For those of you that were in pastry class with me, know the lengths of completing a dessert like this. I thought the first and last time I was going to make this was for our graduating day. Well, since then I have had some time away and well..... I decided to try it at home. The difference of course in making it at home and having made it in class, is that in class we had limited amount of time. I remember having to put the final touches and finish it in class and rushing. A little hard rushing this structure. At home though, I was making this for friends, so I could do it on my own time. Like they say, "You can't rush perfection." Okay so I am far from perfection, but I do have to say myself this is pretty good, especially coming out of a small studio kitchen. I decided for my filling I would make a chocolate pastry cream, and to celebrate the season, added a taste of peppermint to the pastry cream. Yumm! Then when it came time to decorate with sugar, I cooked up some sugar and gave it some color. I forgot though to cover my area with parchment paper and well by the end of my decorating a lot more than my dessert was covered in green sugar. :)
Pate a Choux..... a.k.a Dough Puffs
1c water and milk each
1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
8 oz butter
.......................
2c AP Flour
1/4 t Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg each
.......................
7 Eggs (+/-)
* Preheat oven to 425 degrees
* In pot over medium heat, bring water, milk, butter, sugar, & salt to boil
* Add dry ingredients and stir constantly with a wooden spoon
* Mix unil the dough becomes smooth and begins to pull away from the sides (~3min)
* (it is normal to see skin form on bottom of pan)
* Transfer dough to a kitchen aide
* Using paddle attachment, mix on low speed to help cool the dough slightly
* Mix in 1 egg at a time, reserving 2 to adjust consistency
* Beat each egg until incorporated
* With the remaining eggs or more, add as many as the dough is able to absorb
*(dough will be smooth, have a slight gloss and still be able to hold it's shape)
* Pipe dough into desired shape/size (preferably .5- 1 inch rounds for Croquembouche)
* Bake @ 425 degrees for 10min or until fully puffed and starting to have some color
* Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake approx 10-15 min longer, depending on size.
* Let cool at room temperature
* Fill with desired filling
1c water and milk each
1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
8 oz butter
.......................
2c AP Flour
1/4 t Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg each
.......................
7 Eggs (+/-)
* Preheat oven to 425 degrees
* In pot over medium heat, bring water, milk, butter, sugar, & salt to boil
* Add dry ingredients and stir constantly with a wooden spoon
* Mix unil the dough becomes smooth and begins to pull away from the sides (~3min)
* (it is normal to see skin form on bottom of pan)
* Transfer dough to a kitchen aide
* Using paddle attachment, mix on low speed to help cool the dough slightly
* Mix in 1 egg at a time, reserving 2 to adjust consistency
* Beat each egg until incorporated
* With the remaining eggs or more, add as many as the dough is able to absorb
*(dough will be smooth, have a slight gloss and still be able to hold it's shape)
* Pipe dough into desired shape/size (preferably .5- 1 inch rounds for Croquembouche)
* Bake @ 425 degrees for 10min or until fully puffed and starting to have some color
* Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake approx 10-15 min longer, depending on size.
* Let cool at room temperature
* Fill with desired filling
