and ended up with soap-from-your-grandmother's-powder-room tasting cream. Moral of the story, do not underestimate the power of the rosewater. You could easily make this regular vanilla cream by substituting vanilla extract for the rosewater if flowers aren't your thang.
The original recipe also shows how to make sugared rose petals to place on top which, alas, I could not find food-grade rose petals but if you are fortunate enough to have some I would definitely suggest sugaring them up because they're so beautiful!
I hope you give this recipe a try because even though these look absolutely time consuming, I think making them took me about 45 minutes where 30 of those minutes the puffs were in the oven. They are beautiful to serve and will wow your guests! My final tip, if you are not serving them all at once, do not fill the puff shells with the cream. The cream will eventually be soaked into the dough and you'll end up with soggy cream puffs. I would store the remaining shells in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week and the cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you're ready to fill the rest of the puffs.
Ingredients:
The Dough
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whole milk
1 stick of butter, room temperature
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup Gluten-Free all-purpose flour, divided
4 eggs, whisked
Rosewater Cream
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp rosewater (start with this much and add drop by drop until desired flavor)
1/2 cup sugar
Optional: Powdered sugar for topping
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Over medium-high heat, combine the water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt.
3. Once the butter is melted and the mixture comes to a simmer, immediately remove from heat and add 1 cup of the flour. Using a wooden spoon, continuously mix until completely incorporated.
4. Put the pot back over the heat and mix the dough consistently for about 1 to 2 minutes to open up steam pockets.
5. Remove from heat again and keep mixing the dough to remove more steam and cool slightly, about 2 minutes.
6. Add in whisked eggs, little by little and mix until fully combined.
7. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and mix to combine completely.
8. Using your tablespoon measure and a spoon, make little dollops of dough and place on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart from each other.
9. Place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, turn down the temperature to 350 degrees for another 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool completely.
10. To create the rosewater cream: Using a stand mixer or hand-mixer, combine the heavy cream, sugar, and rosewater until stiff peaks form.
11. To assemble: Once the puff shells are completely cool (you don't want the cream to melt), slice through the middle and place a dollop of cream in the center, close back up and top with some powdered sugar! Voila!
