Pate a Choux - Profite Rolls, Eclairs

Today, am gonna try and take you to the streets of Paris where you can imagine and taste one of the famous French treats such as Elclairs , Paris Brest , Croquembouche, Profit Rolls. Now these may appear to be just a few but the verities of 

filling that go into it is endless ; with that they tend to carry different names but the base of the pastry is Pate a Choux  , Choux (Shu)  Pastry also known as Cream Puffs.

Pate a choux is somewhat versatile and as forgiving and uncomplicated as can be, it also does require attention and willingness to whisk quickly , the quicker the better and you will have the cream puffs , eclairs and all other french pastries  holding up within your grasp. And by the way , you can use pate choux for savory treats too.

I should have written this blog may be 10 years ago after I visited France, I was so amused and excited that I bought every French cooking magazine that I came across even if it was just pictures but I had some idea! Thanks to the technology now I can just google and voila! I still buy cooking and baking books they are my assets, the oldest book is my baking book given to me when I was 13 yrs old and it has so many techniques that I never thought existed.

Now for the Pate a Choux, it took me sometime to get them perfect, The first time I worked on these were like 6 years ago and I must have made them at least 4 to 5 times until I got them right. When I say RIGHT; is to get them hard outside and hollow and soft inside, and to get that ...its all on the temperature . I have tried recipes that call for water only , and some milk only and also a combination of milk and water. The temperature varies between 400/350 , 400/375 , 400 all the way and I opted for  425/375 this works perfect for me although now using my new oven I noticed the tray which went on the lower rack of the oven were burnt..that's not good :(

So , hopefully I keep my fingers crossed that it works for you on your first attempt, but if it does not, please do not give up ..you just cant live peacefully knowing that you are missing such great pastries in life and am sure you will do much better once you have become familiar.  All the best!!!

Ingredient :

1/2 cup whole Milk

1/2 cup Water

1 Tbsp Sugar

1/4 tspn Salt

1/2 cup Butter ( 8 Tbl )

1 cup All purpose Flour

Method:

Pre heat oven 425F

In a heavy sauce pan, combine the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to a boil. Add the flour and stir until smooth with a heavy wooden spoon, stir for few minutes.

Turn the heat low and cook the flour mixture stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, let it cook for about 5 mins. The flour will be cooked when a thin film forms on on the bottom and separates from the pan

Transfer the dough to the bowl of a mixer (I used a stand mixer) if you are not using a mixer, let the dough rest a minute or two. 

Slightly beat the eggs and mix into the dough on medium speed little at a time ,until the dough is thick yet silky and smooth. you can also add one egg at a time if you prefer to do so.   

Transfer the dough into pastry bag or just a Ziploc freezer bag. Pipe into any shapes that you like, it is not necessary to use a fancy tip if you dont have one ( I used wilton 1M)

Bake at 425 for 15 mins and then turn the oven down to 375 and continue to bake for 10 more mins.

Let the pastries cool, before you slice or fill them with either pastry cream, whipped cream etc. 

Cream puffs

Mini Croquembouche

. 

Garlic Spinach Potatoes

These are my favorite potatoes especially when I am entertaining a large crowd , they bust with so much flavour  and guess what?? they are so very easy to prepare and very economical. I stumbled on this recipe in a spice magazine about 6 years ago and ever since it has become on of my family's favorite and not to mention when I am running out of time and ideas..besides spinach has found a permanent residence in my refrigerator!!! and you will see why. 

These potatoes original name was actually 'Spicy Herb Potatoes' and the recipe had called for arugula and alot of paprika. I adjusted it with spinach and alot of garlic thats another favorite of mine. I would usually pair them with fish, plenty of salad  and vegetables . Its very difficult to pen down precise measurements for a dish like this, most of the time I just throw in ingredient, so dont be so uptight take it easy and be generous with spinach and garlic ...and did I mention Cilanto!!!...no harm ;)

  

Without any delay lets start ;

Ingredients:

Red potatoes 2 lb

Bag of baby spinach (9oz) or more

Cilantro 1 bunch

Garlic cloves - 10 to 15

Olive Oil 4 Tbls

Salt 1 tspn

Paprika 1 tspn

Black pepper 1 tpsn

Cumin Powder 1 Tbls

Wash and cut the potatoes into quarters or equal sizes, if you are using smaller ones , its not necessary to cut them

Boil the potatoes just enough to get them cooked...DO NOT OVER COOK!!!

Wash cilantro and peel the garlic cloves

Place the spinach, cilanto, garlic,cumin powder,paprika,salt and black pepper in a food processor with 2 Tbls olive oil

 

Pulse once or twice

In a large sauce pan use the remaining 2 Tbls olive oil and saute the mixture for abou 5 mins on medium low without burning the garlic

Drain the potatoes and add them to the spinach 

Toss to coat well, cook for about 3 mins

Serve with your favorite protein and veggies.....Bon appetite!!!

