Baked Pâte à Choux

By Mark Bittman

Total Time About 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

Yield: 2 to 4 dozen pastries, depending on size

NutritionSortLoading...
Loading...

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus a little more for greasing the baking sheet

Salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs

Select allAdd

PREPARATION

Step 1.

Heat oven to 400 and grease a baking sheet with butter. Put the butter and a pinch of salt

in a saucepan over high heat; add 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and

add all the flour at once; stir constantly until the mixture pulls away from the pan and

forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat and beat in the eggs one at a

time; use an electric mixer if you like, and beat until the mixture is smooth. (At this point,

you can cover the dough and refrigerate it for up to two days.)

Step 2

If you’re planning on piping out the dough, scoop it into a pastry bag with a ½-inch tip, or a

plastic freezer bag with a corner cut off. Pipe the pastry onto the baking sheet, or just use

two spoons to form your desired shape. Cream puffs should be circles about 1 inch wide

and a little over 1 inch tall; éclairs should be 3-to-4-inch fingers, about 1 inch wide.

A piping bag (an inexpensive investment, and it lasts forever) is the easiest way to form the dough into whatever shape you choose, but you

can always use a plastic freezer bag with one corner snipped off, or two spoons. The imperfections that occur with a plastic bag or spoons

can be repaired by dipping your finger into water and smoothing out the rough spots.

Step 3

Bake until the pastries are golden brown, nicely puffed up and sound hollow when you tap

on them, about 30 minutes for cream puffs and 40 minutes for éclairs. Use a skewer to

prick one or two holes in each one to allow the steam to escape; transfer to a rack and let

cool to room temperature.

Step 4

To fill the pastries using a pastry bag, poke a hole into the pastry and pipe the filling into

it, or cut off the top caps of each pastry, spoon in the filling, and close it up like a sandwich.

(Éclairs can be slit open and filled, too.) Serve as is, or drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Vanilla Pastry Cream or Creme Patisserie

Prep Time: 5mins

Cook Time: 10mins

Total Time: 15mins

Calories: 388kcal

Adjust Servings Here: Cups

Description

Vanilla pastry cream is also known as crème pâtissière in French. It is a perfect base for many desserts such as fruit tarts, mousses, Bavarian creams, ice cream, and more. Made by tempering egg yolks with hot milk then cooking it gently to achieve a smooth, creamy and velvety cream.

Video

Ingredients

SortLoading...
Loading...

▢ 6Egg yolks (large)

▢ ¾cup(150g)Granulated sugar

▢ 6tablespoon(85g)Cornstarch

▢ 3cups(700ml)Whole milk

▢ 1Vanilla bean(OR 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste)

▢ ½teaspoon Salt

▢ 2tablespoonButter((optional) )

Select allAdd

Instructions

SortLoading...
Loading...

Heat milk - Pour milk in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. Cut the vanilla bean in half length-ways, open the pod and scrape the seed. Add the pod as well as the scrapings and let the milk come to a boil.

In a separate mixing bowl, mix the egg yolks, sugar, salt, and cornstarch/cornflour. Whisk until light and almost foamy. You want to get the sugar to almost dissolve. Once the milk is ready. Reduce heat. Remove the pot of milk from the heat.Pro tip - Use a mixing bowl large enough to accommodate the milk.

Tempering the milk - Carefully and gently - pour some of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture while still continuously stirring or whisking to prevent the eggs from curdling.

Once more than half the milk has been poured into the eggs mixture the eggs have been tempered. Now, transfer all the milk and egg mixture back into the saucepan.

Then, place the pan back on medium-low heat and continue to cook the pastry cream stirring all the time. When the pastry cream is thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon or spatula add the butter and take it off the heat.Pro tip - The liquid will transform from a foamy liquid to a thick custard with no foam at all.

Strain through a mesh or sieve - discard the vanilla pod as well as any curdled eggs. Cover the surface of the pastry cream with plastic wrap.Pro tip - straining will ensure a smooth texture and remove any curdled or thickened milk solids.

Let cool completely before you store in the fridge or use as stated in the desired recipe.

Select allAdd

Recipe Notes

1. Always use good quality ingredients - fresh eggs are very important for this recipe.

2. Heat the milk with the vanilla bean for a few minutes before you temper the egg yolks. This lets the milk infuse with the vanilla and results in a wonderful rich vanilla flavor.

3. Whip the egg yolks, sugar, and starch with a whisk until light and fluffy to prevent lumps.

4. There is no need to rush the tempering process. Take your time and pour the hot milk mixture a little at a time. What is important, is that you continue to move the egg mixture while pouring the milk to prevent curdling.

5. A whisk or wooden spoon works great when stirring to prevent lumps

6. You must stir all the time - this will prevent the milk and egg from curdling and you will have a silky smooth custard.

7. Stirring can be very boring but it is important to keep the heat med-low and stir constantly. Medium-high heat can cause the milk solids to burn easily.You want the mixture to cook and thicken at the same time. If you thicken it too fast, it may curdle but it may also be undercooked. The slow process helps cook the eggs as well as the cornstarch. The mixture will look reduced in quantity when thickened.

8. This mixture will continue to thicken as it cools and chills in the fridge.

9. Straining is necessary to remove any lumps - giving you a smooth velvety creamy pastry.

10. Always cover the top surface of the custard to prevent any skin from forming. If you don't that skin will later result in lumpy pastry cream which can block the piping bags.

Storage

SortLoading...
Loading...

Vanilla pastry cream has to be stored in the fridge because it contains eggs and milk. Never leave creme patisserie at room temperature.

Always place the plastic wrap over the surface of the pastry cream, this will prevent a skin from forming.

This can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 4 days only.

You cannot freeze creme patisserie because when thawed it tends to break down. The starch and egg protein separate.

Select allAdd