Pastry Wreath With Orange Rum Cream Food

ORANGE-RUM PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Heat milk, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla seeds and pod in a small saucepan over high heat until steaming (do not simmer). Immediately remove from heat. Discard vanilla pod.
• Whisk egg yolks with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl until thick. Sprinkle in flour and cornstarch, and whisk until combined.
• Whisk half the hot milk mixture into yolk mixture. Return entire mixture to saucepan with remaining milk mixture, and bring to a boil, whisking constantly and quickly to prevent scorching. Cook, continuing to whisk, until thickened, about 2 minutes. Strain pastry cream through a fine sieve into a bowl.
• Add butter and stir until melted. Stir in rum and orange zest. Press plastic wrap or waxed paper directly onto surface of pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours.

ORANGE-VANILLA PASTRY CREAM

Steps:

• Bring milk, vanilla bean, and zest to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Cover; let steep 20 minutes.
• Put yolks and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add flour; mix until incorporated.
• With mixer on low speed, add 1/2 cup steeped milk. Return milk-yolk mixture to pan; whisk. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl set in an ice-water bath. Let cool completely, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use, up to 2 days.

PASTRY WREATH WITH ORANGE-RUM CREAM

Steps:

• Make the pastry wreath: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Trace an 8-inch circle onto a sheet of parchment. Flip parchment, making sure pencil mark is still visible, and place on a baking sheet.
• Coarsely chop almonds with 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in a food processor.
• Bring 1 cup water, butter, remaining teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Immediately stir in flour using a wooden spoon. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides of pan and a film forms on the bottom, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer dough to the bowl of a mixer, and beat on low speed until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Raise speed to medium. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, and beat until a soft peak forms when batter is touched with a finger. (If peak does not form, lightly beat remaining egg white, and beat it into the batter a little at a time until a peak forms.)
• Transfer pate a choux to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip. Pipe a tiny dot under each corner of parchment, pressing to adhere parchment to baking sheet. Pipe dough in a continuous circle, tracing outline, holding pastry bag upright and keeping the pressure consistent. Pipe another ring inside the circle so that the edges touch. Pipe another ring on top of the circles to cover the seam between them.
• Whisk remaining egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water. Brush egg wash over top of pastry wreath. Generously sprinkle ground almonds and sanding sugar over top and sides.
• Bake until pastry just starts to puff, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake until pastry is fully puffed and golden brown and nuts are lightly browned, about 25 minutes.
• Turn oven off, remove wreath, and pierce top and sides about 8 times using the tip of a sharp knife to release steam. Return to oven, and prop door open with a wooden spoon. Let stand for 1 hour to dry.
• Transfer pastry wreath on parchment to a wire rack. Let cool completely.
• Fill and decorate the pastry wreath: Whisk heavy cream and confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form. Separate pastry wreath into top and bottom halves using a serrated knife. Cut top half into 8 portions, maintaining the wreath's shape.
• Spread about 1 1/2 cups pastry cream over bottom ring. Top with large dollops of whipped cream. Reposition top pieces of pastry wreath over filling. Garnish with candied orange peel and mint.

CREAM PUFF CHRISTMAS TREE

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring water and butter to a boil over medium heat. Add flour and salt; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny., Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2-in. apart onto greased baking sheets. (You will need about 62 puffs to make the tree.) Use a moistened finger to smooth any peaks., Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool., For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar and rum extract if desired until stiff peaks form., Insert round tip #7 into a pastry or resealable plastic bag; fill with the whipped cream. With a sharp knife, cut a small slit in the side of each puff. Insert pastry tip into slits; fill each puff with whipped cream. Refrigerate for up to 2 hours., For icing, combine confectioners' sugar and enough cream to achieve desired consistency. Stir in food coloring if desired., To assemble tree: Separate puffs according to size and shape, choosing the flattest ones for the bottom layer and the smallest ones for the top. Spread the bottom of 18 puffs with icing. Place on the serving platter, forming a 9-in.-diameter solid circle. , For the second layer, spread icing on the bottoms of 18 puffs, then position above the space of the base layer of puffs. , Continue building tree in this manner using about 14 puffs in third layer, about seven puffs in fourth layer, about four puffs in fifth layer and one puff on top., To decorate: Insert round tip #7 into a pastry or resealable plastic bag and fill with remaining icing. Drizzle over tree. Trim with cherries if desired., The completed tree may be loosely covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 hours. Just before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.