The cream puff is called 'choux à la crème' in French. It's made of a special dough called 'la pâte à choux' and can be filled with different kinds of cream.
I have a special preference of 'la pâte à choux', maybe, because of the name. Chou is a very cute word in French. Besides name of dessert, it also means sweetheart or baby. It's a name you call your beloved one. So the name of the cream puff feels like my little sweetheart.
This is a strange dough. While baking in oven, it swells like a balloon, and plenty of air bubbles form, which makes it hollow. So it can be filled with cream. But there is no yeast, no baking powder, or baking soda which are usually used to make the dough rise.
Lovely as it is, it has actually a long history. It was born more than 400 years ago. In 1540, Italien pastry chef Popelini, who followed Queen Catherine de' Medici to France, improved the recipe and created la pâte à choux for the first time. It is different from other dough which is mixed cold, the flour is poured into a boiling liquid containing water, milk, salt, sugar and butter. Then, eggs are added little by little while beating the dough continuously. Then, the pâte à choux is ready to bake!
Easy as it sounds, it's actually tricky to make, it is even more difficult to make perfectly. Besides following the steps in detail, the baking is extremely important. It's a dough very sensitive to heat and humidity.
I remember the first time I tried to make it. It was about four years ago, before I learned the proper process in school in Paris. I was skeptical about the boiling liquids. After adding the flour, it made kind like a porridge. It didn't look like a dough at all. I even doubted the recipe in the book. Maybe it's wrong about the measurement? But it's a book of Alan Ducass. How could a famous chef publish it wrong!? The pâte à coux was like a mystery for me. Until l learned the proper process in school, I know the principle. Then I worked in Génin's pastry shop, I learned how to make the perfect pâte à choux.
Cream puff (Choux à la crème) is really the simplest dessert made with pâte à choux.We just need to fill pastry cream flavored with vanilla beans, and put a thin layer of caramelized sugar as glaze. Even though it's so simple, it can be a sweet childhood memory of a lot of people. My friend Jean-paul said it's his favorite childhood dessert, and years went by he just likes this version without any other decoration or garnish. It's good enough!
This is a strange dough. While baking in oven, it swells like a balloon, and plenty of air bubbles form, which makes it hollow. So it can be filled with cream. But there is no yeast, no baking powder, or baking soda which are usually used to make the dough rise.
Lovely as it is, it has actually a long history. It was born more than 400 years ago. In 1540, Italien pastry chef Popelini, who followed Queen Catherine de' Medici to France, improved the recipe and created la pâte à choux for the first time. It is different from other dough which is mixed cold, the flour is poured into a boiling liquid containing water, milk, salt, sugar and butter. Then, eggs are added little by little while beating the dough continuously. Then, the pâte à choux is ready to bake!
Easy as it sounds, it's actually tricky to make, it is even more difficult to make perfectly. Besides following the steps in detail, the baking is extremely important. It's a dough very sensitive to heat and humidity.
I remember the first time I tried to make it. It was about four years ago, before I learned the proper process in school in Paris. I was skeptical about the boiling liquids. After adding the flour, it made kind like a porridge. It didn't look like a dough at all. I even doubted the recipe in the book. Maybe it's wrong about the measurement? But it's a book of Alan Ducass. How could a famous chef publish it wrong!? The pâte à coux was like a mystery for me. Until l learned the proper process in school, I know the principle. Then I worked in Génin's pastry shop, I learned how to make the perfect pâte à choux.
Cream puff (Choux à la crème) is really the simplest dessert made with pâte à choux.We just need to fill pastry cream flavored with vanilla beans, and put a thin layer of caramelized sugar as glaze. Even though it's so simple, it can be a sweet childhood memory of a lot of people. My friend Jean-paul said it's his favorite childhood dessert, and years went by he just likes this version without any other decoration or garnish. It's good enough!