Choux pastry/profiteroles/eclairs
I think i have tried about 4 different recipes for this..none worked....so I turned to the best cook i know...MAMA!!!
She got out here recipe book and here it is!
To make about a dozen puffs:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter (cut in pieces)
1 cup flour
4 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp salt
or
1 tbs sugar and 1/8 tsp salt (for sweet puffs)
Heat oven to 400F
Put water, butter and salt (or sugar and salt) in a pan and over medium heat melt the butter.
Remove from the heat, add the flour and put back on the heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball.
Remove from the heat and add the eggs bit by by bit beating well all the time. The mixture will seem to separate but as you keep on beating it slowly all gets incorporated.
When mixture is smooth the pastry is done!!
I used a piping bag but you can also fill the puffs the old fashioned way using two teaspoons.
Bake for about 20 mins or until golden.
When cool, make a hole in the bottom to let the air out so that the puffs won't get soggy. You can then use the hole to fill them with pate, custard, cream or whatever tickles your fancy!
Yum! I bet these were great.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to see someone outside a restaurant using this recipie/technique. I make a slightly larger batch, and use an stand mixer, but the ratio I use is the same (give or take and egg or two) I usually make them savory, adding cheese, and herbs..."gougers" in the French kitchen. I like to use a small, 2 oz ice cream scoop to portion mine. I know the traditional way is to poke a hole in them, but I turn the heat down from 400 to 350 about half way through and keep them in another 10 min or so, it helps to fully cook and dry out the center, thus no poking, which is important if our making 5 dozen or so.
ReplyDeleteThis same mixture with a little more flour (add a tablespoon per cup) and seasoning can be piped, or dropped into boiling water, then shocked in ice water to make Parisian style gnocchi. Once poached they fry up nice with a pad of butter.
In Trinidad and Tobago we call these Puffs and we love to serve them with tuna, chicken and, my favourite, cheese paste. Great post!
ReplyDeleteMama always knows best!!!
ReplyDeleteNext time, I will show you how to make Profiteroles, oozing with chantilly cream filling, build them into a conical shape and then douse with the best melted chocolate you can find.
In another lesson I will show you how to top off with spun sugar insted of chocolate