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Lisa Benison showed Sheila McClennon how to Cook the Perfect... choux pastry, with a recipe from Betty's Cookery School near Harrogate.

Choux Pastry

Choux pastry is extremely versatile and can be used to create sumptuous rich deserts as well a more unusual savoury dishes.

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Tips and techniques

1. Use quality ingredients
2. Be very precise weighing them out
3. Use an oven thermometer to preheat the oven
4. Recognise the dropping consistency of the batter by eye as egg weights vary (add them a little at a time)
5. Space your buns on the tray - give them room to puff up.
6. Practice practice practice!

Ingredients

• 65ml water
• 65ml whole milk
• pinch of caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 55g butter
• 70g plain white flour
• 2 eggs (medium), beaten

Recipe serves 4

Preparation method

For the pastry

Place the water, milk, sugar and salt together in a heavy based pan over a moderate heat. Add the butter and bring to the boil.

As the liquid comes up to the boil, remove from the heat and quickly add all the flour in one go. Using a large wooden spoon beat quickly until all the flour has combined and a thick paste has formed.

Return to the heat and stir until the paste forms a dough and comes away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from the heat, place into a mixing bowl and allow the paste to cool down.

When cool, gradually add the egg a little at a time, beat after each addition and continue until you get a dropping consistency and a stiff batter has formed (you may not need all the egg). Transfer to a piping bag and rest until the mixture reaches room temperature.

To make the choux buns:

Preheat the oven to 200℃ (fan assisted). Gas Mark 7.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment and pipe 24 small mounds of choux paste, approximately the size of a 50p coin, leaving an inch space between each one.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. When golden brown and firm to touch, turn the oven off and leave in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

After removing from the oven, pierce a small hole in the base of each bun using a small sharp knife to allow the steam to escape, this will prevent them from going soggy and collapsing.

Allow the buns to cool on a wire rack.

Fill a large piping bag with the hazelnut crème pâtissière. Cut the tip off the bag and pipe into the hole of the bun until full. Do not overfill as the choux bun will burst.

Recipe - for the Crème Pâtissière with Hazelnuts

• 320ml whole milk
• ½ vanilla pod
• 6 egg yolks
• 100g caster sugar
• 40g corn flour
• A further 120ml whole milk
• 30g butter
• 50g ground hazelnuts

Makes approximately 500g

Preparation method - for the filling

Slice the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds using the edge of a knife.

Pour 320ml of milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and seeds and bring to a gentle boil over a low heat and leave to infuse.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar to ribbon stage.* Make a paste with the cornflour and the second measure of milk. Whisk into the egg and sugar mixture.

Remove the vanilla pod from the milk. Gradually pour the infused milk into the egg mix, whisking continuously.

Rinse and dry the saucepan to remove any milk solids from the sides. Sieve the mixture back into the pan and cook gently over a low heat, whisking constantly. The mixture will suddenly thicken.

Once thickened, add the ground hazelnuts and butter and stir until the butter has melted. Pour into a bowl, cover the surface with cling film and then cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour before using.

*Ribbon stage is when the mixture has a thick and fluffy consistency that holds its shape when you draw a figure of eight in the mix.

Recipe - for the Coffee and Mascarpone Icing

• 75g mascarpone cheese
• 250g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp Tia Maria
• 1 tbsp coffee powder dissolved in 1 tsp boiling water

Beat the mascarpone and icing sugar together in mixing bowl until smooth.

Stir in the Tia Maria and dissolved coffee.

Dip one half of the filled choux bun in the icing and leave to set

Savoury alternative - Smoked Salmon and Wasabi Mousse

• 400g cream cheese
• 200g smoked salmon, shredded
• 1-2 tsp wasabi paste (to taste)
• zest of 2 lemons
• Lemon juice (to taste)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

Place the cream cheese in a blending pot and add the smoked salmon, wasabi paste and the lemon zest.

Add a little lemon juice to taste. Do not add too much juice or else the filling will become runny. Blend until smooth. Season.

Place in a piping bag and store in the fridge until serving.

Allow the mousse to come up to room temperature before piping into the choux buns. Ideally consume the choux buns within two hours or else the pastry may become soggy.

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