Gourmet Cream Puff Swans Recipes

CREAM PUFF SWANS

Steps:

• PASTRY
• Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place templates on baking sheets; line with parchment paper. Measure flour and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, bring butter, water, salt, and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour all at once. Stir quickly until all the flour is incorporated, about a minute. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute or two.
• Transfer dough to the bowl of an electric mixer, and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat until the dough loses its "slimy" look, and each egg is incorporated. (You may only need 3 eggs, depending on your climate.) The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl.
• Spoon dough into a pastry bag fitted with a coupler. Attach a #10 tip (1/2-inch) to coupler. Pipe dough to make 12 swan necks on a baking sheet, using template as a guide. Smooth out peaks and round tops with a moistened finger; remove template. (You're aiming for something between a numeral 2 and a question mark, with a little beak if you're skilled and/or lucky.)
• Remove the tip from the bag and pipe out 12 swan bodies on a second baking sheet, using template as a guide. These will be about 3" long, and about 2" wide. One end should be a bit narrower than the other. Smooth out peaks and round tops with a moistened finger; remove template.
• Egg wash: Whisk together 1 egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush tops of dough with egg mixture. Place swan necks on baking sheet in the freezer.
• Bake swan bodies at 425° for 5 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 375°, and bake 30 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to a wire rack, and cool completely.
• Bake swan necks at 375° for 15 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to a wire rack, and cool completely.
• PASTRY CREAM
• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture starts to boil. Cook for 2 minutes until thickened.
• Remove from the stove. Slowly whisk 1/4 cup of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add the egg yolk mixture to the hot mixture in the saucepan. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour or overnight.
• When pudding is chilled, whip cream to form soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding until evenly mixed. Cover and chill until ready to use.
• ASSEMBLY
• Cut swan bodies in half horizontally. Cut the top halves in half to create two wings.
• Dollop or pipe a small amount of pastry cream onto the widest part of the bottom halves. Fix the swan necks in the cream. After you've put the neck in place, fill the bottom halves with additional pastry cream. Place wings on each side.
• Chill until ready to serve. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving if desired.

WEDDING SWAN CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth and shiny. , Cut a small hole in the corner of pastry bag or heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; insert round pastry tip #7. Fill bag with batter. On a greased baking sheet, pipe 3 dozen 2-in.-long "S" shapes for the swan necks, making a small dollop at the end of each for the head. Bake at 400° for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. , For swan bodies, drop remaining batter by 36 level tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. With a small icing knife or spatula, shape batter into 2-in. x 1-1/2-in. teardrops. Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. , Meanwhile, prepare pudding according to package directions for pie filling; chill. , Just before serving, cut off top third of swan bodies; set tops aside. Remove any soft dough inside. Spoon filling into bottoms of puffs. Top each with a small amount of jam if desired. Cut reserved tops in half lengthwise to form wings; set wings in filling. Place necks in filling. Dust with confectioners' sugar.