Having a Ball of a Time with Choux Pastry!

Mark Holmes has delighted once again this Sunday afternoon here at Barbara-Jo's by experimenting with choux pastry. Simple and oh so versatile, choux pastry can be understated or glamourized as seen in Mark's choux pastry tower of cream filled profiteroles drizzled in a waterfall of glistening caramelized sugar. No matter what the occasion, choux pastry is sure to amaze. Come in to the store to buy your own Michel Roux Pastry: Savory & Sweet and discover that there is a pastry chef inside all of you. Michel Roux makes it easy.

Pastry in Europe 2009 is being launched this coming Wednesday, April 8 at 1:00pm here at Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks see our events page for further details. Mark made some Banana fritters and fried them up using one of the recipes from this book. Crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. When trying one a customer exclaimed, "these are amazing!"

Choux au Fromage from Breakfast at The Wolsely

To start off our summer picnic series, Mark chose an elegant recipe from Breakfast at The Wolseley by A.A. Gill. These delicate morsels are a variation on choux pastry often used for sweets such as profiteroles and eclairs. The choux au fromage would be a exquisite addition to a late summer picnic or an early fall brunch or cocktail party.

Choux au Fromage from Breakfast at The Wolseley
125 mL water
125 mL milk
125 g butter
6 g (or about 1 tsp.) salt
125 g plain [all-purpose] flour
6 large eggs
200 g Emmental cheese, diced, plus more for grating
5 g (or about 2 tsp.) black pepper
1-2 g freshly grated nutmeg

In a saucepan, bring the water, the milk, butter and salt to the boil.
Add the flour all at once and beat with a wooden spoon over the heat for a full minute.
Remove from the heat and continue to stir for a minute to allow it to cool slightly.
Place the paste into a mixing bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed. Whisk the mix for a minute to cool slightly, thereby avoiding the immediate 'cooking' of the eggs as they are added. Continue to beat the paste and begin incorporating the eggs one by one. Once all the eggs have been added, cover the surface with cling film and leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C [375 degrees F] or gas mark 4. Add the diced Emmenthal, pepper and nutmeg to the dough paste and stir well.
Spoon the paste onto baking sheets (30g each for mini pieces, 110g for larger pieces) and great a little more Emmental on the top of each piece.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until they are a golden-brown colour.

Makes 10 large pieces or 30 small ones