Pate A Choux A Classic Pastry Goes Mexican Recipes

PATE-A-CHOUX WAFFLES

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the butter, salt and 1 cup water to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Add the flour to the saucepan and stir for about 1 minute. (The mixture will immediately form a sticky ball.)
• Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low until there is no longer steam. Lower the mixer speed to low, and add the eggs one at a time; the dough will be done once it clings to the paddle in "spokes" as it spins in the bowl. Transfer to a pastry bag and snip the tip, about 1/2-inch.
• Pre-heat a mini-waffle iron. Pipe the dough into each waffle cavity leaving about 1/2-inch empty around the edges. Cook to the waffle maker's specification or until the waffles are golden brown.
• Top each waffle with a scoop of ice cream, followed by a spoonful of dulce de leche, followed by a spoonful of whipped cream. Sprinkle the tops with feuilletine and serve.

PATE A CHOUX

Steps:

• Bring butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides and a film forms on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Raise speed to medium; add whole eggs, 1 at a time, until a soft peak forms when batter is touched with your finger. If peak does not form, lightly beat remaining egg white, and mix it into batter a little at a time until it does.

HOW TO MAKE CHOUX PASTRY (PâTE à CHOUX)

Steps:

• Watch the video in the blog post above; it will help guide you through the next few steps.
• Combine the butter, water, milk, salt, and granulated sugar together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the butter has melted. Bring mixture to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce heat to low and add the flour all at once. Stir until the flour is completely incorporated and a thick dough clumps into a ball. Mash the dough ball against the bottom and sides of the pan for 1 minute, which gently cooks the flour. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or, if using a handheld mixer, a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool down for a few minutes before adding the eggs in the next step.
• With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the eggs in 3-4 separate additions mixing for 30 seconds between each. The mixture will look curdled at first, but will begin to come together as the mixer runs. Pour in the final addition of beaten eggs very slowly. Stop adding when the choux pastry has reached the desired texture: shiny, thick, and smooth with a pipeable consistency. I usually leave a few teaspoons of beaten egg behind, which can be used with the egg wash.
• Your choux pastry dough is complete! You can use it immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
• Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush the parchment with water, which creates a humid environment for the pastry shells allowing them to puff up without drying out or burning.
• Transfer choux pastry dough to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1A piping tip. Pipe 2-inch mounds about 3 inches apart. Watch the video in the blog post above for a visual. You can also use a zipped-top bag and cut off the corner for easy piping. Using a water moistened finger, smooth down the peaks and lightly brush each with egg wash.
• Bake for 20 minutes then, keeping the pastries in the oven, reduce oven to 350°F (177°C) and continue to bake for 10-15 more minutes until golden brown. Do not open the oven as the pastries cook, as cool air will prevent them from properly puffing up. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before filling.
• Split open pastries and fill with homemade whipped cream, lemon curd, pastry cream, jam, a combination of these, or your favorite filling. You can also poke a hole in the pastries and pipe the filling inside. For my pictured cream puffs and profiteroles, see recipe notes.
• Cover and store leftover filled pastries in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cover and store unfilled pastries at room temperature for 1 day, in the refrigerator for 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before filling and serving.

PâTE à CHOUX ( CHOUX PASTRY ) RECIPE

Steps:

• 01 - Heat oven to 220C / 425F. 02 - In a saucepan, bring Butter, Salt, and 300gr / 10.5oz / 1.5 cups Water to a boil. 03 - Remove the pan from the heat and add the Flour stirring vigorously for about 3 minutes, or until a thick dough has formed. 04 - Return the Dough to the cooker and heat, stirring constantly for another 3 minutes, until the Dough is lightly dried. 05 - Transfer the Dough to a bowl, and let it cool for 5 minutes. 06 - With an electric mixer, beat in 8 Eggs, one by one. Make sure the Egg beaten is well incorporated before you add the next one. At this point the Dough will come together and be thick, shiny, and smooth. 07 - Put the Dough mixture into a piping bag and sqeeze a walnut-size piece of Dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, 1in apart one another. 08 - Lightly beat the remaining Egg with a pinch of Salt and brush each piece of Dough with it. 09 - Bake for about 10 minutes, or until puffed and light brown. 10 - Reduce oven temperature to 180C / 350F, and continue to bake for 10-15 minutes or until well browned.

