Choux pastry

[jackal10]

Choux pastry

Serves 22.

Basic pastry for eclairs, cream buns, profiteroles, croquenbouche, gateau St Honoure, decorative swans etc

• 125 ml Water
  
• 125 ml Milk
  
• 100 g Butter, cut into dice
  
• 1/2 tsp Salt
  
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
  
• 150 g Flour, sifted
  
• 4 Eggs
  

1. Put the water, milk, butter, salt, and sugar into a large saucepan, and heat until the butter melts, then boil for one minute over high heat, stirring all the time to prevent it boiling over.

2. Take off the heat and stirring all the time, add the sifted flour. Stir like crazy to smooth out any lumps.

3. Put it back over the heat for one minute continuing to stir well. This process is important for good pastry. It dries it out a little, and partially poaches the the paste.

4. Take it off the heat and let it cool a little, until you can touch it comfortably. Beat the eggs in, one by one.

5. If you don't want to use it immediatly spread a little beaten oegg over the surface to stop it drying out. Otherwise fill a piping bag with it.

6. Line a baking sheet with non-stick silicon paper or use a silpat or other non-stick surface.

Pipe out the shapes you want - buns, eclairs, rings etc.

For swans pipe a bun of appropriate size, and seperately pipe a thin S-shape for the head and neck

7. Pre-heat oven to hot 425F.

8. Bake for 4-5 minutes until puffed, then reduce the temperature to 350 (or prop open the door a crack) and bake 20 minutes until dry and golden. Do not underbake, or they will collapse. Remove to rack to cool.

For decorative swans cut the top off the bun part, and fill with whipped cream or pastry cream. Split the top into two and position as wings. Push the head and neck part into one end. Looks good as a fleet of swans served on a mirror, or a dark glass plate.

Keywords: Easy, Cookie

( RG584 )