Cream Puff Follow Up

While making the whip cream for my cream puffs yesterday . . . I was suddenly quite panicked as I realized that I had never in my life made whip cream before - and that I may very well make a complete fool of myself by trying to make something for a contest that I had never made before (and was something I was kind of making up). I had this mental picture of my cream puffs with melted pink cream running out of them.

I was totally crunched on time . . . but with Nathan's help I was able to create my very own peppermint whip cream which I filled the cream puffs with. Then we topped them with bits of crushed peppermints and powdered sugar. They were beautiful! The pictures here don't do them justice. I just didn't have a chance to take good pictures since I was rushing out the door (Nathan, bless his heart, even had to help me put my shoes on). All in all . . . I made 45 peppermint cream puffs and 60 rum truffles for our Christmas taste testing party.

Being someone that never really grew up baking much . . . I was very proud of my handiwork and that fact that I just jumped in there and tried something relatively unusual . . .and difficult maybe? And I was flattered by the fact that I had the only dessert at the contest that was all eaten up! Both desserts too! I was told that the cream puffs tasted like Heaven. Unfortunately, I didn't win. Though my gut tells me that I was pretty close (but my gut was also full of peppermint whip cream). All in all . . . it was an enjoyable experience, and I've got myself a great new recipe!

Cream puffs look much better when they're not under plastic.

Some of my rum truffles. It's a good thing I'm blocking the fact that I had a huge mess in my kitchen when I left!

Nathan read a Christmas story to the kids at the party.

So, after all that, what do you think? Should I be a pastry chef in my next life?