Twelve Days of Desserts: Day Six

I don't think any of my cooking students will be able to trek through the fore casted foot of snow to get to cooking class tomorrow. Luckily the eclair and profiterole recipes we made in last week's class are a cinch to do on your own.

The dough needed, called Pate a Choux, means "Cabbage dough" in French because the little puffs resemble cabbage heads. Pate a Choux is different from other doughs because it is made by heating water and butter together on the stove top, stirring in flour, and adding eggs off the heat. This dough is then piped through pastry bags to form the desired shapes.

Interestingly, the word "choux" is also a term of endearment in French. You'll think fondly of it once you see how easy it is to make. You can freeze the shells (filled or not) up to a month before serving.

Profiteroles and Eclairs with Italian Pastry Cream

I "discovered" profiteroles at a trattoria in the Trastevere district of Rome called La Piazetta. The trattoria is no longer there, but the memory of their exquisite dessert is permanently fresh in my memory. I could always count on them for fresh profiteroles with homemade pastry cream filling, delicious chocolate sauce, and freshly whipped cream on top.

While this recipe seems French, it was actually brough with Catherine de' Medici to France with her Florentine chefs in the 16th century when she married King Henri II.

Ice cream and whipped cream are often substituted for the pastry cream filling. They can be topped with powdered sugar and cocoa powder instead of icing. For easy and elegant appetizers, stuff the shells with savory fillings.

Makes: 6 traditional éclairs or 4 éclairs and 8 profiteroles

Ingredients:

Dough:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup all purpose flour, sifted
2 eggs, beaten slightly

Pastry Cream:

2 eggs, beaten slightly

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

1 1/4 cups whole milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Icing:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa (omit if making colored frosting)

1/2 cup confectioners? sugar

1/4 cup chocolate chips or white chocolate for colored éclairs

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place 2/3 cup water in a medium saucepan and add butter. Simmer over medium heat until butter melts.

Bring to a rolling boil, then remove from heat. Stir in the flour at one time, mixing vigorously to incorporate. Set mixture aside until cool enough to touch.

Mix in eggs.

Scoop mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 ? inch plain tip.

Pipe 3-inch long strips equal distance apart on the cookie sheet. (If you are also making profiteroles- only use 1/2 of mixture.

To Make Profiteroles:


Using the same tip, pipe remaining batter into small circles or mounds on second baking sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.

Remove from oven and make a small slit in the side of each éclair to let steam escape.

Allow to cool on cooling racks.

To Make the Pastry Cream:

In bowl of a large standing mixer or with electric beaters, whisk eggs and sugar until they are thick and creamy. Add the cornstarch and mix well to incorporate.

Heat the milk until the boiling point. With the mixer running on low, slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture.

Transfer mixture back to the pan and add vanilla. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Scrape down the sides and continuously stir in the same direction until cream is thick. Remove from heat, cover the top by pressing parchment paper or wax paper right down onto the surface of the cream.

Allow to cool. (This step can be down a day or two in advance and stored in the refrigerator).

To make the Icing:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter with the milk in a small saucepan, remove from the heat. Stir in the cocoa (if using) and confectioners? sugar. Once combined, add chocolate pieces and stir until glossy.


Assemble the éclairs by putting cooled pastry cream into a pastry bag fitted with a plain wide tip. Pipe filling into center of éclairs and profiteroles (from slit side).


Smooth frosting on top of each one . If the icing gets thick, reheat it slightly until smooth and whisk to combine. Store in the refrigerator until serving.