Creampuff Recipe (mini-eclairs)

As I mentioned in my last post, about our bastille day themed housewarming party, I made creampuffs (eg, mini-eclairs) for the party and they were a big hit! I tried (arguably unsuccessfully) not to go too overboard with the baking, but I really wanted to try my hand at making an authentic french pastry - when I have visited france, the amazing range of delicious treats at the corner patisserie were one of my favorite things. Plus, it was a great excuse to get to use a new cookbook, Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe, which I have been wanting to try out ever since I got it as a gift for the holidays.  While I visit Boston pretty regularly, I have never been to this bakery, but I had heard great things about the cookbook, and just from reading through it I could tell that a lot of thought and testing had gone into the recipes.  She has a lot of great tips in a techniques section, like just what temperature butter should be to best cream with sugar, how best to fold two ingredients together, and so forth - it's hard to absorb and remember in one reading but I'm sure I'll refer back to it over time to improve my baking.

So, I had pretty high expectations for the cookbook going in, and this recipe did not disappoint.  I have never made creampuffs before, but a guest mentioned that she had had trouble when she tried making them in the past and they didn't rise well - I can only think that they turned out well because of the excellent instructions, or possibly just dumb luck.  Hopefully if I make them again I can get it all to work as well!  I'm pretty tempted to try some of the other delicious recipes in this cookbook before I repeat these, however.  I had a lot of fun making them, but I'm not going to lie, as you can see from the extensive directions below, they were quite a bit of work - luckily, I knew what I was getting into and I did as much of the work the day before as I could and then basically just assembled them on the day of the party.


Chocolate-covered Creampuffs
Adapted from Flour

For the pate a choux (creampuff shells):

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 4 eggs, lightly whisked together

For the cream filling:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cake flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

For the ganache (chocolate topping):

• 2/3 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (or 4 ounces chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 

To make the creampuff shells:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line two baking sheets with parchment (or butter them).  In a medium saucepan over medium heat (or I did this in a double-boiler to be sure I didn't overheat or scorch it), heat the butter, sugar, salt and water until the butter is melted.  Do not boil - you don't want any of the liquid to cook off.  Add the flour and stir until fully incorporated, using a wooden spoon.  The recipe directs to keep stirring over medium heat until the mixture starts to get thicker and looks like a loose dough more than a stiff batter, and leaves a thin film on the bottom of the pan; she says this will take 3-4 minutes but mine seemed to get there very quickly, I'd say less than a minute, so I just stopped then.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle mixer attached (I used the paddle attachment with built in scraper and it worked well).  Mix on medium-low for 1 minute - you will notice steam coming off. (The recipe notes, if you prefer to work by hand you can mix in a bowl with a wooden spoon for 2-3 minutes).  On medium-low speed (or beating quickly by hand), add the eggs gradually.  Once the eggs have been added, increase the speed to medium and beat for about 20 seconds, until the dough looks shiny.

Using a pastry bag and the biggest tip you've got (the recipe calls for a 1 inch tip but I only had one that was probably 1/4", but it worked - or you could just use a plastic bag and snip off the corner), pipe out balls about 1.5" across onto the baking sheet.  As you can see in the photo above, I didn't space mine too far apart and it was fine, but you don't want them closer than an inch or so apart.  Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes, at which point the pastries should have puffed up and will be starting to brown.  Turn the heat down to 325 and bake for another 1/2 hour, until they are fully browned.  Place the pans on wire racks (or I just put them on empty burners on my stove) and let cool.  If you are making in advance, you can store in an airtight container - they can be frozen for up to 2 weeks, or stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.  To refresh, put them back on a baking sheet (straight from the freezer if frozen) and heat in a 325 oven - for 6-8 minutes if frozen, 2-3 minutes if not.  Again, let cool completely before filling.  (I made mine the day before and refreshed as the recipe directed and they didn't taste stale at all).

To make the cream filling:
The recipe uses a cream filling that is a mixture of a custard and whipped cream, which she calls "Tropez Cream" - it's a bit time intensive but I thought it was really delicious.

Scald the milk over medium high heat (heat until almost boiling, when bubbles begin to form around the edges, but do not boil) - the recipe suggests using a medium saucepan again, but I used the double boiler (probably not necessary for the scalding but I do think it makes the later steps harder to mess up - I pretty much always use a double boiler when I make custard for that reason).  While the milk heats, mix together the sugar, flour, and salt in a small bowl, and whisk together the egg and egg yolk in a medium bowl.  Slowly whisk the flour mixture into the egg mixture - it will be pasty and thick.

