Monday, May 5, 2008

Swan Puff Pastries





  • 250 ml Water
  • 50 g Butter (or margarine)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp Vanilla sugar
  • 175 g German #1050 flour
  • 4 Eggs, large
  • 3 g Baking powder
  • 2 cup Whipped cream




  1. Sieve the flour and vanilla sugar on a piece of baking paper. Prepare two baking trays lined with baking papers. Bring the water, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Remove from heat and with one hand tip all the flour in all at once, while stir the mixture vigorously with the other. Once the mixture free of clumps, put it back to fire and cook for one more minute until you have a smooth ball of paste that has left the sides of the saucepan clean.

  2. Take the pan off the heat. Transfer the paste into a mixing bowl and stir in one egg, which must be completely blended in before the next egg is added, and so on until all the eggs have been incorporated. The paste appears shiny and should be of a pipeable consistency and not too runny.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Using a fine plain nozzle to pipe “S” for the head and neck of the swan, and a large star nozzle or a couple of teaspoons, to form small balls of choux paste onto the prepared trays, allowing space for them to raise and expand. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and crispy. Swan necks should be removed from the oven after 20 minutes, to prevent them from burning.

  4. Remove from the oven and use the tip of a knife to make a slit in the side of each eclair or profiteroles to let the steam inside the puff escape. Return to the turned-off oven and dry out for 5-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Cut the top of the cream puff 1/4 of the way down. It should be dry in the centre with no uncooked dough in the middle. Fill the bases with whipped cream and then the "S" shape in the Chantilly cream. Slice the tops lengthwise into two, placing the two pieces on either side of the cream to form the wings of the swan. To make profiteroles, pipe whipped cream carefully into the slit cut of each puff or slice the puff open and fill the whipped cream.



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