Passion Fruit Cream Puffs

Cut passion fruits in half and juice by pressing seeds against a strainer.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the saucepan.

Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in passion fruit juice and butter. Let cool slightly.

Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using. I whipped some cream up and folded it into my chilled custard to lighten the filling up, this is now technically called Ambassador Cream.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 

In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. 

Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.

Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer). Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, add 3 eggs, 1 egg at a time. Stop mixing after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining 1 egg and mix until incorporated.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe dollop shapes.

Egg Wash: In a bowl, whisk the egg and water together. Brush the surface of each with the egg wash. Use your fingers to smooth out any bumps of points of dough that remain on the surface.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a 230 tip, gently pipe custard into each pastry, using only just enough to fill the inside (don't over-stuff them).

Add confectioner's sugar to a medium bowl. Drizzle in passionfruit juice and whisk until desired consistency is reached. You might have to add a bit more liquid depending on how packed the sugar was in the bag.