Choux Pastry For Profiteroles Cream Puffs Or Eclairs Recipe Without Eggs

CHOUX PASTRY (FOR CREAM PUFFS, ECLAIRS, ETC)

Steps:

• Chop butter, melt in water and just bring to boiling. Immediately add flour, and mix well with wooden spoon, until it forms a dough that leaves the side of the pan (it looks really gross and clumpy at first, but as you keep stirring it fixes itself). Remove from heat and cool 2 minutes.
• For a sweet pastry, add the sugar to the beaten eggs. Stir in the eggs, mixing until it look like dough again (this is gross at first too).
• Now you have many choices: using a pastry bag or spoon, shape the dough as desired (for puffs: use a spoon or pipe a mound, eclairs: pipe a line, rings: pipe a circle, profiteroles: pipe a mound w/star tip) onto a greased cookie sheet. Keep in mind that it will grow to aprox 3xs its size when done.
• Bake at 425 'til it looks crisp and golden, about 30 mins for half dollar sized puffs. Cut in half, or cut a slit in the side to let the steam escape- if you don't do this fairly quickly they get soggy inside.
• They save for a while in tupperware, unless they're filled. You are supposed to fill them with freshly whipped cream that has a touch of powdered sugar and vanilla or almond added in, but I just fill them with buttercream frosting because its cheaper and tastes pretty good too.

CHOUX PASTRY- FOR PROFITEROLES, CREAM PUFFS OR ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Place the butter and the water in a saucepan. Bring the water to the boil and stir until the butter has melted. Remove from the stove.
• Stir in the sifted flour. Add the flour all at once. Beat until smoth.
• Return to the heat, and stir vigourously until the mixture leaves the sides of the saucepan and forms a smooth ball.
• Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
• Whisk the eggs well and then add them to the choux ball. Beat the eggs into the mixture.
• Use a piping bag to pipe 7-10 cm lengths for eclairs, or place in spoonfuls onto greased cookie trays for cream puffs or profiteroles or pipe into dotted shapes for uniformly shaped profiteroles.
• Bake in a hot oven - 220°C for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 200°C and continue to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
• Turn the oven off.
• Remove from the oven and immediately make a small slit in the side of each puff to allow the steam to escape. Return to the oven for a few minutes to help dry them out. The oven has already been turned off.

EGGLESS ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with two layers of parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, add in the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk and set aside.
• In a heavy bottomed pan, pour in the milk, sugar and butter. Warm on the stove until butter is melted.
• Take off the milk from the stove and add in the flour; mix with a spatula until lump free.
• Place the mixture over the stove again and cook on low heat, stirring continuously for 30 seconds - one minute until it forms a ball. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, pour in the water and add in egg replacer powder and whisk well.
• Add in the dough to the mixture and mix until well incorporated. In between add in the vanilla extract.
• Take out the mixture into a piping bag and make eclairs over the prepared baking sheet. Clean out the edges with fingers dipped in water.
• Bake in the oven for 22 - 25 minutes.
• Take out eclairs from the oven and place over the cooling rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, prepare the filling - in a bowl, mix together until creamy. Place in a pastry bag and make holes in eclairs. Fill with the filling and set aside.
• In a bowl, add in the chocolate and melt in the microwave. Add in the oil if required to smooth the chocolate.
• Glaze the eclairs and top with sprinkles / nuts or coconut.
• Serve the eclairs with tea or coffee.

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.

PROFITEROLES

Steps:

