Choux Cream Puff

 泡芙

Very time consuming to make these cream puffs. But effort is worth it because they are absolutely delicious.

A. Cookie Top#

Ingredients:

37g bread flour

30g unsalted butter (room temperature)

37g sugar

Method:

1. Mix butter with sugar using spatula until combined. Then add in flour and mix thoroughly until a dough is formed.

2. Transfer to parchment paper, cover with another piece of parchment paper and roll to 2mm thick. Alternatively, put the dough in a plastic bag and roll to 2mm thick. Chill in fridge. 

3. Use cookie cutter (diameter of the pastry puff) to cut out cookie top. If too soft to lift up, put in the freezer for a few mins. 

B. Choux Cream*

Ingredients:

2 egg yolk 

50g sugar

pinch of salt

12g cake flour

12g corn flour

240ml fresh milk

180g whipped cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

30g butter (optional)

1 tsp Contreau liquor

Method:

1. Lightly beat egg yolks, then add sugar and whisk to combine.  Then add salt and whisk until pale. 

2. Add cake and corn flour and whisk until light yellow in colour.

3. Heat up milk to 80 deg cel, pour into the egg mixture in two batches. Whisk thoroughly to combine. 

4. Sieve the mixture into a small pot and simmer. Stir using the same whisk continuously and quickly until mixture is shiny and smooth and liquid. This takes about 5 mins. Note that the mixture will become thick as you stir before it turns more fluid. When the whisk is lifted, the mixture drips. Note: The mixture will also be bubbling away as you stir and it is ok.

5. Stir in butter (optional) until it has melted and incorporated.

6. Remove from heat and cool the cream by putting the pot over a container filled with ice/ice pack. Cover the surface of cream with cling wrap and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours. After 2 hours, add vanilla extract and contreau liquor, and whisk/beat to loosen the cream until it is smooth.

7. Whisk whipped cream until soft peak. Add whipped cream to step 6 and use spatula to fold. No need to combine completely.

8. Transfer the cream to piping bag and chill in fridge for at least 1 hour.

C. Choux Pastry

Ingredients:

130ml water

50g unsalted butter

1/4 tsp salt

70g plain flour (sieved)

2 eggs, 65g with shell (lightly beaten)

Method:

1. Put water and butter into a small pot, and boil over low heat to melt the butter. Then add salt and bring to boil. Remove from heat and immediately add flour. Use a wooden spatula to mix quickly into a dough until there is no flour left. 

2. Put the pot back on the stove, stir and chop the dough over medium heat until a thin film forms on bottom of pot. Note: puff will not rise well if dough is not heated enough.

3. Transfer the dough to a new mixing bowl. Spread out the dough to help it cool down faster.

4. Once dough is 40 to 60 deg celcius, add in the eggs in 3 batches and mix thoroughly after each addition. Observe the consistency of the batter after each addition of egg. The batter is perfect consistency when a V smooth shape is formed when the spatula is lifted from the batter and the batter is thin and flows down slowly. If more egg is required to achieve the desired consistency, mix in the leftover egg whites (from making the choux cream) little by little.

5. Transfer the batter to piping bag.

6. Preheat oven to 210 deg celcius and line baking pan with parchment paper.

7. Cut piping bag tip (1cm across) and pipe the batter on the baking pan. Put cookie top on each batter. Do not open oven during baking or the puff will collapse. 

- Bake at 210 deg cel (no fan), then 180 deg cel (no fan) when the puff has peaked

- Bake at 180 deg cel for 15min, 130 deg cel for 15 min (Chef Pastissier Masayoshi Ishikawa)

- Bake at 200 deg cel for 15min, 170 deg cel for 10 min

- Bake at 190 or 200 deg for 20min (Nino's home)

after baking, leave the puffs in oven for 10min to turn crispy.

Transfer to wire rack to cool. Note: choux pastry is properly baked when you can see a little protusion at the bottom of each puff.

8. Use the sharp tip of a chopstick to make a little hole on the side of each puff, then pipe cream into the cream puffs and refrigerate until ready to serve.

* Other fillins:

a. Oreo cream cheese filling:

Ingredients:

300g cream cheese (room temp)

35g sugar

170g whipped cream

1/4 cup oreo crumbs

Method:

1. Mix sugar with cream cheese until creamy and smooth.

2. Whisk the whipped cream until medium peak.

3. Add the whipped cream into the cheese mixture and whisk until well combined and smooth.

4. Fold oreo crumbs into the cream and transfer to piping bag.

b. Earl Grey filling: 

Add 2 teabag to step 3 when making the choux cream.

c. Taro cream filling:

400g taro (steamed 20 min and mashed)

90g sugar

10g vanilla

489g whipped cream

# Earl Grey Cookie Top

2g tea leaves

25g sugar

30g butter

40 cake flour