custard puffs

This post goes out to my girlssss, especially lovanilla because we'll make this the next time I get back and to zetihidayah because she says my mom makes the best custard puff in the world :D



Just before the end of my winter holidays, Sha and I planned to make choux pastry (after the success of red velvet! woohooo!) but we didn't get the chance to due to unavoidable circumstances. I'm quite familiar with choux pastry because my mother made them quite a lot when I was younger but we've not made them as often as we did back then. I don't know why! The thing is, choux pastry is easy to make. You just need strength and patience. Plus, the ingredients are nothing exotic. Just water, butter, eggs and flour (maybe salt or sugar, depending on the type of filling you're putting in).

Anyway, here is the fool proof choux pastry recipe from deliaonline. (I had to find a recipe online cause I can't remember the measurement off the cookery book I have back home. Boooo. I edited a bit la the recipe to suit what I actually did)

Oh, the recipe states that it'll make 30 but I only manage to get 20 out of this recipe. Could be due to the egg size..

- 60g plain flour (sifted). You can add sugar or salt if you want but I didn't.
- 150 ml of cold water
- 50g of butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 large eggs (I used 2 medium eggs instead.)


Preheat oven – gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C)

1. Put 150 ml of cold water in a medium-sized saucepan together with 50g of butter

2. Place the saucepan over a moderate heat and stir with a wooden spoon. Turn off the heat as soon as the butter has melted and mixture comes to boil. Don't delay this as some water will evaporate.

3. Tip in the flour. 2 ways to do this, multitask by pouring the flour in the mixture while beating vigorously. Or how I did it was just pouring the flour quickly and then start beating. I used the wooden spoon instead of an electric whisk cause I don't have it. This will give you a lot of work on your carpis (extensor, flexor and radialis brevis) so you might end up with very defined and toned arm. huhu

4. Beat until you have a smooth ball of paste that has left the sides of the saucepan clean – this will probably take less than a minute.

5. Next beat 2 large eggs well, then beat them into the mixture – a little at a time, mixing each addition in thoroughly before adding the next. (OK, I didn't do it this way. Instead I just added one egg at a time without prior beating. Why? Cause I forgot hahahaha)

6. Beat until you have a smooth glossy paste.

7. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Place teaspoons of the mixture on the baking sheet, leaving 1 inch (2.5 cm) between them, then bake on a high shelf for 10 minutes. After that, increase the heat to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C), and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the buns are crisp, light and a rich golden colour.

8. Pierce the side of each one to let out the steam, then cool them on a wire rack.




You can put anything you want as a filling. Jam, clotted cream, custard, whipped cream, bolognaise, dulce de leche, anything! I love custard. And dulce de leche but it takes a loooong time to make dulce de leche so custard it is!



How to make custard?

It's easy!




Hahaha. I only know how to make custard with its powder, rather than the whole process. Will post if I ever do attempt to make it from scratch. Otherwise, this ready made custard will do it for me.


Anyway, this pastry you can make eclairs! Instead of balling it with a spoon, pop it in a piping bag and make a line of pastry. It should have the same result. Let me know if it works!

xoxo