Easy Italian Cream Puffs with Custard Filling

• 2¾ cups unbleached AP flour
• ⅛ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 cups water
• 9½ tbsp butter
• 6 large eggs

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 3 cups whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp rum

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 425. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together and set aside.
• In a heavy saucepan, heat the water. Add the butter. When melted, remove the pan from the stove and add the flour mixture all at once. Beat with a wooden spoon, then return the pan to medium-high heat, beating the mixture until it comes away from the sides of the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon or hand mixer in-between additions to mix well.
• Fill a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch tip with the cream puff batter. Squeeze out 3-inch puffs, about ½ inch apart on a cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. When done, carefully slit the side of each cream puff with a knife to allow steam to escape and to prevent the puffs from becoming soggy inside. Transfer to cooling racks and let cool.

• In saucepan over moderate heat, combine sugar, flour and salt. Add milk gradually, cooking and stirring until mixture is thick and bubbly.
• Lower heat, stirring for 2 minutes and remove from heat. In a small bowl, add cream mixture to eggs slowly. Return mixture back to pan. Bring to gently boil for 2 more minutes, adding butter, rum, and vanilla. Tranfer to a shallow bowl to cool, placing plastic wrap on the top of the custard to prevent a skin forming. Refrigerate.
• Once custard has cooled completely, pipe into opened pastry shells until they are so full they might pop, top with a cherry, and dust with powdered sugar.