I made these back in January, at the height of summer, just before we left Melbourne; I should have been packing but I'm prone to procrastination so cue inappropriate baking. The complete failure of my first batch should have sent me packing :) but I'm stubborn so I tossed the sad, flabby, eggy disasters and started again. I abandoned the fancy pants french recipe and went with the reliable masterclass series from the Australian Gourmet Traveller, they turned out perfectly. I filled them with a vanilla mascarpone cream but they would be great with a simple, slightly sweetened whipped cream or ice cream, or chocolate mousse or lemon mousse with blackberries - how pretty would they look?!
Raspberries seem to be having a late season comeback, the berries at my local store over the last few weeks have been some of the best I've had this summer, maybe it's all the great weather we've been having. Anyway, we've moved house again, I'm surrounded by boxes again, I'm obsessing over tiny éclairs so I might just blow seven bucks on a punnet and indulge in some baking denial...
choux pastry
100g butter, chopped
250ml water
150g plain flour, sifted
4 eggs
icing sugar, for dusting
preheat oven to 220ºC • line 2 trays with baking paper
put the butter and water in a large pan and bring to boil, make sure the butter has melted • add the flour and beat crazily with a wooden spoon until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan • take off the heat and leave for 10 minutes to cool
add the eggs to the paste, one at a time, beating to incorporate before you add the next; this is one of those recipes that reminds me how embarrassingly weak my deltoids (?) are...
fit a piping bag with a plain 10 or 12 mm nozzle, stand in a tall glass and fill with the pastry mixture • pipe 3 cm mounds on the paper lined trays • bake for 15 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC, pierce the pastries with a sharp knife and bake until golden and dry, 5 or so minutes • cool on a wire tray then store in an airtight container until you are ready to fill them
recipe adapted from the Australian Gourmet Traveller Masterclass; choux pastry
mascarpone filling
125g mascarpone
125ml thickened cream
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
small punnet of raspberries or blackberries
combine the ingredients, except the berries, in a small bowl and whip until smooth and thick
split the pastries in half, pipe in mascarpone filling, add berries and replace the pastry top • dust with icing sugar and serve immediately as the pastry will soften quickly
8 comments:
Absolutely gorgeous as usual Sally! I think I might even be able to make these - I like that the pastry only requires some determined beating, which is something I'm good at... What occasion would you suggest I serve these? I don't do many afternoon teas, but would they be a good dessert?
Sorry, that's my comment above - I hadn't put a name to my profile yet!
thanks so much Annie! I think they'd be great for dessert; make them a bit bigger or serve 2. Now that it's finally getting colder you could fill them with hazelnut ice cream and bathe them in chocolate sauce...
Yum! Right - I'm going to give these a go. How long would they keep in an airtight container (unfilled)? Gorgeous photos by the way :)
thanks Deb! Love to see a photo when you make them. They should keep in an airtight container for 3 days or in the freezer for 3 weeks. You could briefly put them back in the oven at 220°C to return their crispness if they soften, 3-5 minutes should do it...
Mmmmm choux pastry. These look mouthwatering :)
Thanks Elle, I love choux too :)
Hi, I was wondering if there is a way to prevent the pastry from softening? I’m guessing it is because if the cream filling? Is there a way to stabilise the filling so the pastry doesn’t soften?
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