Swan-Shaped Cream Puffs

Ingredients

• 250 ml milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 60 g Butter
• 150 g flour
• 4 eggs
• 300 ml whipping cream
• 2 tbsp vanilla sugar
• powdered sugar (for dusting)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Preheat the oven to 200°C with fan and top heat.

2. 2.

   Bring the milk, salt, and butter to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and pour in the flour all at once. Stir well with a wooden spoon and return the mixture to low heat. Keep stirring vigorously until the dough separates from the bottom and a white film forms. Transfer to a bowl, let it cool slightly, then gradually fold in the eggs so that each egg blends well with the puff pastry dough. Knead everything into a smooth, glossy dough and fill a piping bag fitted with a plain tip.

3. 3.

   Pipe eight large mounds (about 4 cm diameter) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Pipe eight smaller mounds for the necks and tails using the remaining dough. Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes until golden brown; remove the smaller ones slightly earlier if needed.

4. 4.

   Remove the baked puffs from the tray and cool on a wire rack. Cut a small lid off each puff and let them sit flat to cool completely.

5. 5.

   Cut the lids in half and set aside as wings.

6. 6.

   Whip the cream with vanilla sugar until stiff peaks form, then fill a piping bag fitted with a serrated tip. Pipe about half of the filling into the body of each swan, place one smaller mound at an angle on top so that a small tail protrudes and the neck curves upward. Finish by spraying the remaining whipped cream over the puffs, placing the wings on the sides, and dusting with powdered sugar before serving.