Bright Suns! Today Galaxy’s Edge opens in Disney World and I’m excited to join in on the celebration with these BB-8 puffs! I’ve only recently come into the Star Wars universe but I thought today would be a fun day to share another one of my favorite characters–the lovable droid BB-8. I’ve found BB-8 to be such a fun character to watch on screen. I love watching him move around and engage with other characters and I love his somewhat spunky and resourceful personality. In thinking about how to translate him to a dessert, I knew cream puffs would be a great way to capture his size and shape.
The BB-8 puffs are inspired by a cream puff dessert called religieuse, which are two cream filled choux pastry puffs stacked on top of each other. Typically, they’re covered with a dark chocolate ganache and made to look like nuns. For this recipe, I changed out the chocolate for an orange glaze to match BB-8’s orange color.
While these cream puffs may seem daunting, they’re actually pretty straightforward. Plan to give yourself time to read through everything before starting. As with every bake, I recommend prepping all of your ingredients in advance.
To make the choux pastry, combine everything except the flour and eggs in a medium size saucepan on the stove. Once the butter melts and the mixture boils, add in all of the flour at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. After the dough comes together in a smooth ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan, transfer it to a heat-safe bowl and add the eggs one at a time, stirring with the wooden spoon. This definitely takes some arm muscles, but it’s totally worth it in the end!
Once the eggs are mixed in, place the dough into a large piping bag with a 1/2-inch round tip. To shape the puffs, pipe directly down onto a parchment lined baking sheet, to create a circular disk shape. Aim to have 10 large puffs and 10 small puffs. These will become BB-8’s head and body. Once piped, use a wet finger to tap down any points on the top of the disks.
It’s best to bake both trays of choux pastry at the same time as you’ll be changing the temperature of the oven half way through baking. Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Use a metal skewer to poke a hole in the bottom of each puff. This allows the steam to escape. Let them cool on wire racks.
The filling and glaze are pretty quick to make so I chose to make them while the puffs were baking. However, you could also make them before you make the choux pastry or while the puffs are cooling. For the cream filling, I made a sweet whipped cream, just whipping some heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla together. Once whipped, place all but a few tablespoons of whipped cream into a piping bag fitted with a medium round tip. Having the tip makes it easier to push into the puffs when filling.
For the glaze, simply combine powdered sugar and orange juice. I wanted the glaze to be very thick so I added the juice a little at a time, mixing it all together until I had the right consistency. I then added a few drops of orange gel food coloring to match BB-8’s coloring. Since these BB-8 puffs are just inspired by BB-8 and not exact replica’s I didn’t recreate the pattern on his body. Instead, I added his eye and camera to the small head puffs using a black food safe marker.
Once the puffs are cool enough to handle, fill both the large and small puffs with whipped cream. Using a food safe maker, draw BB-8’s eye and camera dots on the small puffs. To assemble, dip the large puffs into the orange glaze and place on a parchment lined surface. Lightly dip the tops of small puffs into the orange glaze and place a small dollop of whipped cream on their bottom. Place the small puff on top of the large puff and let set.
As with most cream puffs, these are best eaten on the day they are filled. However, they will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
May the Force be with you!
BB-8 Puffs
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
- ½ cup nonfat milk
- ½ cup water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 large eggs
Cream Filling
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Orange Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons orange juice
- orange gel food coloring
Equipment
- 1 large piping bag
- 1 medium piping bag
- 1 1/2-inch round piping tip
- 1 medium round piping tip
- 1 metal skewer
- black food safe marker
Instructions
Choux Pastry
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Preheat oven to 425 Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
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In a medium saucepan, combine milk, water, salt, sugar, and butter over medium heat until butter melts and the mixture boils.
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Add the flour, all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 3 minutes.
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Transfer dough to a heatproof bowl. Using a wooden spoon, beat in eggs one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next.
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Transfer dough to a large pastry bag fitted with a ½ inch round tip.
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Pipe 20 small disks and 20 slightly larger disks onto the prepared baking sheets. Use a wet finger to tap down the tips of the dough.
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Bake until puffed and starting to show color, about 10 minutes.
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Reduce the oven to 375 F and bake until puffs are browned and feel light and hollow inside, about 12 minutes.
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Remove from the oven and poke holes in the bottom using a metal skewer.
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Cool on wire racks.
Cream Filling
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Whip heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla on high speed until it reaches stiff peaks.
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Place the whipped cream into a piping bag with a medium round tip.
Orange Glaze
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Stir together powdered sugar and orange juice, using just enough lemon juice to make a thick glaze.
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Add a few drops of orange food coloring and stir until combined.
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Cover until ready to use.
Assembly
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Fill each ball with whipped cream, reserving about 3 tablespoons worth for decorating.
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Using a black food safe marker, draw a large dot on the center of each small puff. Draw a smaller dot a little bit lower and to the right of the first dot.
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Dip the tops of the large puffs in the orange icing. Dip a small part of the top of the small puffs in the orange icing.
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Pipe a dollop of whipped cream on the bottom of the small puff. Place the small puff on top of the larger puff.
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Repeat until all puffs are frosted and assembled. These are best enjoyed the day they are filled, but can keep 1-2 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
choux pastry adapted from Tartine