When the milk is heated, remove from the heat and slowly add it to the sugar/flour/egg mixture, whisking thoroughly as you go.  Once all the milk is whisked in, scrape the mixture back into the saucepan and put over medium heat.  Whisk continuously and strongly for 4-6 minutes (I found that it helped to hold the whisk in an oven mitt so my hand didn't overheat, but that may have also been from the steam from the doubleboiler).  Initially the mixture will be very liquid and foamy but it will start to thicken and the bubbles will go away.  When it thickens, you can stop whisking periodically and see if it is at a boil - when it bubbles, whisk again for 10 more seconds then remove from heat.

Pour the custard through a fine sieve into a heat-safe medium bowl, and stir in the vanilla extract.  Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until cold.  Or you can refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days (this is what I did, as I made the day before).  Just before assembling the creampuffs, whip the heavy cream until it has soft peaks.  Whisk the cold custard and then fold the whipped cream and the custard together using a rubber spatula.  Refrigerate if not using immediately.

To make chocolate ganache:
I was relieved to find that this step was much simpler than making the other two parts.  Like the creampuff shells and the custard, I made the ganache a day in advance and refrigerated it, but then I ended up having to microwave it to get it back to liquid (mostly because I hadn't given it long enough to come to room temperature).  Since it was so easy to make, if I were making these again I would just wait and make it on the day of.

Put the chocolate in a small heat-proof bowl.  Scald the cream over medium-high heat, and pour the hot cream over the chocolate.  After it sits for 30 seconds to a minute, slowly mix it together until the chocolate is all melted and the mixture is smooth, then let cool to room temperature.  (It can be stored in a container in the fridge for up to a week, and then brought back to room temperature to use).

To assemble the creampuffs:
Fill a pastry bag with the cream filling, using a medium sized tip.  Use the pastry tip, a knife, or just your fingers to open each puff enough to fill with the cream.  I opened them from the side, which wasn't as pretty, and just noticed in writing this up that the recipe actually says to poke a hole in the bottom - maybe that would have worked better, although it seems like the cream might seep out then.  There's a surprising amount of space in there for cream and I was impressed that the recipe made just about exactly the right amounts of cream filling and ganache for the cream puffs.  Turn the puffs upside down and dip the tops in the ganache, and then let rest for a few minutes to let the chocolate set.  (Maybe because I had microwaved it to get it softened up, mine never really set up so the chocolate was a bit runny - but still delicious - when I served them).  Serve that day, ideally within 4 hours.

Bastille Day Housewarming Party

Lawson and I really like to entertain, so since we moved into our house in May, Lawson and I have been looking forward to having a housewarming party and breaking in our new house.  Since the weekend of July 14th was the best time for us, we decided to have a Bastille day themed party - which turned out to be a great excuse to come up with a french-themed menu.

I may have gone a little overboard... we had a cheese plate and a veggie tray, and I cooked a number of favorite items such as french lentil salad and meringues.  I made Smitten Kitchen's Zucchini and Ricotta Galette, which I had made once before and was just as yummy this time as the first time (although I didn't get a picture, so you'll have to take my word that it really does turn out as great as she says).  I also made a lemon curd fruit tart that I had made before but which I hadn't made in years, and which was a great way to use fresh berries from the farmer's market, and I made a broccoli quiche which I had made before (although I wasn't as thrilled with how it turned out).

I tried out a few new recipes - a mushroom walnut pate, and creampuffs (mini-eclairs) which were a big hit, especially with the kids at the party.  I'll be back to share recipes soon!

The party went really well and all the food was all a hit, although we were pretty wiped out afterwards.  We are looking forward to entertaining more in our house now that we are getting to be mostly settled in!

Tea Party and Lemon Squares

I had the tea party this weekend that I made invitations for earlier and it was lovely!  I didn't get any good photos of the setup for the party but since I kind of collect teapots (since I keep making them and don't give them all away), it worked out really well.  I wanted the party to feel like spring so I made more spring flower and animal themed sugar cookies (using my regular icing recipe this time), and we had blueberry muffins, fruit salad, cucumber tea sandwiches and hummus tea sandwiches, and lemon squares.

The lemon squares are, like the sugar cookies, from my family recipe, and they were really yummy as usual.  I actually cooked them a bit less than usual accidentally and they were less fully set but still light and delicious with a fresh lemon taste.

Lemon Squares

For shortbread crust:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 cups flour

For lemon layer:

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 tablespoons flour (1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon)
• Juice of 2 lemons (5-6 tablespoons)
• confectioner's sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan.  Mix together ingredients for shortbread crust until combined and dump mixture into the greased pan and pat into an even layer.  Bake 20 minutes.

