Cream Puffs!

 

So I got this bad ass cook book for Christmas and decided to finally make some dishes out of it.  Given my absurd diet I thought that if I could make some cream puffs that fit my requirements it would be pretty insane and awesome.  While they didn't turn out super sweet, they were still really delicious and surprisingly healthy! 

We also made "crepes" but they were more like thin omelets and we filled them with Monterrey jack, zucchini, red bell pepper, chard and avocado.  

Here is the Cream Puff recipe: 

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/4 cup potato starch

2 table spoons tapioca starch 

2 large eggs plus 1 egg white, at room temp. 

2/3 cup water

1/4 cup unsalted butter (or buttery spread)

3 teaspoons agave 

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cans coconut milk (with the juice drained from the bottom) 

shredded coconut 

spices: ginger, cinnamon to taste

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a 15x10 in baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper. 

2. Whisk flour, starch, into a small bowl, and have it ready by the stove. Have eggs ready as well. 

3. In a medium heavy sauce pan, bring the water, butter, 1 tsp. agave and salt to a boil over medium-high heat.  When mixture starts to boil, add the flour mixture all at once and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and a film forms on the bottom of the pan. 

4. Immediately remove pan from heat and cool at least 5 min., but no longer than 10 min. Using a handheld electric mixer [I really really need to buy one of these] add the eggs, one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth. 

[....we forgot to let it cool the first time we reached this juncture and ended up scrambling the eggs and had to start over haha]

5. Drop 12 mounds, approximately 2 in. in diameter onto the baking sheet.  With wet fingers, smooth any points or protrusions and gently shape the mounds so that they form circles that will bake evenly. 

6. Bake 35-45 min. or until cream puffs turn a deep, golden brown. While baking empty the 2 drained containers of coconut milk into a small mixing bowl.  Whip until it reaches a stiff, whipped texture with "firm peaks".  Then add 2 tsp. agave and ginger and cinnamon to taste! Vanilla extract is also good...

[Our over caught on fire while we were baking and we had to transfer all the cream puffs to the toaster oven...we cooked them shorter and surprisingly it worked!]

7. Transfer cream puffs to a wire rack and immediately cut a 1 in. horizontal slit in the side of each cream puff, right where you will eventually cut the puff completely in half.  Cool completely on the wire rack. 

 8. When the puffs are cooled, use a serrated knife to cut each completely in half horizontally along the slit and discard the soft dough inside.  Fill with coconut whipped cream and replace the top.  Dust with shredded coconut and serve!