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| Cream Puffs in Paris! |
Truthfully?
I never stopped. I am still baking!
I am here, though, ready to fill you in on my baking exploits. At first I thought I better start where I left off; in general, chronological thinking is a part of my personality. And THEN, I remembered I once had a friend, who, when he started to tell a story had to start at the very beginning and could never leave a part out, no matter how long the story took or how many signals that suggested the audience was bored. I could not do that to you. I care too much.
So...a highlight.
One day I was in France. Yes, France. The one in Europe. Not the one in Idaho; that one is on route 32, past Drummond, just south of Squirrel. Honest.
In the France in Europe where I was...I went to a baking school. (In Paris!) And I made some amazing baked things, but most importantly I learned some clever tricks and techniques.
Here is one. The Pate a Choux (we know it as Cream Puffs)
If you have not tried to make a cream puff, you do not need to be afraid. Tell your inner child that you, the adult, can take over and make a successful cream puff. The first step in any arduous undertaking is the crystallization of self-confidence. It starts with facing down the fear you've carried around for far too long. You've met your inner child haven't you? She's the one who burned the cakes in the easy bake oven, the one who forgot the sugar, baking soda, baking powder or eggs and the recipe tasted like ca-ca. Oh, if you were 22 when your last baking disaster happened, you can still call her that inner child.
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| Is the one at the bottom a metaphor for your inner child? Slightly wonky? |
It's the stirring that matters the most. At least in Pate a Choux. The French, they have the strong cheese and the strong arms from stirring the dough to make the cream puffs. You'll have sore forearms if you don't use your whole arm, because you have to stir the dough so much and it gets more difficult the longer you stir. But I believe in you. I did it. So can you.
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| Oui, ces't moi. C'est difficile. |
I'll add the recipe we created at the bottom. And here is a youtube video that, while the pastry is very french, the music is bopping, friendly, but definitely not in French. It's fun, though, and it does show the process very accurately. It should assist you in your cream puff attempt.
PATE A CHOUX
Ingredients
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1 pint (2 cups) water
6 oz unsalted butter (room temp)
1/2 teaspoon salt
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10 oz all purpose flour
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10 large eggs (room temp)
Procedure
Combine water, butter and salt in a large pan over medium heat, bring to a boil and make
sure butter is fully melted
Off the heat add all the flour and stir until smooth and no longer sticks to the sides of the
pan.
Keep stirring until cool enough to touch, then incorporate the eggs, two at a time.
Sometimes, depending on the size of the eggs you need only 9 eggs.
Transfer the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip and pipe 1 inch half-
spheres on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 425F for about 10 minutes or until well risen, then lower the temperature to 350F
until well colored and dry.
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