BASIC CHOUX PASTRY AND TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Place salt, water, sugar (if using) and butter in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the water is starting to boil (butter should be melted at this point), add the flour in one go (do this with the saucepan away from the stove/heat) and vigorously mix the flour in, so that it absorbs all of the water (use a wooden spoon or spatula to do this). When the flour has absorbed the water and it's forming a dough, return the pan to the stove (medium heat).
• Cook the dough for 1 - 3 minutes (over medium heat) while you mix and move it around in the pan until you get a dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan, forms a film or oil droplets on the bottom of the pan, and when you stick a regular tablespoon in the dough, it stays upright. (The cook time will vary depending on your stove top).
• Transfer the dough to a bowl, and let it cool down slightly for a few minutes. Add the vanilla extract (if using), and then with a hand-held mixer (or whisk), mix the dough while adding the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Make sure the eggs are lightly beaten so that you can stop adding eggs immediately, when you reach the right consistency (i.e. a dough with a glossy sheen with pipeable consistency. You may or may not use up all the eggs, please see the post for details).
• Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper and mist the surface with water (either using a mister or lightly sprinkle water with your hands - this is an optional step).
• Pipe the desired shape on to the baking sheet - either using a piping bag fitted with a large tip (I use Wilton 1A or 2A tip, or you can cut the pastry bag opening instead), or spoon it on to the tray, using a teaspoon. Then with a damp finger, flatten the apex and any points.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 - 40 minutes in the center of the oven, or until the choux pastry shells puff up and are golden brown on top. Do not open the oven door, at least until you have reached the 25 minute mark. Importantly, baking time depends on the size of your pastry shell. If you prefer a drier shell, bake for a couple of minutes longer.
• During the last 5 - 10 minutes of baking, prick each shell with a skewer or toothpick and let them dry out in the oven while baking.
• Remove from the oven, and let the choux pastry cases cool completely in a draft-free area. Preferably in a place that is not cold. (Letting them cool in an open but turned off oven is even better, but not necessary).
• Fill with a sweet or savory filling and serve immediately. Or you can store cooled choux pastry shells in an air-tight container for up to one day. To store them for longer, keep them in the freezer in an air-tight container.

PATE A CHOUX: A CLASSIC PASTRY GOES MEXICAN

Steps:

• Place liquid, butter, salt and sugar, if using, in a medium saucepan and bring slowly to a simmer. Turn off heat and add the flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a ball. Return to medium heat to dry the paste so it will have the maximum puffing ability: turn the ball around in the pan, pressing it against the sides and flipping it over, until butter starts oozing out and the paste no longer sticks to your fingers. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Turn the paste into a medium bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle and beat in the eggs, one at a time, with a wooden spoon or the paddle. Each time you add an egg, the mixture will become slippery and messy but will then come together, at which point you can add the next egg.
• Load mixture into pastry bag with a round tip (1/2 or 1-inch depending on size puff desired) and pipe out as required. It will give the fullest puff if used right away but can be held for several hours.
• Basic proportions for Pate a Choux are 1:1:1:1/2, or 1 cup liquid, 1 cup flour:1 cup egg:1/2 cup butter. Water makes choux more crisp, milk makes them more tender,
• Puffs expand when cooked as water in batter turns to steam and explodes the dough.
• Pate a choux is an extremely versatile pastry that can be the base of many sweet and savory dishes. It can take many forms: be poached as gnocchi, baked to form hollow puffy balls that can be filled with various things, or fried as fritters and sprinkled with sugar. It is neutral in flavor so is adaptable to any cuisine.