Beard Papa's ()Tweet

Making double layered cream puffs à la Beard Papa is, admittedly, kind of a pain. But for some, well worth it. Given that you only need a very small amount of cake batter, but that it’s an integral part of the recipe, it might be better to make this a project you save for the next time you happen to make cake. Just reserve a little scoop of batter and you’re good to go.

1 batch pâte à choux
3 ounces cake batter
1/2 batch of Pastry Cream

Make the pâte à choux according to the recipe, but instead of brushing them with egg wash, use a pastry brush to brush them with cake batter.

Bake as directed. It’s especially important to follow the last step of the recipe and give the puffs a second round of “toasting” to ensure crispness as the cake batter can somewhat insulate them during baking.

Fill the baked puffs with pastry cream at the last minute to preserve their crisp shells.

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Any questions?

Apr 18, 2012 · 10:16 AM

how far in advance can you make your beard papa’s (unfilled or not)? I love this recipe!

· sam ·

Apr 18, 2012 · 6:50 PM

@sam, this type of cream puff doesn’t really hold up very well, unfortunately. With normal cream puffs, you can store them for a day or two in an airtight container (or freeze for longer) and then toast them up to refresh them. But the cake layer is so moist that its moisture migrates to the puff and the whole thing gets really floppy over time, and if you try to toast them up they turn a bit too hard and have too much crispness instead of a dueling texture.

Stella

Apr 24, 2012 · 3:54 AM

Hey Stella, so how do you prep these for service? They are made daily, and then filled to order? Is the life-span defined in hours (unfilled)? I’m in a fairly dry region… would be make a difference? Much thanks!

· Fuse ·

Apr 24, 2012 · 4:08 PM

@Fuse, you got it. Baked daily and filled to order; about a 6 hour window, though to be honest, I’ve never tested for the upper limit, I just know that once they’re stored in an airtight container, they go straight to mush. Hope that helps!

Stella

Aug 27, 2012 · 1:52 AM

Can you use cake batter from a box??

· Nancy ·

Aug 28, 2012 · 8:39 AM

Nancy, I haven’t tried so I can’t say with any authority one way or the other, but I’m going to assume it should work out just fine. There may, of course, be some issue with this I’m not anticipating, but I guess there’s only one way to find out!

Stella

Apr 23, 2013 · 1:37 AM

So, I’d pipe out my puffs, freeze them. Pull them out as needed, and just make the batter to glaze with per order. This way, you can make a high volume of them to order, while still having a fresh baked product and lovely cake shell.

· JPuff ·

Apr 23, 2013 · 9:10 PM

@JPuff, oh yeah. If we could bake things off to order, that would be the way to go for sure! Sadly, our oven space won’t allow for it.

Stella

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