I am going to a potluck and I’m making cream puffs. Anyone have any recipes for a good chocolate filling for them?
Make a small box of instant chocolate pudding. When it’s fairly set fold in whipped cream, gently, so as not to beat out any air. I don’t cut the puffs in half, I put the filling in a bag fitted with a decorating tip. A tip with a round opening would be best. There are actually tips designed for this, with one bit of the tips end slightly elongated and sharpened, the better to pierce the puff.
Chocolate pudding with whipped cream folded in, seconded.
Sounds yummy!
Actually, if you have a recipe for normal cream puff cream (pastry cream with whipped cream folded in as mentioned above), I usually make a batch of it, split it in half and just add cocoa powder to it. The pastry cream is sweet enough to balance the bitter cocoa powder and it comes out as a real adult tasting chocolate cream–light and not too sweet, but sweet enough.
I second the suggestion of adding cocoa powder to your regular custard cream filling. This way you can control the sugar content and sweetness. Make sure you use quality cocoa powder like Valrhona or else you’ll just be getting brown coloring. You can also add more intensity by adding some bittersweet chocolate by melting it in the warmed milk or half and half when you make your custard.
I’m also thinking of making some with a flavoring added like chocolate/orange or chocolate/5 spice. Any other ideas of something different but not too crazy?
Personally, I like the traditional vanilla custard cream fillings but my wife sometimes makes matcha or Earl Grey flavoured custard fillings and they go over well with friends who come to visit. Go easy with the matcha because a little goes a long way. It’s the opposite for Earl Grey as you don’t want to skimp on it when making the cream infusion. Less leaves with a longer steep will make the custard stringent.
Add a little espresso powder with your cocoa powder for mocha cream.
and/or
fold raspberries macerated in sugar and framboise (raspberry liqueur - cassis would work too) into slightly sweetened whipped cream and put in split puffs.