~Chocolate Choux Pastry~
Chocolate Choux:
- 1 cup water
- 1 stick butter (cut into 15-20 cubes)
- 3 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 140 g All Purpose Flour (it’s very specific; use your kitchen scale! It equals 1 cup + 1 ½ Tablespoons)
- 3 Tablespoons Dutch cocoa powder
- 4 large eggs
Vanilla Whipped Cream:
- 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Strawberry Topping:
- 1 cup diced, fresh strawberries
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Dice the berries and coat them with sugar, allowing the sugar to dissolve while the berries chill in the refrigerator while you are making the choux.
Instructions:
Chocolate Choux:
Preheat your oven to 400°. Sift the flour and the cocoa powder together in a small bowl and set to the side.
In a medium saucepan, combine the water, salt, sugar, and butter cubes and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Make sure that the butter is completely melted BEFORE the mixture comes to a boil.
When it does come to a boil, remove the pot from the heat and add the flour/cocoa powder mixture all in one dump. Vigorously mix it all together in the saucepan so that everything is well-distributed. I use a silicone spatula to do this. When it is mixed together well, return the pan to the stove on medium-high heat, continuing to stir continuously for one minute.
Make sure the dough is pulling away from the sides of the pan and seems a bit like mashed potatoes. There may be a slight film on the bottom of the pan – this is okay.
Transfer the dough into a medium mixing bowl and let it cool in there for approximately 5 minutes.
Lightly whisk one egg in small bowl and add it to the dough. Mix it well into the dough (you kind of have to fold it in rather aggressively). Then add the second egg, then the third, mixing them in well each time before adding the next.
The fourth egg is tricky…if you add too much egg your choux will fall after baking and look kind of deflated. Add just a bit of the fourth egg and mix it in well, adding little bits until you get the right consistency. When it is just right, the dough will have a sheen to it, have a pipeable consistency, and the dough will form a “v” shape at the end of the spatula when it is being lifted from the bowl.
Spread a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Use a piping bag with the end cut off (about ½” opening), and pipe the shape you’d like your pastry onto the baking sheet. Use a damp forefinger to flatten the tip of the choux to round the top. Be sure to leave about 1 ½” between the piped mounds of choux.
Place the baking tray in your preheated oven and DO NOT open your oven until you’re instructed. Bake the choux for about 5 minutes at 400° before reducing the heat to 375° and let the choux bake for another 20 minutes.
VERY quickly open the oven after that 20 minutes has passed and rotate the pan, shutting the oven door quickly. Cook them another 5 minutes (you are at a total of 30 minutes baking time now). When removing the choux from the oven, the tops of each pastry should be hardened. You can prick the pastries with a toothpick to let out excess heat.
Let the choux cool to room temperature, then fill with Vanilla Whipped Cream and Strawberries, serving immediately. The pastries will keep well in a sealed container for one day. Either cut the top off the pastry and replace on top of the fillings or pipe the filling in from the bottom of the pastry using a pastry filling tip.
Vanilla Whipped Cream:
Using your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes until medium to stiff peaks form. Store in the refrigerator if you’re not using it right away.
Hillary Danaher 