Cheesecake Cream Puffs

I've been wanting to make cream puffs for a while. They are definitely a weakness of mine. Whenever my friend Jesse and I go to the grocery store together we pick up cream puffs. We usually end up eating most of them while they are still partially frozen because we just can't wait until they thaw. Homemade cream puffs are even better and they don't have to thaw :-) Want to make cream puffs even better? Cheesecake filling. Yep. It's good... just try it. You know you want to :-) I even added some extracts to try a few different flavors. 

regular cheesecake = yummy (no extracts)

lemon cheesecake = wonderful (lemon extract) <-- my personal favorite

strawberry cheesecake = glorious (strawberry extract)

Since I used jello pudding to give me the cheesecake flavor, think about the delicious substitutions you could make (butterscotch, chocolate, coconut, oreo, lemon, white chocolate, etc.). I just made up the filling, but I used a recipe from Joy of Baking for the pastry.

 

Choux Pastry:

1/2 cup all purpose flour (I was out of all-purpose, so I used bread flour and they turned out great)

1/2 teaspoon granulated white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Egg Wash Glaze:

1 large egg

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

Cheesecake Whipped Cream Filling:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup milk or half and half1 pkg. cheesecake Jello pudding mix

 

Garnish:

Powdered (Confectioners or icing) sugar

For choux pastry: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl sift together the flour, sugar and salt. Set aside.  Place the butter and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and, with a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly add the flour mixture. Return to heat and stir constantly until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan and forms a thick smooth ball. Transfer the dough to your electric mixer and beat on low speed a minute or two to release the steam from the dough.  Once the dough is lukewarm start adding the lightly beaten eggs and continue to mix until you have a smooth thick paste.   Pipe 12 mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, spacing them a couple of inches apart.    Beat together the egg and salt for the glaze. With a pastry brush, gently brush the glaze on the tops of the dough. 
Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Bake for a further 30 to 40 minutes or until the shells are a nice amber color and when split, are dry inside. Turn the oven off and, with the oven door slightly ajar, let the shells dry out for a further 10 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Make sure to keep your eye on them as they bake. Smaller bite-size pastries will take less time.

For cheesecake whipped cream filling:  In a large mixing bowl whip the whipping cream until stiff peaks form.  In a separate bowl combine cheesecake mix and milk.  Fold mixture into whipped cream. I made three different versions: regular, lemon, and strawberry. I just added flavored extracts to taste. I had lemon and strawberry extracts on hand, but you can be creative and use what you have. If I were making these for guests I would use food coloring to differentiate the flavors (the extracts obviously change the taste, but not the color of the filling, so if you make several different kinds they are hard to tell apart).

To assemble:  Split the pastry shells and pipe with cheesecake whipped cream filling.  Dust with powdered sugar. 
I ended with more cheesecake whipped cream filling, so in the future I may double the pastry to make for equal amounts.