Chocolate Éclairs

Eclairs were this months Daring Bakers Challenge has come. I was quite excited about this months; as I am with any of them. I had decided to do this months challenge at the beginning of the month for I knew that I wouldn't be able to do anytime later. I would've never had to time.

I've never made Eclairs before. I've also understood the name of Eclairs. It's means "flashing." I wonder what that has anything to do with food. Nonetheless, Eclairs are awesome and I was quite excited about actually making one myself. I've always heard that they're hard. I don't know why people think this. It's kind of like cream puffs. People make them out to seem so difficult when in fact, they're not that hard at all. Making Eclairs isn't that hard at all. You just have to take the time to try.

These were pretty rich. One was enough for me. My little brother, the pickiest person in the house, even liked them. He saw them and actually asked me if he could try one! It took me by surprise, that's for sure. He's an honest kid, like me, so he'd tell me the truth. He said they were really great. He wanted me to make more. He loved the filling and I have to say, so did I. They were great all together. This was a great challenge!

Recipe

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature

1. In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
boil.

2. Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium
and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very
quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You
need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough
will be very soft and smooth.

3. Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4. The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1. Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2. You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking
sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the
piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.


Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé

2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch, sifted
7 oz bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
2 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2. Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3. Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

4. Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

5. Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

Notes:
1. The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

2. In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

3. Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.


Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)

1/3 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 tsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
7 tbsp Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2, Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1. If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly
 in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2. It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)


4 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup crème fraîche, or heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar

1. Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2. It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:
1. You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Start Baking
1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with
waxed or parchment paper.

2. Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3. Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the
handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the
oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue
baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking
time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1. The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.


Assembling the éclairs:

1. Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2. The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.

3. Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:
1. If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles.

2. The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Cream Puffs

Cream Puffs; A light, but rich, hollow pastry puff which may be filled with a sweet filling, or, if you prefer, with savory filling. And I, have yet to ever trying one believe it or not. Call me crazy (like everyone else), but I have yet to ever tried cream puffs.

I actually decided yesterday after watching a new drama called Absolute Boyfriend that I wanted to try making cream puffs. In this drama I was watching, there was a girl who said to being to make the best cream puffs around. As she made them, I was thinking, "Hmm.. wow. That seems easy."

From what I heard from other, cream puffs are hard to make. I defiantly disagree with that. These were actually not hard at all. They're quite easy to make. I have no idea why people make a big fuss about them being hard to make.

What did I think after having my first ever cream puff? I'll put it simple... "Oh yea."

Recipe

1 cup water
3 1/2 ounces butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup bread flour
3 large eggs, beaten
2 egg whites [reserve yolks for custard]


1. Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Do not grease baking sheet, as the grease will cause the dough to flatten.

2. Cut up butter into small pieces. In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water and butter; bring mixture to a full rolling boil.

3. Remove pan from the heat and add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until blended. Reduce heat to medium; return pan to heat and continue stirring until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Remove from heat and transfer the dough to the bowl of a mixer. With the paddle attachment, mix at low speed until the dough has cooled slightly.

4. In a small bowl, add eggs and egg whites; Whisk until mixed together. At medium speed, beat the eggs/egg whites in slowly (at first the eggs will act like they don't want to mix in, but they will). When all the eggs are absorbed, the dough is ready to use. The dough should be soft and a little sticky, but be able to hold its shape.

5. Place dough into bag. Cut the end off one corner with scissors, to make an opening about 1/4 inch. Squeeze the mixture onto the baking pan.

6. Bake for a total of about 20 minutes. At 1 minutes into the baking, lower heat to 375 degrees F. and continue baking until golden brown. Approximately 5 to 10 minutes longer for the small puffs, and 15 to 20 minutes longer for large puffs.

7. Remove from the oven and immediately prick the lower side of each puff with the tips with something sharp. Turn off oven and return puffs to the oven. Leave the door open slightly and allow the puffs to dry out for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and oven and let puffs cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire rack before filling.

