Since little Vita-roo was born (view pics of the cutie here!),  I’ve asked some amazeballs bloggers to visit and help make things not so lonely around here! Today’s post comes from Kia of With Lovely!! She’s sharing the how when it comes to birthday cakes. So fitting because today is Logan’s birthday! Makin’ a cake! shhhh…

Hi! I’m Kia from With Lovely, a dessert and DIY blog, and I’m super excited to be guest posting here today while Lexy is spending time with her new little one!

In honor of BG-dub’s birth, I made these sprinkle-topped cake puffs. What’s a cake puff, you ask? Well, it’s a delicious cake/cream puff hybrid, and in my opinion, it’s even better than the cronut!

The choux pastry is made with cake mix and the resulting shells are softer, sweeter, and a little less poofy than typical cream puff shells.  They’re filled with funfetti cake batter pastry cream, which is every bit as delicious as it sounds.

I topped them with a drizzle of icing and a bunch of sprinkles to make them extra pretty, but unless you have a crazy sweet tooth I’d actually recommend serving them plain.

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake Puff Shells

• 3/4 c water
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 c funfetti cake mix
• 4 eggs
• egg wash: 1 egg, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt

For the Cake Batter Pastry Cream

• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 c.whole milk
• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ c funfetti cake mix

DIRECTIONS

For the Cake Puff Shells

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Fit a pastry bag with a large plain round tip.

Combine water and butter in medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When it reaches a boil, remove from heat and sift in the cake mix (you won’t end up with the funfetti bits in the shells – that’s okay. You can save these to make your next bowl of yogurt or batch of pancakes extra special). Stir to combine, then return saucepan to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until dough pulls away from the sides of the saucepan (about three minutes). Transfer to a bowl and stir for one to two minutes to cool it a bit.

Preheat oven to 400°.

Add one egg to the dough and stir. It will break into loose, shiny pieces, then become coarse looking, like mashed potatoes, as it gets incorporated. When it gets to this stage, add another egg and repeat until all the eggs are incorporated. Cool dough in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.

Transfer dough to the pastry bag and pipe into mounds that are about two inches in diameter, spacing them about two inches apart. The dough will be runny, so you may get some strings between mounds; if this happens just wipe them away with your finger before baking. Brush the tops with the egg wash very gently. Bake on the top rack for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the puffs are well inflated and slightly golden. Don’t open the oven door (they might deflate).

Once the shells are golden, lower the oven temperature to 350° and continue to bake the cream puffs until they are mostly dry, about 7 to 10 minutes more. Transfer the cream puffs to a wire rack to cool.

For the Cake Batter Pastry Cream

In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup of the milk. Beat the whole egg into the cornstarch mixture, then add the yolks one at a time.

Combine the remaining 3/4 cup milk and the sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly.

Whisk the egg mixture constantly as you slowly pour 1/3 of the boiling milk into it to temper the eggs. Return the remaining milk in the saucepan to medium heat and add the hot egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly until the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat and transfer to a metal bowl. Whisk in butter, vanilla, and cake mix, then press a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent it from forming a skin. Refrigerate until cool.

To Assemble

Transfer pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Use a knife to make a small incision in the side of each shell (it should be just big enough to fit the pastry tip inside). Pipe in the pastry cream until the puff is about ¾ filled.

Optional: mix ¼ c powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp milk together to make an icing glaze. Drizzle the glaze over your cake puffs with a spoon and top with sprinkles before it dries.

See more delicious recipes and DIY projects by Kia over on her blog, With Lovely. You will want to lick your computer screen once you see photos of her treats!

photography: all photos by With Lovely