Cream Puffs with
Chocolate Pastry Cream

  A French choux pastry round is a favorite dessert filled with
chocolate custard and drizzled with shiny chocolate icing.

Chocolate Pastry Cream

    4 large egg yolks
    ½ cup granulated sugar
    ¼ cup all-purpose flour
    2 tablespoons cornstarch
    2 cups whole milk
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    3 (1-ounce) semisweet baking chocolate squares
    ¼ cup dark brown sugar

Choux Pastry

    ½ cup all-purpose flour
    Pinch salt
    ½ cup water
    ¼ cup butter
    2 large eggs

Chocolate Icing

    ½ cup semisweet chocolate shavings
    1 tablespoon butter
    1 ½ teaspoons whole milk
    1 tablespoon light corn syrup
    1 quart strawberries

1.  Pastry cream: In a large bowl, whisk yolks and sugar.  
     Whisk in flour and cornstarch, then milk. Strain into a
     3-quart saucepan. Whisk over medium heat. When thick,
     remove from heat and stir in vanilla, chocolate and dark
     brown sugar. Pour into a medium bowl, refrigerate 1 hour.

2.  Choux pastry: Preheat oven to 400°. Measure flour and salt   
     into a small bowl. Bring water and butter to a boil in a 2-quart    
     saucepan, immediately stir in flour all at once with a wooden      
     spoon. Stir until dough forms a ball. Spread out into the base
     of a deep medium bowl to cool quickly, let sit 5 minutes.

3.  Beat in one egg at a time. The easiest way to accomplish this   
     is to use the edge of the wooden spoon to "cut" the eggs into
     the dough. The mixture will be slippery at first, keep stirring       
     and cutting in until it becomes sticky. Stir vigorously at this         
     point until well blended, repeat with second egg.

4.  Drop tablespoonfuls onto a greased baking tray in a circle. 
     Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350°
     and bake 25 minutes. They should be lightly browned.

5.  Cool pastries on a cooling rack. Use a scissors to cut round    
     in half. Pastries are best kept in a cool dry place at room     
     temperature. When ready to serve, use a piping bag to fill
     with chocolate custard.
 
6.  Chocolate icing: In a 1-quart saucepan, heat chocolate shavings, butter,
     milk and corn syrup over low heat until chocolate melts. Cool slightly,
     then drizzle over top. Fill middle with strawberries.

     Hint: For a fast dessert, make choux, then use 1 quart coffee        
     ice cream in scoops to fill the pastries, drizzle the pastries
     with chocolate syrup just before serving.

     Makes a round of 12 filled and iced pastries