I grew up in airports. That’s not literally true, of course, but it captures something about the shape of my childhood: summers spent in India, school years in Asia or the Persian Gulf, and constant movement between worlds. Our suitcases were always half-packed, and goodbyes came with the certainty of hellos somewhere else. I spent my childhood learning, again and again, how to walk into a new place and find my footing.
I recently stumbled upon a hilarious Instagram REEL that jokingly poked fun at the habit of bloggers writing long intros before sharing a recipe. Guilty as charged!
None other than your's truly was hosting this month's Daring Bakers challenge! So you can imagine my nervousness and my excitement all rolled up in one. I had two very handsome and talented helping hands though. Those hands belonged to the exceptional Tony of Olive Juice.
I pretty much was sure I was going to get the over a million Daring Bakers (slight exaggeration there) to make a recipe from the sugar daddy himself - Pierre Hermé. I was just stuck between macarons or éclairs.
In the end it was the éclairs that won, simply because these sinfully good French pastries brought back several wonderful memories of growing up in hotels. I remember sneaking into the side of the pastry kitchen and then stealing the freshly made éclairs from the pastry chef - who always seemed to place a tray full of these just in the right corner for me to grab a few. And there was always a glass of milk next to the tray. Funny don't you think?
When I told Tony about my decision he seemed really excited too so we both made a test batch of these in early July and knew straight away this was to be the August challenge. We decided on the modifications for the challenge. Under the motto - Culinary Liberty For All, Tony and I thought we should give enough leeway for creativity. After all my favorite challenges were always those which allowed me to use my own ideas.
What’s the point in cooking if not to cook what YOU want to eat?
The possibilities for éclairs are endless. So we attached just a couple of general guidelines for eclair month at the Daring Bakers.
With that in mind the challenge for August was opened.
I knew there were many advanced bakers in the group who had made éclairs before, but with the allowed modifications I was hoping to allow them more creativity and leeway to try new flavor combinations. For the others who had never made éclairs before I knew this was going to be a challenge they might enjoy.
Éclairs consist of 3 elements:
Although I have made all the elements of the éclairs individually in previous challenges, I had never actually made éclairs. So it was going to be challenging and fun for me too.
For my first batch of éclairs I used mint flavored chocolate with 70% cacao. I love this pastry cream and have often made it to fill several pastries and cakes, like the chocolate crepe cake and the Danish braid. This time I experimented with a Brazilian mint chocolate bar. The results were sensational and I really loved the flavor it gave the entire éclairs.
My second batch were made 100% to the recipe given here. Pure, perfect and pleasurable. Nothing like purely chocolate éclairs!
Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
Printable version of recipe here.
- Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.
- Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough.
Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff.
The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
- Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.
Notes:
- The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.
Assembling the éclairs:
- Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
- Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)
- Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
- The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.
- Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.
Notes:
- If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water, stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles.
- The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.
Cream Puff Dough
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)
- ½ cup (125g) whole milk
- ½ cup (125g) water
- 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.
- Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.
- Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.
- The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.
Notes:
- Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.
- You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
- 2 cups (500g) whole milk
- 4 large egg yolks
- 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
- 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona Guanaja, melted
- 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.
- Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
- Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
- Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
- Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
Notes:
- The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
- In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.
- Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.
Chocolate Glaze
(makes 1 cup or 300g)
- 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
- 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
- 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature
- In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
Notes:
- If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
- It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.
Chocolate Sauce
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)
- 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup (250 g) water
- ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
- 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
- Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
- It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
Notes:
- You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
- This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.
One of the huge plus points about being in such a group is that there are so many experienced bakers out there, who are kind enough to give us a tip or two. The Daring Bakers Forum was full of extremely useful tips and tricks for this challenge. So I thought I would share them with you too. I thank everyone for sharing all your ideas, tips and tricks for this challenge.
Éclairs 101: Tips & Tricks: (Scroll up for recipe)
Verdict
When I first made these in July, I had the same problems as many of my fellow DBs. In the oven they puffed up beautifully and looked like a million dollars. However as soon as I took them out of the oven, they flattened on me miserably. But thanks to the tips I shared with you above, my second batch were a real success. These were a decadent treat. Not only did they bring back memories, I also spent a great afternoon with Soeren who was my eager helper and spoon licker for this challenge. Tom is a chocolate kind of guy and has a bad sweet tooth. As my challenge taster, these pastries were his favorite to date. I served these at a little cocktail party and really had a tough time convincing my guests that these were homemade.
Would I make this again?
