With all of the heavy desserts around this time of year, sometimes it's nice to have something that doesn't hit your digestive system so hard when you still need your sweet fix. These chocolate-drizzled orange cream puffs are just the ticket.

The puffs are made from a basic pate a choux pastry dough. It's a really lovely dough that's relatively simple to make and it comes together so nicely! I was surprised at how easy it was to work with, and now I'm excited to explore other ways of using this dough.

The puffs are cut in half and then filled with a lighter-than-air pastry cream with the perfect hint of orange flavor.

And because chocolate makes everything better - and because chocolate and orange are an amazing duo - they are finished off with a drizzle of chocolate.

Chocolate Drizzled Cream Puffs | Pate a Choux

Author: Erin Browne
Yield: 24 puffs 1x

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Ingredients

Scale

Orange Pastry Cream
2 cups whole milk
½ cup white sugar
4 large egg yolks
1 orange zested
2 TBS fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ mounded cup sifted cornstarch
1 TBS butter
1 TBS orange liqueur, optional
Cream Puffs
1 cup water
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 large eggs
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Orange Pastry Cream
In a medium pan combine the milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Heat on medium until simmering.
In a separate bowl, combine the yolks and cornstarch until smooth. It will be very thick.
Once the milk mixture is at a simmer, temper the egg yolks by adding a half cup full of the hot mixture into the sugar and egg yolks while whisking constantly. Repeat with a few more half cups of the hot mixture, and then return the contents of the bowl to the pan.
Stir the mixture constantly on medium heat until the mixture thickens like pudding (~ 200 degrees if using a thermometer)
Strain the pastry cream through a fine meshed strainer to ensure it is completely smooth. Add the butter, orange juice, and orange liqueur if using. Stir well.
Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pastry cream and refrigerate until chilled and ready to use.
Cream Puffs
Preheat the oven to 425F
Place the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat and cook until the butter is melted and the mixture is simmering.
Dump in the flour all at once and stir for about 5 minutes, or until the dough gathers itself into a ball and a film begins to form on the bottom of the pot.
Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl, and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, while continuing to beat. Allow each egg to become fully incorporated, before adding the next.
Pipe or spoon 1.5 inch dough rounds onto parchment-lined baking sheets, allowing about 3 inches in between each puff. Use your finger to round off the top of each round.
Bake for 20-30 minutes, depending on size. Puffs are done when they are puffed, golden brown, hollow, dry, and light. Allow to cool before filling.
Assemble the Puffs

Use a serrated edge knife to cut each puff in half. Spoon or pipe filling on the bottom half of each puff, and replace the top. Dust with powdered sugar.
Place chocolate chips into the bottom corner of a microwave-safe plastic bag. Microwave for 20-30 seconds or until chocolate is melted. Massage the bag with your fingers after each 15 second increment (careful, it may be hot). Snip a tiny corner of the bag off and drizzle chocolate over the assembled puffs.

Notes

Note: I wanted a firm pastry cream that I could pipe into the puffs and have it hold its shape, so that's why I used a larger amount of cornstarch. If you prefer a looser cream, start with a little less cornstarch and alter the consistency as needed.