And Mocktails by Eva Swanson and Nikhil Jain
How to make Choux Pastry
A step by step guide on how to make choux pastry treats!
INTRODUCTION
Choux pastry is a basic pastry dough used to make a number of classic French delicacies including éclairs, profiteroles and choux buns.
It very versatile and is also easy to make gluten free, dairy free or both. The recipe below makes one batch of choux pastry, a custard filling and a chocolate topping. This will make around 20 profiteroles OR 10 éclairs OR 10 choux buns or a mixture of all three. Feel free to play around with shapes, fillings and toppings. Listed below are a few suggestions of flavour combinations you can try.
Remember to wash hands and clean down surfaces regularly.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
For the Pastry
60g/2oz plain flour (for gluten free use GF bread flour)
50g/1¾oz unsalted butter (for dairy/lactose free use butter alternative)
2 beaten eggs
For the Filling
500ml of double cream
OR
500ml/17fl oz milk (or dairy/lactose free milk)
4 egg yolks
100g/3½oz caster sugar
30g/1oz cornflour
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Chocolate topping/sauce
100g/3½oz double cream (plant based or lactose free where necessary)
100g/3½oz dark chocolate (dairy free if necessary)
1 tbsp golden syrup
Equipment
Kitchen weighing scales
One medium saucepan
One wooden spoon
Baking tray
Greaseproof paper
Two teaspoons or one piping bag
Whisk
Mixing bowl
STEPS – INSTRUCTIONS
Wash your hands and preheat oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas 6.
Place 50g of cubed butter and 150ml water in medium saucepan with and slowly bring to the boil.
As soon as the butter has melted and the water has come to the boil, turn off the heat. Quickly add 60g plain flour and beat with wooden spoon for around 60 seconds until it forms a ball in the pan.Leave to cool for 10 minutes
Gradually add the beaten eggs and beat with wooden spoon. This will take a few minutes to come together and may look like it’s curdling at some points- just keep beating! The end result should be a thick batter so, depending on their size, you may not need all of the beaten egg.
To make profiteroles, spoon walnut sized dollops onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Leave plenty of space between each one- they will triple in size when in the oven.
Or you can use a piping bag to make profiteroles, éclairs or choux buns. You can also get creative and experiment with making different shapes.Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown- do not open the oven before 15 minutes has passed or they will collapse.
Remove from oven and pierce each one with a knife. Return to oven for 3 minutes- this allows the steam to escape and prevents them from getting soggy.
Remove from oven and leave to cool- this shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes.Once cooled they can now be frozen for up to 3 months and reheated in the oven for 3 minutes to crisp up.
For the filling you can either whip the double cream OR you can make a custard filling whilst the pastry is in the oven. To do this, start by placing milk and vanilla in pan and heat gently for 5 minutes.
While the milk is heating, in a separate bowl beat together the eggs yolks, sugar and cornflour. Gradually add the warm milk to the egg mixture, mixing constantly.
Return the custard mixture to the pan and cook on low heat, stirring with a whisk continuously until it has thickened. This will take 5-10 minutes. The low heat and constant stirring will ensure the custard will not split.
Once thickened, remove from the heat, transfer to bowl and cover top with cling film (this stops the custard from forming a skin).Chill for one hour.
To fill, either cut buns in half and spoon in the filling.
Alternatively, poke a small hole in the buns and fill using a piping bag.
To make the chocolate topping- simply add the cream, chocolate and golden syrup to a small pan.
Cook on a low heat, stirring regularly, until the chocolate has melted and all the ingredients are combined.
Spread on top of the buns and leave to chill.
Or you can pour it over the profiteroles as a warm chocolate sauce.Other flavour suggestions
Bakewell
Slice open the buns/éclairs and spread a small amount of raspberry or cherry jam on the bottom. Make the custard with almond milk flavoured with a few drops of almond essence and top with flaked almonds.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate
For the filling, whip the double cream with 2 tbsp peanut butter. Top with the chocolate topping and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
Bounty
Make the custard filling using coconut milk. Top with the chocolate topping and sprinkle with desiccated coconut.
Chocolate Orange
For the filling, whip double cream with 1 tbsp icing sugar, zest of half an orange and a splash of orange liqueur. Top with the chocolate topping.
Lemon Curd
Spread a small amount of lemon curd on the bottom of the buns/éclairs and fill with whipped cream. Make a white chocolate topping by melting together 100g white chocolate with 50g double cream.
Cheese Puffs
To make a savoury version, mix 100g cheese, a pinch of mustard powder and a pinch of ground nutmeg into the batter before baking. No need to fill- serve warm.
Strawberries and Cream
Fill with whipped cream and sliced fresh strawberries. Make a white chocolate topping by melting together 100g white chocolate with 50g double cream.
Mocha
For the filling, whip double cream with a cold shot of espresso and 1 tbsp icing sugar. Top with the chocolate topping.
LINKS
Instagram: @beccyhillam
Twitter: @beccyhillam
