Pate a choux, or cream puff paste, was originally a culinary preparation made with mashed potatoes. Gradually over the years, fat and flour were added and we arrived at the product we know today. It still has uses as profiteroles for soup, and as cases for savory hors'd'oeuvres. We use it in our shop to make a variety of dessert items.
Equipment:
Ingredients: Yield: 7 lb 12 oz
Method of Preparation:
Time Management:
gathering equipment and ingredients 5 min
scaling out ingredients 5 min
boiling water and cooking paste 10 min
beating and cooling 5 min
adding eggs and finishing 5 min
cleanup 10 min
total 40 min
Special considerations: Cream puff paste must be used within a reasonably short period of time after it is made. If it is left in a bowl, it must be covered with plastic wrap. If it is left in a pastry bag, the bag must be covered. The pot it was cooked in should go straight to the sink for soaking. As the paste is finished, the ovens should be preheated and any stencils to be used should be ready.
Cream Puffs: Cream puffs are made in many sizes, depending on their intended use. In our shop we pipe dessert puffs to 1 1/2 " diameter using a medium star tip. when baked, the puff is held in the hand so that the bottom lines up with a glue joint in the pastry bench, and the top 1/3 is sliced off with the slicer. The top is left upside down on the bench. First some jelly may be piped in, and an attractive rosette of Diplomat Cream stabilized with gelatin is piped into the bottom. The top is then balanced on the rosette and seated with a little pressure and the puff is dusted with powdered sugar. The cream puff may also be filled whole by whittling a small hole in the bottom, cupping the hand around the puff and filling with a pastry bag and tip. Pressure from the cream will indicate when the puff is full.
Eclairs: Eclairs may also be piped out in sizes to suit their use. We pipe out a 3 inch dessert eclair using a medium star tip, which is filled from two holes whittled in the bottom. Fill with chocolate Diplomat Cream, feeling the pressure in the hand as the cream fills the shell. Dip the eclair in Chocolate Glaze, letting any excess drip off while the eclair is upside down. Let the chocolate dry before plating. As seen in the accompanying photograph, eclairs may be garnished in a number of ways, these evidently having been dipped in fondant and then sprinkled with chopped nuts.
Paris Brest: The Paris Brest is a circular pastry of choux paste which commemorates a bicycle race. It is piped out using a star tip onto a sheet of parchment which is then lifted by the corners and laid, pastry side down, onto a sheet pan scattered with sliced almonds. The parchment is then picked up and laid on another sheet pan and cooked. If the almonds start to get too brown, cover with another sheet of parchment. When cooked and cooled, the pastry is sliced horizontally in the manner described under Cream Puffs. The bottom 2/3 piece is piped full of Diplomat Cream stabilized with gelatin and then perhaps some fresh fruit in laid into the cream and more cream is piped in an attractive pattern around the ring. The top is placed back on, and the pastry is dusted with confectioner's sugar.
Swans: Pipe the choux paste out through a medium star tip onto a parchment which overlays a diamond shaped stencil. The head and neck are made using a 0 or 1 plain tip held over the star tip. Place the tip almost onto the parchment, squeeze the bag lightly and pull away to make the head and beak. Then, in one fluid motion, make the neck in a question mark shape. When the pieces are cooked, cut the wings off the body by lining the flat bottom up with a glue joint in the pastry bench and slicing off the top 1/3 of the body. Split this piece down the long way to make the wings. Pipe jelly or put fruit in the bottom of the body and then pipe full of stabilized Diplomat Cream using a star tip and an attractive spiral pattern. Stick the neck into the cream at the front of the swan and, holding the two wings one in either hand, tip them slightly up at the back and insert the front point into the Diplomat Cream on either side of the neck. Dust the swan with confectioner's sugar.
Cream puff paste has five major ingredients and is classified as a batter dough, that is, one that can be piped. Once piped and cooked, it is never served alone. It is almost always served filled, either with a dessert cream, or if served as an appetizer or entree, with a creamed preparation of some description.
The ingredients are: liquid- either water, milk, heavy cream, or a combination; salt- adds flavor and strengthens the gluten in the flour; fat- tenderizes the batter. There are three choices- salad oil, which gives the most crispy crust, butter, which gives a softer crust but more flavor, and a solid shortening which has no flavor but lends a lot of oven bang to the product. Cost and flavor factors play a role in determining choice of fat. The next major ingredient is flour and a bread flour with it's strong gluten is used. Eggs, the last major ingredient, add richness, color, structure. Whole eggs are usually used, whites are added for more shine.
The baking of cream puff paste items is similar to other pastries. Smaller items baked at higher temperatures, larger items at lower temperatures- the range is from 400 to 415 degrees. The same strictures used for puff dough apply here- no early opening of the oven door, no slamming of the oven door, know what you are looking at, what the temp is and how long they have been in the oven. Most cream puff paste items will cook from 8 to 20 minutes. If they appear to be browning too fast, cover with parchment paper or turn the heat down. Items are cooked when they are golden brown on the outside, dry on the inside. Underbaked items will have an eggy smell. Always make and bake a sample first before piping out a lot of paste. This will prevent wasting time if the item doesn't bake properly.
Make and bake the paste immediately in a preheated oven. Baked items may be cooled, wrapped and frozen. Crisp them in the oven when thawed. Some workers egg wash cream puff paste for color. In our shop that is considered a waste of time. Most workers will find it handy to have stencils ready when piping to ensure uniformity of product. These may be easily prepared from parchment paper during slack times in the shop.