Yes! I am proud that I managed these. Because of the fact I love éclairs I now do not have to wait to visit my parents in Dubai to enjoy hotel style éclairs. I can make them in my own kitchen.
What did I learn from this challenge?
Many things - like all those wonderful tips mentioned above. What it takes to make the perfect éclair shells and do's and dont's of this delicate pastry.
At this stage I really have to thank two lovely ladies, Natalie of Gluten A Go Go and Helen of Tartelette, who went out of the way to help Tony and myself answer tricky questions and give their expertise advice on how to make the best éclairs.
Phew! I cannot believe I just hosted my own Daring Baker challenge! If anyone had told me this before my first challenge I would have given them a very funny look indeed! I hope that everyone who completed the challenge enjoyed it as much as I did. I also wish everyone who makes these delectable chocolate pastries good luck and enjoy a piece of heaven!
You might find these pastry and cake "How Tos" helpful too:
If you are looking for more helpful tips and tricks, you will find several other "how tos" in the sidebar category The Know Hows of Food under the section How To...
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2008 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
Stepping out of the elevator I could already smell the enticing fragrance of freshly baked cake. It always made me smile. The few seconds it took to walk down the corridor to our apartment door, I would try to guess what aromas were lingering in the air. After I rang the doorbell, I would close my eyes and take a deep breath, savoring the scent.
My mother would open the door with a huge smile on her face and her eyes twinkling. She knew what I was doing and what I wanted.
"Wait!" she would say holding me back for a few minutes longer. It was torture, but she was always in a playful mood when she baked. "Guess!" I would close my eyes again, trying to penetrate the fragrance in the air. It was a game we would often play, who would have known back then that these games would play an important role in my foodie life later.
My mother did not get to bake that often. Unfortunately - because she was a great baker. Her cakes were always put together to highlight a certain ingredient, flavor or fragrance. She was not a fan of over-killing a baked good by the excessive use of ingredients. Instead she would use each ingredient carefully and make sure they complemented the main flavor of the cake.
As my father worked in luxury hotels, we were never short of extravagant and pompous cakes and pastries at home. An Austrian Sacher torte, French eclairs or an Italian Millefoglie - we would have it all. You're probably thinking "WOW!"
Yes, it was nice and we indulged in these scrumptious pastries often. But what we loved the most were my mothers homemade simple baked cakes. That was our real treat. We would really savor each bite and enjoy her guessing games in the process.
Carrot cake, orange cake, ginger cake, banana torte, lemon-coconut cake - these were all her specialities, and as you can see, it was the ingredients in the name of her cakes that played the key role.
I loved the orange cake the best. It was a simple blend of flavors, using the zesty orange peels and orange juice to give a pure accent to the cake. When she made it the entire floor, we lived on, was filled with a sweet, tangy, citrussy aroma.
Oranges are one of the most popular fruits in the world. It's no surprise either! They are juicy, sweet and well-known for their concentration of vitamin C. Oranges make the perfect snack and add a special tang to many recipes. What's more you can use almost every part of the orange in your cooking.
Oranges come in two general categories: sweet and bitter. The former being the type most commonly consumed. Popular varieties of the sweet orange include Valencia, Navel and Jaffa oranges, as well as the blood orange. The blood orange is a hybrid species that is smaller in size, more aromatic in flavor and has red hues running throughout its flesh. Bitter oranges are often used to make jam or marmalade and their zest serves as the flavoring for liqueurs such as Grand Marnier and Cointreau.
Oranges are ranked No. 1 on nutrition among five popular fruits (apples, bananas, grapes and pears) and are among the healthiest items in the produce section that provide valuable health benefits. They are one of Mother Nature's best super foods, packed with an unbelievable array of disease-fighting nutrients, all tucked neatly beneath the peel.
Oranges supply 80 fat-free calories packed with energizing carbohydrates that fuel energy levels. We all know that oranges are a powerhouse when it comes to Vitamin C. One orange supplies a healthy dose of Vitamin C, which plays an important role in cancer prevention, healthy blood circulation and wound healing. They are also a good source of the crucial B-vitamin folate, which is essential in preventing birth defects and fighting heart disease. Oranges also contain an array of phytochemicals, which help fight age-related diseases.
Oranges provide antioxidants, which help protect the skin from free-radical damage known to cause signs of aging. Oranges are loaded with disease "phyt-ing" phytochemicals. These substances, such as flavonoids, which are found in oranges, act as antioxidants and may protect against heart disease. According to a Finnish study, women with the greatest intake of flavonoids had half the risk of dying from heart disease compared to women in the study with the lowest intake.
