Choux Pastry for Profiteroles, Cream Puffs and Eclairs

Ingredients

240ml milk
240ml water
220g butter
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
340g bread flour or plain flour
310g eggs or 9 large eggs

1. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper and pre heat the oven to 200 degrees.
2. In a large saucepan bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat, add the flour all at once and stir vigorously to combine. Return the pan to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 3 minutes.
4. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat briefly on medium speed with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs, 2 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.
Or
5. If you don’t have a mixer, then prepare to put in some elbow grease like I did. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and beat for several minutes until it has cool slightly. Then add in the eggs, 2 at a time and beat until the mixture is smooth. As you mix the eggs, the mixture will look lumpy and it will separate. Don’t worry, just keep on mixing – fast! By now your arm should feel like its going to fall off – it’s a good thing, just think of it as exercise. The mixture will get thicker and thicker as you add the eggs and your arm will get sorer and sorer.
6. When ready, the mixture should be thick, sticky and pale yellow in colour (like thick custard). You can either use a piping bag or use a tablespoon to shape the mixture for baking.
7. Bake in a 200 degrees oven until it starts to puff and colour, then reduce the temperature to 160 degrees and cook until brown and there are no droplets of water on the pastry. The pastry should be completely dry. This should take around 25mins.
8. Cool on a rack and cut a small slot into the pastry and pipe in the filling.

Chocolate Cream
Thicken cream, beaten until thick
Cocoa powder to taste
Icing sugar to taste
¼ block dark chocolate, finely grated

After mixing the cocoa powder and icing sugar into the cream, fold in the grated chocolate.

Black Sesame Cream
Thicken cream, beaten until thick
3 tbsp black sesame
Icing sugar to taste

Toast the sesame and finely ground it in a mortar and pestle. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle like me, use the end of a rolling pin and a small deep bowl (eg. an individual soufflé dish). Mix all the ingredients together.

Spiced Orange Cream
Thicken cream, beaten until thick
2 tbsp mixed peel, chopped finely
3 tsp runny honey
¼ tsp cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves

Mix all the ingredients together.