Mix together ingredients for lemon layer and pour over crust.  Bake for another 25 minutes or slightly more, until edges are brown and top is beginning to slightly brown.  Remove from oven and lightly sprinkle confectioner's sugar on top (I use a sieve to evenly distribute it).  Let cool, cut into squares and serve.

Owl Themed Baby Shower - Wrap Up

I hope you all have enjoyed reading all about the owl-themed baby shower that we co-hosted last weekend!  I posted about the scrapbook paper owl garland shown above, the desserts, and the onesie decorating activity that we did.  I had a few more things that I wanted to show you that didn't make it into the earlier posts:

Check out these cute favor bags that my co-host put together - I love how they fit with the theme perfectly!

I stamped some plain green napkins with owls and deer to go with the theme.

And of course, I had to give an owl-themed gift, too!  I made another quick baby blanket using Anne Kelle owl fabric and yellow flannel lining and am really happy with how it turned out.

Thanks for sticking around for all the baby shower posts!  I hope you enjoyed them.

Baby Shower Activity - Decorating Onesies with Freezer Paper Stencils

I guess I had a lot to share about the baby shower we co-hosted last weekend - I posted about the decorations and the desserts earlier this week and today I wanted to share the fun craft activity that we did during the shower, decorating onesies using freezer paper stencils.  I made a stencils in a variety of designs including animals, fruits and veggies.  It was a very accessible project because using the stencils made it less intimidating for folks that otherwise don't do a lot of craft projects - they didn't have to think of their own design or figure out how to draw a certain shape if they didn't want to, but they still had a chance to get creative and make something.

I had so much fun coming up with cute designs that I didn't have enough onesies to fit them all!  If you want to make your own onesies (or anything else) with freezer paper stencils, you can download and use my animal, fruit and vegetable freezer paper stencil patterns here.  I also found great designs by searching for different key words and "stencil" or "outline" - so not every design you see in this post is in the file, only some of the ones I drew myself.  As usual, these patterns are for personal use only, so please don't sell the pattern or items that you make from them.

You may have seen other projects using freezer paper stencils - this was my first time using it and it was really fun!  You want to make sure you get freezer paper, which has a plastic coating, not wax paper.  I also got a sampler of fabric paint (which had the benefit of being one of the kinds you don't have to heat set), brushes, and fabric markers for those who wanted to draw their own design rather than paint in a stencil.  I traced the designs onto the freezer paper and cut them out with a craft knife.

Then I went ahead and ironed the freezer paper stencil right onto the front of the onesie, and put a piece of folded card stock inside to make sure the fabric paint didn't seep through to the other side.  One thing we did find was that if you watered down the paint it tended to seep under the freezer paper so if you are doing this project I would definitely recommend using the paint without thinning it out with water at all.  The folks that just used the paint straight had virtually no seepage and very crisp designs!

I felt bad that some of the earlier ones did have some paint seeping through so I went back and painted over those parts with white paint on some of them and it mostly covers it up.  I love the way these turned out with the cute faces and fun colors and designs that people painted on them.

Check out this amazing tiger whale design that one couple did!

I also left a number of onesies blank so that people who wanted could draw freehand designs.  Didn't these turn out great too?  (The parents-to-be are in a bocce league if you are wondering about the middle shirt).

One final onesie... this baby is going to be a rockstar!

I hope you have been enjoying this series of baby shower posts!  If you can believe it, I have one more post coming, then we can move on to other things.

What is your favorite activity that you have done at a baby shower?

I'm linking up at a few linky parties:

Creations by Kara

Baby Shower Desserts - Woodland Sugar Cookies and Meringue Mushrooms

As I mentioned yesterday, we co-hosted an owl-themed baby shower for friends over the weekend.  Other folks brought lots of yummy food to share too, these desserts were my contribution.  As far as the desserts were concerned, I broadened the theme to be woodland more broadly, with owl, deer, squirrel and leaf sugar cookies and mushroom shaped meringues.

I used my family sugar cookie dough recipe but I tried royal icing for the first time, using the recipe from Prudent Baby.  I only made white piping because I couldn't really handle making three colors of piping icing and three colors of flood icing.  But I actually like how it looks that the colored cookies are all outlined in white so I think it was OK.  I made the flood icing a little thick at first and then tried to thin it down when it was already in the bottles, which I don't think was the best idea and made some of the cookies come out a little funny.  I made it with some lemon juice as they suggested and it really did taste quite good... but I love my family's traditional cookies, including the icing, so I will probably make them my old way in the future.  Although I really should give royal icing another shot since I didn't totally do it right.  Or I may try to come up with a hybrid icing that works well for the pipe and flood technique but tastes more like what I am used to.