It is not necessary for oranges to have a bright orange color to be good. As a matter of fact, the color of non-organic oranges may be due to injection of Citrus Red Number 2 into their skins.
Organic or not, oranges that are partially green or have brown spots may be just as ripe and tasty as those that are solid orange in color. Oranges with soft spots or traces of mold should be avoided. As oranges are among the top 20 foods in which pesticide residues are most frequently found, buy organic oranges whenever possible.
When choosing oranges go for fruit that have smoothly textured skin and are firm and heavy for their size. These will have a higher juice content than those that are either spongy or lighter in weight. In general, oranges that are smaller will be juicier than those that are larger in size, as will those that have thinner skins.
Oranges can be stored either at room temperature or in the refrigerator. They will generally last the same amount of time, two weeks with either method, and will retain nearly the same level of their vitamin content. The best way to store oranges is loose rather than wrapped in a plastic bag as they can easily develop mold when exposed to moisture.
Orange juice and zest can also be stored for later use. Place freshly squeezed orange juice in ice cube trays until frozen, and then store them in plastic bags in the freezer. Dried orange zest should be stored in a cool, dry place in an airtight glass container.
Now that I have a child of my own, I find myself making the same cakes my mother would make for me for the exact same reasons. I want to tickle Soeren's tastebuds and have his senses concentrate on individual flavors and aromas. We too play guessing games, which I hope will help him in his grown up life too. Maybe I am one of the few mothers who feels proud when my son says "I want to be a good cook when I grow up!"
Deadline: March 10th, 2008
Deadline: March 31st, 2008
Ingredients
Printable version of recipe here.
250g all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
40g vanilla pudding powder
340g sugar
3 eggs
80g oft butter - cut in pieces
2 teaspoons orange zest - preferably organic orange
250ml orange juice
For the Orange Buttercream
90g confectioner's sugar - sifted
125g soft butter
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoons orange zest - preferably organic orange
Method
Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees C. Prepare a round cake form (23 cm diameter) by buttering the base and the sides. Line with baking paper.
Sift flour, baking powder and the pudding powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, sugar, butter, orange zest and juice to the dry ingredients and with a hand mixer whisk into a smooth thick mixture.
Pour the cake mixture into the cake form, even out with a rubber spatula and bake approx. 50 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick or knife is inserted in the middle of the cake and it comes out clean.
Take out of the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the form. This might be a difficult task and you will be dying to taste, but if you unmold it too soon the cake will break. Run a knife along the sides of the cake and tip out onto a cooling rack. Peel off the baking paper. Allow to cool completely before frosting the cake.
For the Orange Buttercream
In a small bowl mix all the ingredients together until thick and creamy. Spread the buttercream evenly over the top and sides of the cakes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Tip: You can substitute the butter with 125g of cream cheese. This adds a wonderful delicate touch to the frosting.
Verdict
This is Soeren's favorite cake too! So much so he wanted it for his 5th birthday last year (August). It surprised many mothers that there was NOT a chocolate cake in sight. Don't kids always want a chocolate cake for their birthdays? Not Soeren he prefers the wonderful, zesty flavors of a simple orange cake. It is a pleasure to bite into the cake. Delicate and moist where the orange is highlighted in style.
I am rather chuffed that I have been nominated for the Inspiring Food Photography this month by Margot of Coffee & Vanilla. If you have a minute you can head on over to Margot's blog and vote for me. Voting lasts all this month. I'd love to have that scrumptious looking badge to display on my blog LOL!
If you are looking for more cake decorating ideas, my hunk of a colleague over at the Daily Tiffin, Dharm, has written a fantastic article about cake decorating you might find helpful.
Other aromatic cakes you might enjoy:
| Cranberry Upside-Downer | |
| Persimmon Spice Cake | |
| Sour Cream Cherry Cake | |
| White Chocolate and Raspberry Brownies |
This month the lovely Marta of An Italian in the US has chosen the orange as her Fresh Produce of the Month. It's a great event featuring a seasonal fruit or vegetable and I always enjoy taking part. This is my entry for her great event. Gracie Marta!
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2008 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
That is why when dear dear Andrew announced the theme to this month's Waiter There's Something In My - Bread, I was excited to say the least.
I picked this one because it was the perfect Spring like loaf. Even Sophie categorizes this loaf in the Spring chapter. See, her loaves are organized not according to courses or ingredients etc. They are organized according to the seasons and months. This way you can always make a scrumptious loaf using all the fresh produce available in the current season. I find this so clever.
