As for me, NOW is the moment I adore photography and good food. I don't take the best pictures. or cook the best dishes. But they surely capture my moments, the things i care about most (:
And if you dont already notice, I have a special obsession for all things pastry. from savoury pies to elegant souffles.
For a start, here are some creme puffs i made today. Not excellent, but yummy enough to satisfy my sinful obsession (:
Fresh puffs from the oven
filled with creme patissiere and dusted with icing sugar. Voila!
Quick and easy to make, yet uber yummilicious.
[make about 20 average sized puffs]
Choux pastry
220g hot water
200g eggs
100g butter
150g flour
Method:
Preheat oven at 200 degree C.
Simmer the hot water till bubbles form, be careful not to let too much water evaporate. I think the key to make these babies stay puffy yet stiff for a long time is the proportion of water and flour. Add butter, continue to simmer. Take off the heat, quickly add flour, mix thoroughly then put back onto the heat. Continue folding the flour until the dough looks shiny ( or a shiny layer appears on the bottom of saucepan) I guess the special thing about choux pastry is that the pastry is cooked through before its baked!! * another cool reason to be obsessed with pastry*
The dough is slightly cooled in a running electric mixer for about 2 minutes*, then gradually add eggs till dough is well mixed and reaches a good consistency. I usually test dough consistency using the gravity method i.e spoon some dough up and count number of seconds it takes to drop back into the mixer. A good consistency for choux pastry is probably about 8-10s. Piping the dough into the right shape is also important as it determines what final product you get. If you use a zig-zag kind of nozzle, you'll prob get something like eclair. For creme puffs, just squeeze out a generous lump, then quickly flick the bag to form a little tip on top.
Just before putting them into the oven, dip your finger into water and slightly tap that sharp tip on each of the lumps. This water literally acts like sunscreen preventing the top (which is a very thin layer compared to the fat bottom- typical pear shaped figure of the puffs :D ) from burning and also provides some extra moisture for the rising of the dough. Bake for about 15-20 mins.
* many choux pastry recipes dont require this cooling process, but i personally like my eggs to stay fresh and not too well cooked in the hot dough.
Creme patissiere - the convenient way
creme fraiche ( i used Dairy Farmer's full cream - just as good)
thick custard ( can be bought from supermarket or homemade using egg yolk and milk)
vanilla bean ( or vanilla essence)
Liquor, optional (preferably creme-based like baileys. I used kalua, which made the creme filling taste a bit like tiramisu)
Method:
Whip the creme, then add everything else. continue whipping if creme becomes runny. pipe into each cooled puff. be generous :)
Dust with icing sugar. or dip into hot chocolate. decorate with some strawberries. Or even make a strawberry sauce since they are so cheap these days!!
Then , it's divine :)
[make about 20 average sized puffs]
Choux pastry
220g hot water
200g eggs
100g butter
150g flour
Method:
Preheat oven at 200 degree C.
Simmer the hot water till bubbles form, be careful not to let too much water evaporate. I think the key to make these babies stay puffy yet stiff for a long time is the proportion of water and flour. Add butter, continue to simmer. Take off the heat, quickly add flour, mix thoroughly then put back onto the heat. Continue folding the flour until the dough looks shiny ( or a shiny layer appears on the bottom of saucepan) I guess the special thing about choux pastry is that the pastry is cooked through before its baked!! * another cool reason to be obsessed with pastry*
The dough is slightly cooled in a running electric mixer for about 2 minutes*, then gradually add eggs till dough is well mixed and reaches a good consistency. I usually test dough consistency using the gravity method i.e spoon some dough up and count number of seconds it takes to drop back into the mixer. A good consistency for choux pastry is probably about 8-10s. Piping the dough into the right shape is also important as it determines what final product you get. If you use a zig-zag kind of nozzle, you'll prob get something like eclair. For creme puffs, just squeeze out a generous lump, then quickly flick the bag to form a little tip on top.
Just before putting them into the oven, dip your finger into water and slightly tap that sharp tip on each of the lumps. This water literally acts like sunscreen preventing the top (which is a very thin layer compared to the fat bottom- typical pear shaped figure of the puffs :D ) from burning and also provides some extra moisture for the rising of the dough. Bake for about 15-20 mins.
* many choux pastry recipes dont require this cooling process, but i personally like my eggs to stay fresh and not too well cooked in the hot dough.
Creme patissiere - the convenient way
creme fraiche ( i used Dairy Farmer's full cream - just as good)
thick custard ( can be bought from supermarket or homemade using egg yolk and milk)
vanilla bean ( or vanilla essence)
Liquor, optional (preferably creme-based like baileys. I used kalua, which made the creme filling taste a bit like tiramisu)
Method:
Whip the creme, then add everything else. continue whipping if creme becomes runny. pipe into each cooled puff. be generous :)
Dust with icing sugar. or dip into hot chocolate. decorate with some strawberries. Or even make a strawberry sauce since they are so cheap these days!!
Then , it's divine :)
haha i love the start =P. yumyumyumyumyum! I can just imagine you doing the actions with that face you make in the "italic" text bahahaha. Keep Writing Tranny =)
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