Elegant Cream Puff Dessert Wreath

Happy Holidays from Food Frenzie!

Cream Puffs:

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup flour
• 4 eggs

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, combine water and butter over medium heat; bring to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously until dough comes together. Remove from heat; let cool 5 minutes.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, stirring quickly & beating well after each, beating until mixture is smooth and satiny.

Drop in 8 or 9 rounds, 3 inches apart, onto sprayed baking sheet. Bake 30-35 minutes, until golden. Remove from baking sheet; cool away from draft.

Split cream puffs in half and remove any soft dough from the insides.

Filling:

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups prepared vanilla pudding, French vanilla pudding, or pastry cream

Directions

In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold pudding into the whipped cream until well blended. Remove tops from cream puffs; place bottoms on a large, decorative platter, sides touching, forming a "wreath". Fill bottoms with filling; replace tops.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries:

Ingredients

• 1 lb. whole strawberries, washed and dried
• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

Optional:

• 3 ounces white baking chocolate
• Fresh mint sprigs

Directions

Melt semisweet chocolate over very low heat or in microwave. Using a fork, dip dry strawberries into the chocolate, letting excess chocolate drip back into pan. Place coated strawberries on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate is set.

Just before serving, gently pile coated strawberries into the center of the cream puff wreath. Refrigerate leftovers.

Optional: Melt the white chocolate and drizzle over the coated strawberries. Let set again. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Source:

• http://www.foodfrenzie.com/

By Food Frenzie from Saginaw, MI