Ingredients

How to prepare

Caramel cream puffs are a Czech classic which used to be available in basically every confectioner’s shop. Make no mistake, they are sugar with sugar and sugar. They are not exactly fit for a diet. But once in a while... Here is our gluten-free recipe.

You can find more detailed instructions for the choux dough preparation in the recipe for Choux puffs, kisses,… So let us do it only in short here. 

Heat water in a pot and melt the fat and salt in it. Add the flour and stir intensively. It might seem chunky at first, but continue processing (alternate between letting it burn slightly and stirring) until a glassy compact substance is achieved which does not stick to the pot or the wooden spoon. Once cooled off to the room temperature, mix in one egg after another mixing everything well. This substance is smooth and delicate but a bit more viscous.

Push the choux dough into a pastry bag with a decorating tip and squeeze puffs (spirals). Bake the puffs in a preheated oven at 210 °C. After 7 minutes of baking, reduce the temperature to 180 °C and continue baking until golden (ca. 25 minutes).

You can place a pot of boiling water on the bottom of the oven (it will evaporate).

Prepare the caramel cream (or caramel whipped cream) several hours in advance. Melt the sugar in a saucepan and add the whipping cream. Keep stirring until the caramel dissolves. Let cool off thoroughly (possibly even over night in a fridge). Whisk into firm cream before decorating. 

Prepare the vanilla cream from the pudding powder and milk. Stir the pudding powder and sugar in cold milk and cook until the pudding thickens. Continue cooking like this for 2-3 minutes. Cool it and continue stirring slightly to keep the pudding creamy. You can use a food processor at the lowest speed setting for example. Do not sweeten the pudding too much to maintain the contrast between the sweet caramel whipped cream and the slightly sugary vanilla cream. Once the pudding has cooled off, gradually mix in the whipped cream. 

To prepare the icing, much like the sugar cream, prepare caramel and pour 3 tablespoons of whipping cream into it. Stir until smooth. Let slowly cool off and adjust the consistency by mixing in the powdered sugar.

Finishing:

Cut thorough the ready puffs and pour (smear) the icing over the top half. Let them dry. Use the pastry bag to squeeze the vanilla cream onto the bottom half and then squeeze a layer of the caramel one over it. Cover with the top half carefully and store in cold.

Our tip: As the image suggests, if you wish to surprise someone, you do not need to settle for just the classical puff shape.