Chocolate Eclaires
Correspondent:: König Prüß, GfbAEV
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 10:00:13 GMT
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I found this recipe in the San Francisco Chronicle today, and it reminded
me of the puffs and chocolate eclaires my mom used to make when I was a
kid. She would fill the little puffs with a variety of things that could be squirted
into them. But the best thing was the she would grin maniacally as she made
larger puffs to fill with custard and paint with chocolate fudge for eclaires, just
for us. You can fill the smaller puffs with cheese, salmon mousse, sour cream
and herbs, and so on--
The pastry dough is a basic pate a choux, translated from the French as "cabbage paste"
due to the puffs' resemblance to miniature cabbages.
For a sweet preparation, they are filled with pastry cream or ice cream and chocolate sauce,
making irresistible cream puffs or profiteroles. But when enhanced with finely chopped cooked
vegetables, pastry puffs hold their own without a filling.
Preparing the pate a choux is straightforward, and using a pastry bag to pipe the dough
ensures that the puffs will be uniform in size and bake evenly. You can also use a large
zip-top bag with a corner snipped and the pastry tip inside.
Watching the puffs expand in the oven is like watching a magician perform a trick.
Steam from the liquid in the dough forces the little "cabbages" to rise like magic.
No chemical leaveners or yeast needed.
Make it all
While you might be surprised at how many puffs a single batch of pate a choux produces,
don't be tempted to halve the recipe.
Because the puffs are small, you can bake dozens at a time with almost no effort.
They freeze well and can be reheated in the oven.
Once baked, the Mushroom-Chive Puffs are best eaten fresh, but after cooling them
you can store them in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 10 days.
To serve, recrisp them, without thawing, in a 325-degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes,
or just until hot.
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Mushroom-Chive Puffs
To chop mushrooms finely, cut small ones into quarters and large ones into eighths
and pulse briefly in the food processor.
INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces (about 3 large) portobello mushrooms or a combination of cultivated and
wild mushrooms, stemmed and finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Choux paste
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whole milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
INSTRUCTIONS:
Saute the mushrooms in olive oil over medium heat until they are dry.
Set aside to cool completely. (You may do this ahead, and refrigerate, covered, for up to 2 days.)
Adjust rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 400°.
Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch-round decorating tip. Lightly grease a baking sheet
and dust lightly with flour.
For the choux paste: In a 1 1/2-quart saucepan, bring the water, milk, salt
and butter to a boil over medium heat. Immediately remove from the heat and
stir to combine the ingredients. Add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously with
a wooden spoon and scraping the sides of the pan, until a stiff paste forms and
comes together in a ball. Return the saucepan to the stovetop over medium heat,
stirring quickly for about 10 seconds to eliminate any extra moisture.
Remove from the heat. The paste should be smooth, thick and glossy.
Transfer the paste to a large mixing bowl to cool for no more than 10 minutes.
Using an electric mixer, add all the eggs to the paste in the saucepan and
beat at medium speed until the eggs are completely incorporated into the dough.
Stir the chives and mushrooms into the choux paste.
Fill the pastry bag with the paste and pipe bite-size puffs about 1 inch in diameter
onto the baking sheet, spacing the puffs 1/2 inch apart. (You can drop the paste
from a spoon as well.)
Dip a pastry brush into a small amount of water and glaze each puff lightly with the water.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the puffs are golden and the sides are rigid enough
so they will not collapse when removed from the oven. Remove from the oven and
place the puffs on a cooling rack. If not using right away, freeze the puffs in a sturdy
container up to 10 days.
Makes about 8 dozen puffs