I have always thought of baking as the scientific meeting the nutritionally creative. Every recipe is a challenge to get the balance right; to include just the right mix of ingredients, apply just the right level of heat at the right moment and for the right duration in order to create something very special. And nothing has challenged me over the years more than choux pastry!
Many years ago, I think I was about 19, some kind soul gave me a recipe book that included an amazing Croquembouche. The photograph alongside the recipe was inspiring; a tower of choux balls stuffed with whipped cream and encaptured behind the finest spun sugar. I have never managed to create this cake. In fact, I have never managed to create as much as a chocolate eclair! However, I promised that I would step out of my comfort zone with Fifty Two cakes and therefore, seizing my courage in both hands, I decided this week to prepare my own twist on eclairs and choux buns. There are three main bits to this recipe. Follow it in a methodical order and there is no reason why you should not succeed. After all, I managed it!
Sweet Choux Pastry (the ingredients listed came from a Michel Roux recipe, but I have fiddled with the cooking time and temperature)
250ml water
100g butter
150g plain flour
4 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 generous tablespoon caster sugar (the original recipe called for 1 tablespoon, but I preferred one and ‘a bit’)
pre-heat your oven to 170 degrees (fan), line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper, prepare a piping bag with a wide nozzle
- ingredients for choux
1. Put your flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix. 2. Put your water and butter in a pan and melt the butter over a medium to high heat. Bring to boiling point. Turn the heat down to 2 or 3. 3. Tip in the flour mixture as one. Beat it into the melted butter mixture until you have one big lump. Keep stirring this over the low heat for 3 minutes or so. The mixture should be one big lump and a bit shiny.
- a shiny lump of choux
4. Tip the lump into a large bowl. Add the eggs ONE AT A TIME. Beat each egg in. It may seem difficult at first, but keep at it until each egg is well and true mixed in. Once you’ve added all of your eggs you’ll have a nice, smooth, shiny mixture that is almost dropping consistency – and you’ll have given your arms a good work out!
5. Put the mixture into your piping bag. Pipe out the shapes that you want to make. You could make mini-buns as I have, a choux ring, classic eclair shapes – whatever takes your fancy! Remember that you will need to have a bit of height to whatever shape you choose to make.
6. Pop into the oven. I let my pastries cook for around 15 minutes at 170. Once they had risen and were starting to brown I turned down to 150 after 10 minutes I switched the oven off and left the pastries in there to being to cool. You’ll need to be guided by the size of your pastry shapes. One word of warning, do NOT open the oven until you can see that the shapes have risen and are browning. Open the door too early and your choux will deflate!
FILLING You might want to fill with cream alone or with creme patisserie. I wanted to have a fruity twist and I always prefer whipping to double cream as a cake filling.
Berry Nice Filling couldn’t be simpler … I found 200g of berries just enough for 6 pastries. I used blackberries and raspberries, but I think all of the berries would work well. I just mashed the berries with a fork, I wouldn’t advise using a food processor as it will blitz the fruit and you’ll be left with a smoothie rather than a chunky filling. Whip a tub of cream until it is stiff enough to pipe.
Shiny Icing Mix one cup of fondant icing sugar with a tablespoon on cold water. Add a couple of drops of colouring if you want. I used Tate & Lyle lilac and pink. Keep the mixture thick. You want to be able to dip your pastries without having the icing run all over the place (mine wasn’t quite thick enough, as you can see from the photos!)
ASSEMBLY
1. Dip ice each pastry. Leave for an hour until the icing is completely set.
2. Carefully slice open each pastry. Fill with the berry mixture.
3. Carefully pipe whipped cream into each.
4. Replace the lid. Admire your handiwork and then tuck in, after all you’ll want to quality test them before you serve them to anyone else 🙂
- berry filled choux pastries
Fifty Two Cakes 