These mini egg cream puffs are filled with a smooth chocolate pastry cream in a crunchy choux au craquelin shell and topped with whipped white chocolate and mini eggs to resemble a cute chocolate bird's nest
In a small bowl, cream together softened butter and sugar with a spatula until smooth.
Add in the flour and mix until combined and a soft dough comes together.
Dump dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Roughly form dough into a flattened disc. Loosely place another sheet of plastic wrap on top.
With a rolling pin, roll the dough out until about ⅛ inch thick. Chill in the freezer until frozen solid.
Choux
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a small pot, heat the butter, water, and milk on medium heat until it comes to a simmer.
Pour all the flour into the pot and quickly stir with a spatula until a dough forms.
Keep flattening and moving the dough around the bottom of the pot on medium heat to dry it out (about 4 minutes). The dough should resemble mashed potatoes. Remove pot from heat.
Cool the dough for 5-10 minutes until it is barely warm to the touch.
Add the egg to the choux dough a third at a time, stirring between each addition. It will look curdled at first but just keep stirring and adding the rest of the egg. The dough is at the right consistency when you drop it from the spatula and the dough leaves a V-shape hanging off the spatula.
Transfer the choux dough to a piping bag and snip off the tip of the bag to create a ½ inch opening.
On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, pipe dollops about 1 inch in diameter and 1 inch tall. Leave at least 3 inches in between each dollop for when the choux inflates (about 6 on each baking sheet).
Take the frozen craquelin sheet of the freezer and use a 2 inch round cutter to cut discs out. Place one disc on top of each dollop of choux batter.
Bake at 400°F for 5 minutes. Turn down the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 25-30 minutes. About 2 minutes before the puffs are done baking, use a chopstick to poke a hole in each puff to release the steam. Bake until the puffs are browned on top and walls are stiff. Cool completely before filling.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and cornstarch. Set aside.
In a small pot, heat the milk on medium heat until it begins to simmer. Slowly pour the hot milk into the bowl of eggs while whisking continuously and vigorously.
Pour the mixture back into the pot on medium heat and keep whisking until it thickens into a custard.
Stir in the melted chocolate until completely combined.
Transfer the pastry cream into a bowl and press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.
Once cooled, transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag and snip off the tip when ready to use.
White Chocolate Whipped Cream
In a double boiler, melt the white chocolate and whipping cream until smooth and melted.
Remove the bowl from the double boiler and allow to cool. Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
When the ganache has chilled and thickened, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to whip it until it becomes stiff peaks.
Transfer the white chocolate whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip.
Assembling the cream puffs
With a serrated knife, cut the tops off of each choux puff (about ⅓ of the way from the top).
Pipe the chocolate pastry cream into the choux cavity, angling the piping bag towards walls to ensure the cream fills the cavity completely.
Pipe the whipped white chocolate on top of the cream puff, starting from the middle and working outwards.
Sprinkle the middle of the cream with ground hazelnut meal (optional).