As a seasoned pastry chef with years of experience crafting French classics, here's how to make perfect choux puffs. For the choux pastry: Boil the water, sugar, salt, and butter in a saucepan. Once boiling, remove from heat and quickly stir in the flour. Continue stirring off the heat until the dough pulls away from the pan sides. Add the 4 whole eggs one by one, mixing thoroughly after each.
Using a pastry bag, pipe dough balls onto a buttered baking sheet or Silpat, spacing them apart as they will double in size. Bake in a moderate oven (thermostat 5-6, 210°C). Test doneness by gently pressing—they should feel firm yet remarkably light. Cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Chantilly cream: Pour the cream into a chilled bowl. Add 1-2 crushed ice cubes to loosen it, along with the icing sugar and vanilla sugar. Whip with a hand or electric whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the washed, dried, destemmed red currants.
Slice the cooled puffs open two-thirds of the way with scissors. Fill generously with the currant cream and replace the lids. Dust with icing sugar sifted through a fine sieve. Enjoy immediately for peak freshness—mix in white currants for variety if desired.