• Simmer butter & water: Place butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When mostly melted, add water then bring to a rapid simmer.
• Add flour: While liquid is simmering, add flour and pinch of salt, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon (still on stove) until the dough forms sort of a ball and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan (see video). About 1 minute.
• Cool: Remove from heat and let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 220°C/420°F (200°C fan).
• Prepare trays: Lightly grease 2 large or 3 standard baking trays with butter, then line with paper. (Grease stops paper sliding)
• Add egg into cool dough: Add 1 egg into batter, beat until combined. Add remaining eggs one at a time making sure each is combined before adding the next. Dough should be like a thick paste (see video).
• Transfer to piping bag: Place dough into a piping bag fitted with a 13 - 15mm round tip (1/2 - 3/5").
• Pipe blobs: Pipe 2 tsp blobs 5cm/2" apart (I do 16 on each tray). Makes 40 - 50 blobs.
• Pat down peak: Wet your finger with water and pat down any peaks to form domes (for nice round balls).
• Bake 2 trays at a time for 15 minutes, switching the trays halfway.
• Remove from oven, reduce heat to 180°C/35°0F (160°C fan). They should be crispy enough that when pierced, they will not collapse - if not, return to oven for 3 minutes.
• Pierce balls with knife then return to oven for 5 - 7 minutes until golden and crispy.
• Cool & fill: Transfer to rack, cool fully before filling with custard, cream or split then fill with ice cream. Drizzle with chocolate and serve!

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.

HOMEMADE PROFITEROLES WITH VANILLA PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• In a heavy-bottom 3 qt small saucepan, combine the egg yolks and sugar followed by the cornstarch, salt, and vanilla extract. Then, add the cream and milk.Pro tip - use a whisk to ensure there are no lumps.
• Place it on medium heat and stir continuously until thick and creamy. Pro tip - it is important that the pastry cream is thick and coats the back of a spoon
• Strain the pastry cream in a bowl through a sieve. Cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature. Then, place it in the fridge to chill for a few hours (4 hours or overnight) Pro tip - making sure the plastic touches the top surface of the cream to prevent skin from forming.
• When cooled, use a whisk to smoothen the pastry cream. Transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag with a round or a Bismark piping tip.
• Preheat the oven at 375°F / 190°C/ Gas Mark 5
• Wet ingredients - In a large heavy-bottom 5 qt saucepan, over medium heat, add water, milk, salt, sugar, and butter. Bring to a boil then turn the heat to low.Pro tip - keep the heat to medium-low so all the liquid does not evaporate which could lead to excess dry flour.
• Dry ingredients - Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously for 30 to 60 seconds. Continue to cook on low for another 30 to 60 seconds or until the dough comes away from the sides of the pan Pro tip - the dough will be baked again so it does not need to be cooked. Avoid overcooking it.
• Cool dough - Remove from heat and transfer the dough to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes to room temperature.Pro tip - The dough needs to be cooled to at least barely warm otherwise it will cook the eggs.
• Egg mixture - Start the mixer on medium speed and add the eggs gradually. Stopping in between to ensure everything is well combined.Pro tip - You may or may not need all the eggs. What you are looking for is a dropping consistency batter as shown in the video.
• Pipe the choux pastry - Once you've reached the desired consistency transfer the mixture to a piping bag with a large round tip. Pipe large dots about 1 1/2 inch wide and 1-inch tall Pro tip - Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and brush with water. This creates steam and helps the pastry to rise.
• Flatten the tops - Dip your finger in water and press down the piped points so they don't burn (see video).
• Egg wash - Combine the egg with water to make an egg wash. Brush each surface of each profiterole with egg wash.
• Bake the choux pastry - Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly golden.
• Prick the pastry - Remove them out from the oven and prick each one on the bottom with a skewer. Place them back in the oven for 5 minutes Pro tip - Pricking the pastry will help them release steam and baking for the final 5 minutes will help dry them inside.
• Cool the pastry - Remove from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.Pro tip - these can be placed in an airtight container for 3 days and frozen for up to 3 months before filling.
• Combine chocolate, cream, and butter in a microwave bowl. Melt until all the chocolate has melted. Let cool until the chocolate ganache reaches a pouring consistency. Set aside. Pro tip - You can also melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Alternatively, you can also serve these profiteroles with a warm chocolate sauce
• Fill each profiterole from the bottom with the pastry cream using the hole created previously. Pro tip - Push the piping tip into the hole on the bottom of the profiterole. Squeeze and press the bag until it feels full. They will also feel heavy when full.
• Next, dip the top of each profiterole into the chocolate glaze as shown in the video. Alternatively, you can drizzle the chocolate over the profiteroles using a spoon.
• Enjoy!