Eggnog Filled Cream puffs for 7 Swans A Swimming

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      Are you ready for another pretty, even elegant dessert?  For 7 Swans a Swimming, I decided it would be amazing to make Cream Puff Swans!  I thought I had come up with a wonderful and original idea!  Then I looked on Pinterest and learned that isn't very original.  But, I think it is still wonderful, so I made them anyway with my own twist!  I filled them with a layer of Eggnog  Custard and whipped cream.  Swans must have whipped cream feathers! I think that they came out pretty sweet! (Even though in reality there is very little sugar in this recipe!) These swans would be the final piece de resistance at any dinner party!  Or, they will make my grandchildren very happy!  Either way it is a win. 

     A long time ago, when we had just begun blogging, I gave you the recipe and taught you how to make choux pastry and cream puffs on this post.   I used that exact same recipe to make my swans.  The difference is in the size and the way I made the swan bodies and heads. 

1. I used 2 spoons to form a cylinder shape onto a waxed paper lined cookie sheet.  I tried to make one end a little pointier than the other.  The finished blob of choux was about 1.5 " wide and 3 " long and maybe an inch or so thick.
   
2.  Then, I piped "S" shaped heads on the waxed paper.

    When the pastry came out of the oven, they looked like this:

The heads do not need to bake as long as the bodies do. Watch them and remove them. It is probably best if you put them on a separate baking sheet so that you can slip it out of the oven quickly so that the bodies don't fall. Carefully peel them off of the waxed paper. They are fragile! (Pipe extras!)

You should be able to tap on the puff and it will be firm. Peel them off of the waxed paper quickly so that they don't stick.

    While the cream puffs were baking, I whipped up the Eggnog Custard Filling.  It is very easy to make and perfect for Christmas Geese! Here is the recipe: 
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     Once the custard is ready and the pastry is out of the oven and cooled, decide how you want to orient your swans.  After all of my work to try to get them the same shape and size, they still rose and puffed the way they wanted to!  It all worked out alright in the end though. Ha Ha.  
     The idea is that you cut the body open along the back of the swan so that as you fill the body with custard and whipped cream, the body will spread slightly and it will look like it has wings on the side.  So, take a puff and slice it like this: 

You can pull out any soft bits from the inside of the puff in order to make room for the filling.

     Next, I used a spoon and filled the inside of the body about half to 2/3 of the way full with custard, saving room for whipped cream.  Let them set for a little while.  When the pudding is stiffer, it will hold the head in place.  I worried that the head would fall, but I didn't have any trouble at all! 
     After putting in the Eggnog filling, I whipped up the whipping cream and put it into a piping bag.  I filled the cream puff the rest of the way, letting it fatten up.  Then, I added the heads to the front of the body.  
​      Using a leaf tip, I covered the back of the swan with feathers. 

I have some little red and green Christmas Tree sprinkles that I used to represent holly to give my swan a Christmas look.

     You can embellish your swan however you would like!  I have seen wreaths piped around the neck, or a heart on the back.  For the last touch, I sprinkled them with powdered sugar so that the swan's head would be white! I put them on a blue and white platter to simulate a lake. 
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    And there you have it!  Seven Swans a Swimming!  They are much easier to make than you might think and when you need a real show stopper, these are pretty impressive! 

      Be sure to click to our home page and scroll through the other 6 days of Christmas that we have already covered.  Let us know if you have tried any of the recipe or if you plan to.  We would love to hear how it goes for you! 
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