Makes about 2 dozen large puffs, 3 dozen medium puffs, to 5 to 6 dozen small puffs.

For Custard

1/2 cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract


1. In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 5 tablespoons flour and a pinch of salt. Stir in milk, a little at a time, until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

2. Boil for 1 minute, then pour a small amount of hot liquid into the 2 egg yolks, and stir. Then return now heated egg yolks to saucepan and stir until mixture starts to bubble again. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cover and chill in refrigerator till ready to use.

DBC: Lemon Meringue Pie

So, the next Daring Bakers Challenge is here... And I have to say, that I have never been so annoyed and frustrated in a baking process like I did with this challenge. This months challenge was the Lemon Meringue Pie. At first, I thought, "Hmm, I'm sure I can do this with ease." Hah!

I'm not much of a pie maker. And defiantly NOT good at making pie crust whats so ever. I've had a few insisidents were it was just pitiful at how the crust came out for past pie making. But I thought if I really tried and went slow with the process of making it, that It'd come out fine.

Three tries later, I finally get a good pie crust! And I was really proud of how the crust came out. It was almost picture perfect crust. Which is a amazing for someone like me who is pron to messing up pie crusts. So it was a true accomplishment for me.

Then came the filling. This wasn't so frustrated as the crust, it just seemed like it took a while for it to thicken. I thought it'd thicken quicker, but it took some time, for what reasons I don't know. But it eventually thicken. Then I did the meringue. Which, I didn't take to much effort into making with sadly. I just kind of dumped the meringue on top of the pie. I wanted to make the pie look all pretty and cute, but by the time I got to this stage, I was just tired of making this pie that I just wanted to get it done.

The pie came out good. I wasn't to proud of the finishing product because it didn't look as pretty and beautiful as I had planned. Nonetheless, still tasted wonderful. But I can see myself trying to make this again. Not just to make to eat, but to get it how I wanted it. I'm pretty stubborn, and I wanted it to come out how I wanted, but it didn't. So I have a new goal as of right now. ;]

To check out other Lemon Meringue Pies, go to the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

Recipe

For the Crust

3/4 cup butter; cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup ice water

For the Filling

2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Meringue

5 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar



To Make the Crust:
Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt.Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk.

Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut a circle about 2 inches larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about 1/2 inch. Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.


To Make the Filling:
Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated. Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth.

Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.


To Make the Meringue:
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Brown Butter Creamy Apple Pie

Well, its Fall, and I've yet to make Apple Pie! What's Fall without Apple Pie? And being that I've had a bunch of apples still from when my Nana and Grandpa brought some down from South Carolina for me, I had plenty of apples to make an apple pie.

My Nana and Grandfather also just so happen to be coming by our house this afternoon. So, I thought it was a good opportunity to make Apple Pie. I think of it sort of as a thank you pie for the apples. Thanking by using the apples to make pie!

I don't necessarily favor the double crust apple pies. I like more of the brown sugar topping on the apples. I like that sugar crunch they have when you take a bit. It's like a bit into sugar land. Its a really sweet, cinnamon topping. And the topping for this pie came out beautifully. The pie was so comforting and was really satisfying. The pie also gave off a lovely aroma of cinnamon and sugar apples. It's was lovely all together.

Recipe

Filling

1/4 cup butter
1/2 sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp. flour
5 cups apples, peeled and sliced

Crust

1 frozen deep dish pie crust

Streusel

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup firm butter


1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place cookie sheet in oven to heat. In 1-quart saucepan, cook 1/4 cup butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and lightly browned. Cool completely for about 15 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 tbsp. flour and 1 tsp. vanilla. Beat in cooled butter. Stir in apples. Pour into crust.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together all streusel ingredients together except butter. With pastry blender, fork or your hands, cut in 1/4 cup butter until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apples. Place pie on baking sheet in oven.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and cover crust with strips of foil to prevent browning. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes longer or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Cool completely.