Chocolate Cream Puff Swans Food

CLASSIC CREAM PUFFS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the pastry cream: In a medium saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in the egg yolks until combined, then whisk in the milk. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it starts to thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. Immediately remove from the heat.
• Whisk in the butter and vanilla bean paste. Transfer to a bowl, then press a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the pastry cream. Let cool, then refrigerate until chilled through, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Start the cream puff dough: In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, butter and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture comes together. Cook until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the pan into a ball and looks dry, 3 to 5 minutes more.
• Finish the cream puff dough: Using a wooden spoon, beat in the eggs, one at a time, waiting until they are fully incorporated before adding the next. Mix until the batter is shiny and stiff. Alternatively, you can use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-low speed to incorporate the eggs. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round pastry tip.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Form and bake: On the prepared baking sheet, pipe rounds of dough that are 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide and about 1 inch high, allowing 1 inch between each. Alternatively, measure out a scant 1/4-cup dough for each puff. Wet your finger and press down any pointed tops on the cream puffs. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 degrees F and bake until firm to the touch, another 15 to 20 minutes.
• Finish baking: Shut the oven off. Let the puffs dry inside the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
• Assemble: Using a paring knife, hollow out a hole in the bottom of each of the puffs. Pipe the pastry cream into the hole. Alternatively, you can cut the top off each puff and remove any undercooked dough in the center, then fill with the pastry cream and top with the top again. Hold in the refrigerator until ready to garnish and serve.
• Make the chocolate sauce: In a small pot, heat the cream. In a small bowl that fits over the pot of cream (without the bottom of the bowl touching the cream), combine the chocolate with the cinnamon. Use the pot of cream as the bottom of the double boiler and melt the chocolate over the cream. When the chocolate is melted, add the heated cream to the bowl with the chocolate and whisk to combine. Keep warm.
• Top the cream puffs with a sprinkle of confectioners' sugar and some of the chocolate sauce.

SWAN PUFF, CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• First sift the flour onto folded paper. Put the milk, butter, salt and sugar into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the flour all at once into the pan, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook this until the paste comes away from the side of the pan and forms a lump, then take the pan off the heat and let it cool a little. Put the paste into a bowl and stir in one egg, which must be completely blended in before the next egg is added, and so on until all the eggs have been incorporated. The paste is ready when it has a silky sheen and is supple and easy to pipe. When preparing swan shapes which need volume, preheat oven with steam to ensure an excellent rise and bake for 15 minutes to 20 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit. To Shape Swan: Fill the piping bag with choux paste and pipe 6 large cream puff, the size of a small egg, then 6 very thin 5-inch long "S" shape which will form the head and the neck of the swan. When it is cooked and cooled, cut the top of the cream puff one-fourth of the way down. Fill the cream puff with chantilly cream (whipped cream). Cut the top of cream puff in two, placing the two pieces on either side of the cream to form the wings of the swan. Then place the bottom of the "S" shape in the chantilly cream. The swan is ready. Serve on plate with chocolate sauce.

CHOCOLATE CREAM PUFF SWANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats.
• Stir water, butter, 1 teaspoon white sugar, and salt together in a pot; bring to a simmer. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pot and forms a thick, paste-like dough. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir eggs into dough one at a time, mixing until egg is completely incorporated after each addition. Transfer 2/3 the dough to a large resealable plastic bag. Cut corner of the bag away, about 1/2-inch wide, to form an opening through which to pipe the dough.
• Pipe 8 tapered ovals of dough onto the prepared baking sheet to form the 'swan bodies', pulling up at the tapered end to form the 'tail/wingtips'.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.
• While the 'swan bodies' are baking, fill a smaller bag with with the remaining 1/3 the dough; cut a small tip from the corner. Pipe out S-shapes to form the swan 'necks'. At the top of each S, pipe out more dough to form the swan 'heads'.
• When the 'bodies' are halfway cooked, bake the 'necks' in the oven together with the swan 'bodies' oven until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Turn off the oven, open the oven door slightly, and let pastries cool completely.
• Cut the top 1/3 off of each swan body horizontally, from fatter end to tapered end. Cut each top in half to form the 'wings'.
• Place chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Bring 4 ounces heavy cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour hot cream over chocolate and whisk until chocolate is completely melted and ganache is shiny and smooth. Spoon or pipe chocolate ganache into the base of each swan 'body'.
• Beat 1 cup cold cream in a chilled glass or metal bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add 1 tablespoon sugar and vanilla extract, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped cream into a piping bag with a star tip.
• Pipe cream to fill each swan 'body', piping up and out the top to resemble swan 'feathers'. Place 'wings' on each side of the 'body' sticking up out of the cream, and place 'neck' in the base of each swan. Refrigerate until chilled. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

CHOCOLATE CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.
• Butter and flour a large baking sheet.
• FOR THE PASTRY PUFFS:.
• In a saucepan, combine the water, butter, salt and the 1/2 teaspoon sugar and bring to a boil.
• As soon as it boils, remove the pan from the heat and add the flour all at once.
• Using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon, briskly beat in the flour.
• Place the saucepan over high heat and continue beating briskly for 2 minutes.
• Remove from the heat again and scrape the contents of the pan into a large bowl.
• Add 4 of the eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously after each addition until smooth.
• Place the dough in a pastry (piping) bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip.
• Pipe mounds about 2 inches in diameter and 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet.
• You should have 16-20 mounds in all.
• In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg until well blended.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly brush each mound with the egg.
• Bake until the puffs are golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer the puffs to a rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• When the puffs are cool, slice off the top one-third of each puff.
• Set the bottoms and tops aside.
• FOR THE CHOCOLATE CREAM:.
• Place the chocolate in the top pan of a double boiler or in a heatproof bowl over (not touching) barely simmering water in a pan.
• Stir just until the chocolate melts.
• then remove from the heat.
• Pour the cream into a bowl.
• Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat until soft peaks form.
• Add the 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, about 20 seconds.
• Pour all of the melted chocolate into the whipped cream as quickly as possible, and continue to mix on high speed until evenly combined, about 1 minute.
• Place the chocolate cream in a clean pastry (piping) bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip.
• Pipe the cream into the bottoms of the cooled puffs so a little bit of the cream is exposed between the crusts.
• Replace the tops on the filled bottoms and serve immediately.