Here we go...my first TWD.
I've been looking forward to baking since I came across TWD entries on other blogs and now it's my turn to join in the fun. This week's recipe, Peppermint Cream Puff Ring) was chosen by Caroline of
A Consuming Passion. I still have not received my book so I scrounged up a recipe on epicurious.com. (Edited to add -- The book arrived in the mail today. It's wonderful.)
I originally planned to just watch the action this week and start the action next week since I don't have the cookbook yet, but excitement got the better of me and Saturday night found me at Kroger buying the ingredients I didn't have on hand.
Ingredients needed:
Pastry
- water
- whole milk
- unsalted butter
- sugar
- salt
- flour
- eggs
Peppermint cream
- heavy whipping cream
- fresh mint leaves
- chilled crème fraîche or sour cream
- sugar
- peppermint extract (optional)
Glaze
- bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
- whipping cream
- light corn syrup
- sliced almonds, toasted
- additional fresh mint leaves
I began by starting the peppermint cream. I boiled and steeped the cream and mint leaves and then chilled it overnight. In the morning, I strained the cream and whipped it. Then I folded in a mixture of sour cream (no crème fraîche at my Kroger) and sugar. The pale green tint from the mint leaves was a great color.
Instead of making the pastry in a ring shape, I chose to make individual puffs. I had a brunch to attend on Sunday morning and the puffs were easier to serve at the location of the party. To make the pastry I mixed the water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt and brought it to a boil. I then added the flour and stirred, continuing to cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes...long enough to dry it out a bit. Next, I put the mixture in my stand mixture and turned that on the lowest setting to stir for a few minutes (tip received from
steph (whisk/spoon) and others at TWD). This allowed the steam to escape before I added the eggs. I always have a fear of adding eggs to hot mixtures and the tip to let steam out was a great one.
When all the eggs were mixed in, the dough was "silky and shiny." I used a piping bag to make the individual puffs on parchment paper and then baked them for about 15 minutes. When done, I turned off the oven, leaving the puffs inside. This helped them dry out completely and not be too eggy-tasting.
After filling each puff with the peppermint filling, I made chocolate glaze with bittersweet chocolate, corn syrup, and more cream. I drizzled this over half of my puffs, leaving some plain for the crazy people who don't like chocolate.
End notes:
- Thank you to all the TWD people for the great welcome and inspiring blogs. I'm glad to be here with you.
- The cream puffs were well-received at the brunch.
- I would like to flavor the filling with raspberry, strawberry, or orange next time.
- This was a fun recipe to make. I hadn't made cream puffs in a long time even though they are pretty simple.
- I need to remember to take more pictures...and work on my photo techniques. The light in my kitchen is not favorable to good pictures.
- "Baking: From My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan can be purchased here: Amazon
- Tuesdays With Dorie site is here: TWD
Homemade ice cream is one of my favorite treats. I had fresh mint leaves and some cream left over after making the Peppermint Cream Puff Ring earlier this week so I decided to make some ice cream this afternoon. I threw the ingredients in the ice cream freezer and in about 40 minutes had a delicious bowl of one of my favorite flavors--a great treat on a rather warm day.