I also made these little cutie mushroom meringues, inspired by the ones that decorate a traditional buche de noel (yule log).  I used the same meringue recipe as I used for the valentines hearts, but didn't overbake them this time - they only took an hour and 20 minutes to bake since they were so small.

The meringue mushrooms actually weren't very hard to make.  I used a pastry bag with a size 11 tip (about 1/4" wide circular opening) and piped some stem shapes and cap shapes, making the stems wider at the bottom for stability.  I also tried to make a bit of the swirl on the top of the cap so that they wouldn't have a point sticking up.  I baked them on my favorite silicon baking mats again, which worked great.

After baking them, I took them off the cookie sheet and then I broke the tip off each stem to give it a flat top, then I put a dab of the piping consistency royal icing on the end and just squished it into the mushroom cap.  I found that lowering the mushroom cap onto the stem was actually best if I wanted to get them to stand upright.  I didn't have too much trouble breaking the pointy ends of the stems off but I did break a few so you probably want to make more stems than caps if you are doing this yourself.

This is going to be baby shower week on the blog, I guess - I'll be back next with a post about the fun craft activity that we did during the shower!

Owl Themed Baby Shower Decorations with Scrapbook Paper Owl Garland

Yesterday we co-hosted with another friend a baby shower for good friends of ours who are having a baby this summer.  They decided not to find out the sex of their baby, so we wanted to have a gender neutral theme for the shower.  I had noticed that the mom-to-be had favorited many owl-related baby and nursery items on Etsy so that seemed like it would be the perfect theme!

In thinking about decorations, I found this fabric bunting online, and thought it would be super fun to make.  I decided to make something similar out of scrap book paper rather than fabric, which was more affordable and easier to work with.  I got a big pack of scrapbook paper and it was fun to have so many patterns and color options to work with, without worrying about eating up my fabric scraps.  I also came up with a different owl shape that I liked better for this project.  My friend and I made it together - we pretty much just cut out the shapes from the scrapbook paper and glued them together, then taped them all to a string to make the garland.  Here is the template we came up with if you want to make your own - as usual, this pattern is for personal use only, so please don't sell the pattern or items that you make from it.

In addition to the owl garland, we also made a congratulations bunting, also out of scrapbook paper...

And a smaller triangle/pennant bunting to hang over the mantle.

For both of these I just folded the top edge over and taped it down, enclosing the string.

We had fun making these decorations and they definitely gave the party a festive feeling!  I will be posting about the fun desserts that I made and the craft project that we did at the shower later this week, so stay tuned for more shower updates.

More Halloween Treats

We had a small halloween gathering, and in addition to the spider treats, I made a few other desserts.  I may in fact have gone a bit overboard.  Here is a quick rundown of what I made.

Iced gingerbread cookies... I love making iced cookies.  Iced sugar cookies are a big Christmas tradition in our family, and we have made them more and more elaborate over the years.  I have expanded into making gingerbread cookies with simple piped icing (see blog header for an example from last christmas) and thought they would be very fun for halloween.  I was especially proud when I realized that I could also make spider cookies with the bat cookie cutter (I got bored of making bats).  I don't have the recipe with me to post but may post it later...

Red velvet cupcakes.  These are Lawson's favorite kind of cake/cupcake and I thought the red color was appropriately spooky/bloodlike.  I used this recipe for the cupcakes, and a half batch of cream cheese icing from this recipe.  I still had a lot of icing left over and Lawson was very excited to hear that this may mean a carrot cake or carrot cupcakes in our future.  I had never made red velvet anything before and thought they turned out very well!  They do use really a ton of red food coloring.  You can see in the photo that I put the family heirloom cake stand my aunt Linda gave me as a gift to good use.

Finally, the coup de grace, I made a disturbingly realistic brain jello.  I more or less used this recipe but started with green jello and added red food coloring.  Also instead of using 2 packets of jello I used 1 packet of jello and then added plain gelatin.  The evaporated milk really does give it an opaque brainy look.  I tried some and it wasn't that delicious but definitely made up for what it lacked in taste with gross realistic-ness.  Thanks to Davis and Lauren for lending us the brain mold! 

Halloween Spider Treats

Inspired by the hershey's kiss and pretzel treats that I have eaten before, I thought I would try making a spider version for halloween.  I found this recipe online for the traditional version, and then followed it but using stick pretzels arranged like spider legs as shown below.  I think they turned out super cute, but I did have a bit of a hard time getting all the legs to really get stuck to the chocolate so I wouldn't call them a runaway success.  I think they would probably work better with the smaller stick pretzels.