Chocolate Cream Puffs

 This is quickly becoming a traditional dessert for my father in law's birthdays. I stack all the cream puffs into a Croquembouche (a giant pyramid) and use the ganache to make it all stick together. So fun to pick apart! This picture shows how to serve it as an individual plating, slightly less impressive but just as good.

Cream Puff Pastry
1 1/4 cups milk
1 1/2 sticks
(3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
4  large eggs
2 tablespoons unsweetened dutch cocoa
2 tablespoons sugar
Whip Cream Filling
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Ganache Glaze
 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
20 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped.

Instructions

Make cream puffs: 

 Preheat oven to 425°F. and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a heavy saucepan bring milk to a boil with butter, sugar and salt over high heat. Reduce heat to moderate. Add flour and cocoa all at once and beat with a wooden spoon until mixture pulls away from sides of pan, forming a dough.

Transfer dough to bowl of a standing electric mixer and beat in 4 eggs, 1 at a time, on high speed, beating well after each addition. Batter should be stiff enough to just hold soft peaks and fall softly from a spoon. 

Spoon tablespoons of cream puff batter onto baking sheets, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, leaving 1 1/2 inches between mounds. With a finger dipped in water gently smooth pointed tip of each mound to round puffs. Bake puffs in upper third of oven 10 minutes, switching position of sheets in oven halfway through baking if necessary. Reduce temperature to 400°F. and bake puffs 20 minutes more, or until puffed and golden. Let puffs stand in turned-off oven 30 minutes. Transfer puffs to racks to cool. With a skewer poke a 1/4-inch hole in bottom of each puff. Puffs may be made 2 days ahead and kept in an airtight container. Recrisp puffs in 400°F. oven 5 minutes and cool before filling.

Make filling:
 In a chilled bowl beat heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until it holds stiff peaks.

Fill cream puffs:
Transfer filling to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain top and barely fill each puff (do not overfill) *Do not fill puffs until a few hours before serving them.

Make ganache:
Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan and remove from heat. Pour over chocolate in a large bowl. Let it sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. You may need to let it thicken a little at room temperature before pouring it over your plate of cream puffs.