Spring graduations happily coincide with berry season. Celebrate both occasions by serving pastry-cream-and-berry-stuffed éclairs or cream puffs that you can easily fill with flair using the Dessert Decorator Pro.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly spray cookie sheet with vegetable pan spray or line pan with Parchment Paper.
Place water, butter and salt in medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat, add the flour all at once, stir constantly until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball.
Remove from heat; add eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is well blended before adding the next.
Fill Dessert Decorator Pro™ with puff paste. Hold the Dessert Decorator Pro™ upright and pipe Star 1M rosettes for cream puffs, or hold the Dessert Decorator Pro™ at an angle and without using a tip, pipe lengths for eclairs, at least 2 in. apart to allow for spreading.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Turn off oven and leave in closed oven for 10 minutes.
In medium saucepan, combine milk and vanilla bean and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile in mixer bowl combine sugar, flour, cornstarch, and egg yolks. Beat on high speed until thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes.
Remove vanilla bean. Gradually pour about 1/3 of the hot milk into the egg mixture, stirring to combine.
Scrape the egg mixture back into the pan and cook, whisking constantly over low to medium heat, scraping the bottom and corners of the pan to prevent scorching, until the pastry cream is thickened and begins to bubble.
Continue to cook, whisking 45-60 seconds. Using a clean spatula, scrape the pastry cream into a clean bowl. If vanilla bean is not used, add 3/4 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract.
Cover the surface of the custard with waxed or parchment paper to prevent skin from forming. Let cool; refrigerate before using. Will keep refrigerated up to 2 days.
To fill cream puffs or eclairs: Fill Dessert Decorator Pro™ with Pastry Cream and Bismarck tip 230. May also be filled with stabilized whipped cream. Insert Bismarck tip into center of puff and press thumb lever to fill. Stop, pull tip out.