Golden Pear Cream Puffs
Golden Pear Cream Puffs
Serves 6 to 8
3 Bartlett pears (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
6 large egg yolks
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 2/3 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pate a Choux Puffs (recipe follows)
Caramel Pear Slices (recipe follows)
Peel and core pears, and cut into 1/2- inch pieces. Place in a steamer rack set over a pot of boiling water, and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Let cool. Purée in a blender until completely smooth.
Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in cornstarch. Heat milk in a medium saucepan over medium- high heat just until bubbles begin to form, about 3 minutes. Using a ladle, gradually add hot milk to the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Return mixture to pan; cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture begins to bubble and becomes very thick, about 8 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, scrape bottom and sides of pan occasionally as mixture thickens. Remove from heat.
Pour through a large-mesh sieve into a bowl. Add butter; stir until butter has melted. Add pear purée; stir to combine. Place plastic wrap directly on surface; refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
Put heavy cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into pastry cream. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip (such as Ateco #802). Poke a small hole in the bottom of each pastry puff with a skewer. Fill puffs with pastry cream. Arrange 4 cream puffs on each plate in a pyramid. Spoon about 4 warm caramel pear slices over each serving, and drizzle with sauce.
Pate a Choux Puffs
Makes about 5 dozen
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, plus 1 more, lightly beaten, if needed for dough
Preheat oven to 400 degrees;. Heat 1 cup water, the butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until butter has melted and mixture is boiling. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour. Return to medium heat; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides and a film forms on bottom of pan, about 4 1/2 minutes.
Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until slightly cooled, about 2 minutes. Raise speed to medium. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, mixing until incorporated after each addition. Batter should be shiny. Test batter by touching it with your finger and lifting to form a string. If a string does not form, mix in another egg a little at a time. If a string still doesn't form, add water 1 teaspoon at a time until it does.
Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip (such as Ateco #806). Pipe 1-inch rounds onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 1 inch apart. Whisk remaining egg and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl; brush over tops of rounds
Bake until rounds are puffed and pale golden, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees;; bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes more. Turn off oven, and prop open oven door with a wooden spoon to release steam; let puffs dry 15 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. Puffs can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 day or frozen up to 1 month.
Caramel Pear Slices
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3 Bosc pears, peeled, quartered, cored, and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pears, and toss to coat with butter. Sprinkle sugar over pears. Cook, stirring pears occasionally, until deep golden, about 30 minutes. Add lemon juice and 1/4 cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is syrupy, about 3 minutes. Serve warm.
Cream Puffs
Cream Puffs
Makes 3 dozen
All-purpose flour, for marking
Pate a Choux (recipe follows)
1 cup granulated sugar, for sprinkling
1/2 recipe Tart Dough (recipe follows)
3/4 cup heavy cream
Pastry Cream (recipe follows)
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Line 3 large baking sheets with parchment paper or with nonstick baking mats, such as Silpats. Dip a 2-inch round cookie cutter in flour, and mark circles 2 inches apart on prepared sheets. Transfer pâte à choux to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip (such as an Ateco #808), and pipe puffs to fit in flour circles. Smooth peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Freeze pastry puffs on baking sheets until firm, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, sprinkle a clean work surface with 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and place tart dough on top of sugar, patting it into a round. Sprinkle another 1/2 cup sugar over dough, and roll to a scant 1/8-inch thick, coating both sides of dough with the sugar to keep it from sticking. Using a 1 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out 36 rounds, and place a round on top of each frozen puff. Return to freezer until firm, at least 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees;, with racks in upper and lower thirds.
Bake puffs until pale golden brown all over, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets on wire racks. Puffs can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature overnight.
Put heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Whisk the pastry cream to soften. Working in 2 batches, fold whipped cream into pastry cream. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip (such as an Ateco #806). Insert tip into bottom of each puff, and fill. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Cream puffs are best eaten within a few hours; refrigerate in an airtight container.
Pate a Choux
Makes enough for 3 dozen cream puffs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, plus 1 large egg white
Bring butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides and a film forms on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes.
Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Raise speed to medium; add whole eggs, 1 at a time, until a soft peak forms when batter is touched with your finger. If peak does not form, lightly beat remaining egg white, and mix it into batter a little at a time until it does.
Tart Dough
Makes enough for 3 dozen cream puffs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons heavy cream
Put butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolks, and mix until combined, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup flour, and mix just until flour is incorporated. Add remaining 3/4 cup flour, the salt, and cream; mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Shape dough into a disk; wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.
Pastry Cream
Makes about 2 1/2 cups
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
1 teaspoon salt
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Bring milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Whisking, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of hot milk mixture into yolk mixture. Slowly add remaining milk mixture until incorporated. Pour mixture back into the saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking, until it begins to bubble in center and registers 160 degrees; on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; discard vanilla bean.
Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add butter; beat on medium speed until butter has melted and mixture has cooled, about 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, beat on low speed or whisk by hand until smooth.
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