Cream Puffs with Green Chartreuse

These little pastry balls, each about the size of a walnut, are what Mademoiselle Vivette serves to her guests as a midnight snack with cups of mint tea. The first time I bit into one, the mint-green whipped cream squished all down the front of my shirt. Moral; Always stuff a puff whole into your mouth. This is one of the most classic of French recipes, involving the preliminary preparation of a batch of basic pâte à choux, “cream-puff pastry,” filled after baking with Crème Chantill