Perfect Maandazi

So let me tell you something about this extra delicious kind of bread called Maandazi, they are very famous particulary in the coastal areas such Zanzibar, Mombasa and Pemba but also widely loved in the East Africa. Other than being quick and tasty dish to prepare, Maandazi was and would probably still be the source of income for many housewives as they would display their freshly fried maandazi at their door step or some would sell at convenient stores, and some would even walk around from street to street or have a shade at  popular areas in no specific time. Now, you dont have to be a Zanzibari or East African to love this, believe me, the aromas of coconut milk and cardamoms will not keep you too far from loving this, as I was growing up and until today the trend of eating Maandazi has not faded at all. Its one of the quickest and satisfying food you can make anytime a day. When I make Maandazi in my home its always a double measurement coz my kids love it for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner if there's any leftovers..... So, let me not keep you in suspense..... Serves: 4 Preparation time:         20 minutes Resting time to rise      45 mins to 1 hour depending on the temperature Frying time:                 10 minutes Ingredients: 4 Cups All purpose white flour 4 tspn dry yeast ½ teaspoon ground cardamom 1 cup sugar 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 coconut milk (can be substituted with warm milk) 1 tbl canola/veg oil (optional) 1 qt cooking vegetable oil (depending on the size of deep fryer) Method: Place half of the coconut milk/milk in a large mixing bowl, add the yeast and let it stand for about 5-7 minutes. Once the yeast has bloomed, add the flour, sugar and cardamom powder, add the rest of the liquid and start the mixer , add the oil and keep on kneading for about 7-10 mins  ( if you are using your hand, make a big mountain with flour, make a well at the center and pour the liquid at the center and start mixing once combine, add the rest of your liquid and knead for about 10 mins) Do not over knead your dough, if its little sticky its ok, just rub some greese in your hands and continue. Divide the dough into 5 /6 equal potions ( depending what size you want). Heat the vegetable oil deep fryer (250 c) ensure the oil quantity is at least ¾ the size of the fryer. Place the dough on flat surface, sprinkle flour at the bottom and on top of the dough and roll out to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut them into 4 equal triangle potions and keep them for about 15-30 minutes (time may vary depending on the room temperature) to rise double the size. Fry 3 or 4 Maandazi at a time depending on the size of the deep fryer. Dip the Maandazi on the same facing side into hot oil, (the base will be at the bottom) they will rise like air filled balloons you need to flip them immediately to the other side. Fry the other side till they turn light brown and get them out. Do not over cook. Keep them in a paper towel to drain any excessive oil. Do not over knead the dough, the quicker the mix the better Maandazi will be very soft. While frying do not turn them before they rise, they will be very flat and also do not let them over rise they bust when rising they will be filled with oil.

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Chocolate Mousse ( Basic)

Mhhh, this is my weakness here, chocolate, anything chocolate you win me ;)

A good dessert made of chocolate is something I cannot describe so a silky , and airy mousse is definitely on top of my list. 

Before moving further I wanted to mention that I have found out that Mouse is also French..yeee!!! 

Well it was mentioned in the wikipedia as follows:

A mousse (French 'foam' /ˈmuːs/) is a prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture. It can range from light and fluffy to creamy and thick, depending on preparation techniques. A mousse may be sweet or savory. And to if you are as crazy as I am and want to know more about the different kinds of mousse and the variations you may want to read this:

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/jul/22/how-to-make-chocolate-mousse

So this particular mousse is one of the very basic and simple traditional mousse it has only two elements the ganache and a meringue. For the meringue I cooked mine like the Swiss meringue simply because I dont like uncooked eggs be it  white or yellow so you will see all my other recipes on mousse I use cooking technique on the egg part. The most important part of the mousse is to get it airy, fluffy and silky believe me this is as simple as it may be.



Ingredients:

Egg whites 3 ( 1/4 cup or 90ml)
Sugar  3 Tbls

Chocolate 5 oz ( dark or milk)
Heavy whipping cream 1/2 Cup /100 ml

Any kind of flavoring if you wish


Method:

Put the sugar and egg whites in a double broiler or hot water bath and stir the mixture to 140F , be careful not to cook your eggs! 

(if you do not have thermometer you can run a  taste on your hand, it should not be too hot just bearable)

Remove the mixture from the heat and whip to stiff peaks and the temperature has dropped down. 

Alternatively you can just make a regular meringue by whipping up the egg whites till you get the froth and then add the sugar and whip to stiff peaks.

In the meantime while the eggs are whipping;

Melt the chocolate in hot water bath/baine marie , stir and toss to make sure it doesn't stick to the bowl.

Once the chocolate has melted remove from the heat.

Heat the heavy whipping cream to a boil but DO NOT BOIL

Pour the hot heavy whipping cream into the melted chocolate and mix to combine well , keep steering to bring the temperature down (appx 95F)

(if you do not have a thermometer just ensure that the ganache is same temperature as the meringue

Now fold in the meringue ( egg whites ) in to the ganache and mix ensure you do not loose the air of the meringue.

Pour into dessert glass or bowl , chill for about 4-6 hours.

Serve with whipped cream or any other topping you may desire.