so the sunday sweets craving hit me pretty hard this past weekend... and i was in the mood for something fancy... i was first thinking some kind of cake, but i am going to be surrounded by dozens of cupcakes this weekend, so i decided to pass on that... then i was thinking some kind of custard or pudding, like creme brulee or a caramely flan... then i was thinking if i was going to make a pastry-like cream, why not add it to some puff pastry and make some napoleons... but i always make napoleons, so why not change it up a bit...
do i sound like i'm rambling... i'm on severe mommy overload right now, so trying to type up something creative is making my head spin... so i'm just going to get to it... i decided to go with eclairs... yummy vanilla pastry cream wrapped up in a deliciously crispy pate a choux shell, and slathered with a ribbon on dark chocolate... delicious... really deliciously delicious...
Pierre Hermé’s cream puff dough (half recipe)
ingredients:
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
4 T unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/8 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, at room temperature (you see the full recipe calls for 5 eggs, so to half this i used two whole eggs, and for the third egg i beat it a bit, then added it by the tablespoon)
directions:
1. in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil
2. once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon, the dough comes together very quickly... continue stirring for about 2-3 minutes more to dry the dough, and after this time the dough will be very soft and smooth
3. transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough, you will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry... as you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again... beat the third egg & add it a tablespoon at a time until the dough is thick and shiny and when lifted falls back into the bowl in a ribbon
4. the dough should be still warm, it is now ready to be used for the eclairs
5. preheat oven to 425 with two racks in it dividing the oven into thirds, place on a baking sheet covered with a silicone pad
6. place a pan with about a cup of water in it on the bottom rack on the oven, put the baking sheet with the dough on the top rack and bake for 10 minutes
7. turn the oven down to 350 and rotate the baking sheet, bake another 10 minutes the dough should be puffed up & brown
8. turn off the oven remove the pan with the water, use the tip of a knife to poke a small hole in each puff, and leave the tray of cooked puffs in the oven with the door ajar until cool
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
4 T unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/8 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, at room temperature (you see the full recipe calls for 5 eggs, so to half this i used two whole eggs, and for the third egg i beat it a bit, then added it by the tablespoon)
directions:
1. in a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil
2. once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon, the dough comes together very quickly... continue stirring for about 2-3 minutes more to dry the dough, and after this time the dough will be very soft and smooth
3. transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough, you will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry... as you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again... beat the third egg & add it a tablespoon at a time until the dough is thick and shiny and when lifted falls back into the bowl in a ribbon
4. the dough should be still warm, it is now ready to be used for the eclairs
5. preheat oven to 425 with two racks in it dividing the oven into thirds, place on a baking sheet covered with a silicone pad
6. place a pan with about a cup of water in it on the bottom rack on the oven, put the baking sheet with the dough on the top rack and bake for 10 minutes
7. turn the oven down to 350 and rotate the baking sheet, bake another 10 minutes the dough should be puffed up & brown
8. turn off the oven remove the pan with the water, use the tip of a knife to poke a small hole in each puff, and leave the tray of cooked puffs in the oven with the door ajar until cool
now i filled them with a classic vanilla pastry cream and topped them with a bittersweet chocolate ganache and a drizzle of salt caramel...
and here are some little cream puffs, topped with a deep chocolate ganache, some salt caramel and a touch of sea salt... mmmm...
hope you enjoyed this sweet installment... and happy baking everyone :)
wow! Is there anything you CAN'T make? Love your blog!!
ReplyDeleteI've never had an eclair with salted caramel! I think that's a FAB idea!
ReplyDelete