Pate a Choux Unit

Pate a Choux! I was excited to move on to this unit so that I can do something I've never done before. I was also working without a partner for the unit (we have an odd number in our class now, and the Chef selected me because I am the top student!).

It's a dough that you start on the stove, with butter, water, salt and sugar - boil it, and then add flour. Cook to dry it out, transfer to a mixer, and beat until all the steam is let out. Add eggs one at a time until just the right consistency. Pipe and bake.

Once we got the dough down, its just a matter of shaping and filling. The first day we made vanilla, coffee, and chocolate eclairs. Eclairs are very difficult to get right. Especially the glaze. Below are mine, the ones on the plate are the chefs (just so you can see what I was aiming for). They are filled with a flavored creme legere.

On Day 2 of Pate a choux we made Cygnes (Swans), Profiteroles (not pictured) and Paris Brest. The swans are decoratively piped choux, cut, and filled with creme patisserie, and creme chantilly. AWWWWWW SO ROMANTIC!

Paris Brest is a piped choux that is sprinkled with almonds and then baked, to reveal a hollowed out center. We then cut it in half, and filled it with creme paris brest (praline creme chiboust = pastry cream + butter + praline paste). It was delicious, although I would have preferred less creme paris brest to choux- it was analogous to eating a slice of bread with half a stick of butter on top.

Gruyeres. Pate a choux with gruyere and spices, then baked. Basically the OGs of cheese puffs.

Gateaux St. Honore. Weirdest thing ever. Pate Brisee crust with choux piped onto it. Little choux balls dipped in caramel, filled with creme st. honore, placed on edge of cake. Filled in center with creme st honore (which is pastry cream + gelatin + Italian meringue). Apparently these things are rarely made, and I can understand why. They are a pain in the ass, and they have to be served immediately, and you cannot stick them in the refrigerator. Oh and you have to use a special piping tip that is used only for this cake apparently. Other than that, it was strangely tasty.

And the croquembouche, commonly referred to in my class as the "cock n bush". The traditional French wedding cake has a nougatine base, with creme legere filled and caramel dipped choux balls piled on top of each other. We used a pate brisee base, and didn't fill ours. This was mostly a decoration-oriented class. We had the option of dipping our caramel balls in different flavorings (coconut, pistachio, cocoa nibs, and pearl sugar), and then if we had time doing little caramel decorations. I finished relatively quickly, and got a little crazy with my caramel decorations, and it ended up looking like a spider web descended on my cock n bush. That being said, I was happy with my results.

Thus concluded our pate a choux unit. When I get my exam results back in full, I will post about my unit exam.