Kat of The Bobwhites was our August 2012 Daring Baker hostess who inspired us to have fun in creating pate a choux shapes, filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream. We were encouraged to create swans or any shape we wanted and to go crazy with filling flavors allowing our creativity to go wild!
I enjoy making pate a choux. It’s an easy dough to make and once baked, the forms (or shapes) can be filled with sweet or savory treats!
I stuck with Kat’s original shape suggestion, and made swans. However, instead of filling mine with pastry cream, I used homemade butterscotch pudding (recipe coming soon!). The final result was cute, light, and delicious! If I had been more patient, I would have done a better job at presenting my dessert. As it was, I quickly made a couple of swans and just as quickly, ate the couple of swans!
Sorry- bad picture
One Year Ago: Luscious Lemon Bars
Pate A Choux Swans
Recipe provided by Kat
1/2 cup butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
4 large eggs
*your choice of filling (ice cream, pudding, whipped cream, pastry cream)
In a medium sized saucepan, combine the butter, water, and salt. Bring this to a boil over medium heat. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour. Keep stirring until all the flour is combined and the dough comes together into a ball.
Add one egg, mixing quickly until it is well combined. Repeat 3 more times with the remaining eggs, making sure to mix well. The dough, after the last egg has been stirred in, should be smooth and thick.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Spoon the dough into a pastry bag that has been fitted with a piping tip. Pipe the dough onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. You will be making a number 2 (see picture below). This will give you the beak, neck, and something to anchor to the body. Using a larger piping tip, pipe the bodies onto another cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. The bodies are about 1 1/2 inches long and 1 inch wide, with one end being wider than the other. (Note: I did not use piping tips. I just spooned the dough into a pastry bag, snipped off the tip for a small opening, and piped the necks first. Then I cut a bigger opening and piped the bodies. Do whatever is easier for you!).
Bake in a preheat oven. The necks will bake faster than the bodies, so make sure to keep and eye on them. When I baked mine, the necks took 18 minutes and the bodies took 25 minutes. Your baking times will be dependent on the size and thickness of your shapes.
When the pastries are lightly golden brown and puffy, remove from the oven and let cool completely.
To make the swans, I’m going to turn the directions over to Kat:
“Take a swan body and use a very sharp knife to cut off the top 1/3rd to 1/2. Cut the removed top down the center to make two wings. Dollop a bit of filling into the body, insert head, and then add wings.”
Made with love, not calories!
