Trying to make these for a recipe. After two attempts I realized the recipe I was using was wrong when I compared it to others. I'm trying a recipe that agrees with most of them for amounts/ratios/ingredients.
The instructions said the dough/paste should be glossy and smooth. It wasn't that glossy and I thought thicker than smooth. I made a small bath from this, then added another egg. The resulting paste was much smoother, and shiny. I know baking needs very exact measurements...is this wrong...should I have added something other than egg?
When I pulled the first small batch out they deflated immediately. Not baked enough?
What excactly makes them .. puffy? The egg? DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
There can be several factors that can influence the amount of egg needed for a batch of pate a choux. To make them well, you need to use a high protein flour, i.e.. bread flour. The more egg you can add, the better. Therefore, you need to evaporate as much water as possible to allow the dough to absorb the egg. So, start with the bread flour, bring to a boil, stir until the dough forms a ball and then continue beating to evaporate more water. For better volume, you need to substitute egg white for some of the whole egg. I would take about 25% of the whole eggs and replace them, by weight, with egg white (or for each whole egg, use two egg whites). After you have beaten in the egg whites, start adding whole eggs. Add enough for the dough to be smooth, glossy, and the right consistency. Form the puffs, and bake immediately in a very hot oven, turning it down in the second half of baking. The high protein flour and egg whites will give a good structure. The high heat from the steam that is trapped by the structure causes the dough to puff. Reducing the temperature and baking for a long time will help crisp them. I generally remove them from the oven, cut the top off, scoop out the remaining wet dough, and then retuning them to the oven with the door slightly ajar to dry.
The protein content of the flour, the amount of water that you evaporate from the dough, and the size of the eggs will determine how much egg you will need.
One instructional site said if you dryed it too much it will make the profiterole tops crack...which some of my larger ones did have crevices on the top...but none broke open.
Two batches came out nice. (Finally!) The first few I pulled out weren't golden brown on the sides, just top...so they deflated. Once I let them crisp all around they held shape. The second batch had a little too much egg as the paste was getting thinner and spreading more, but they puffed up beautifully! Guess the recipe is a little forgiving on the over-egging. I had no idea people pull the extra dough out them before this.
My biggest problem and confidence shaker was the recipe. It is from many years back--a Profiterole Cake from a local restaurant. The recipe was written in a combination of oz. & cups (confusing since none of my measurers have oz). The profiterole part is just wrong--no where near enough flour. I had soup on the stove(12 oz. liquid 1.5 oz flour). The dark chocolate mouse also has ingredients that go unused and differ in amounts from the instructional text.
The cake is white mousse-filled profiteroles, layered in a bowl with dark mousse gluing them together. Invert for a cake with shaved chocolate & powdered sugar on top. The dark mousse softened too quickly outside of the fridge, and I couldn't unstick the gooey cake from the bowl. I ended up with a gooey mound of profiteroles.
Next time I'm thinking a regular chocolate mouse (maybe with a little coffee flavor, white choc too sweet) as the filling and lining the bowl with saran wrap so it inverts easily. I'll find different recipes for the elements and put the cake together that way.
You don't have to swear at me I spelled it incorrectly in the first place, so I guess it's OK. "profiterole" is the correct spelling.
I don't know anything about making them, so I wanted to see it myself, but the Julia Child demonstrator, "Nick Love" did not demonstrate the profiterole even tho the Guide says that . He demonstrated pate a choux, but no profiterole == Definition: noun [usually plural] a small pastry cake with a cream filling and a covering of chocolate sauce, usually served in a pile.
These wicked little devils are an annoyance of mine: in Italy years ago, as we sat down at a restaurant, they were moving the dessert cart around which contained profiteroles. I wanted to order them as I had never seen them before and they looked so delicious. My husband thinks that we must go by the book and order dessert when the time comes, but I KNEW these wouldn't last until my dessert time rolled around. They were gone when dessert time rolled around.
I never see the word, that I don't think of this little experience. I have eaten a few since here and there, but of course they never measure up to what I have dreamed up in my mind that I missed that day.
I hope you run up against one some day. Happy eating! Dee
If you are in the US near a Costco or BJs, both sell a box of miniature cream puffs (for that is, indeed, what profiteroles really are) in the frozen section. I believe the ones from Costco come from Holland. . YOu can then pile them up to your heart's desire & slather them with chocolate sauce...
...as a matter of fact, I have a set of twins who are mighty partial to these and I bought a box for them for New Year's Eve. I then took about 4-6 oz of bittersweet chocolate and zapped it with about the same about of half & half to come up with a quick and easy ganache for teens...they took the puffs and dipped them in the ganache.
I have much better luck with pate choux when I make larger shapes, myself. Growing teen boys have little appreciation for the finer aspects of pate choux, anyway, and I would have been heartbroken to have all that work swallowed in 5 minutes.
So THAT's what those are -- they are always giving them out! I always eat one and then walk away saying to myself that they aren't good enough to buy -- BUT, I will certainly take a box home tomorrow -- and do what you say in this snip.
I then took
Do you mean "I then took about 4-6 oz. of bittersweet chocolate and zapped it with "about 4-6 oz. of half & half" ..
Just want to make sure I understand.
I think I would have to be successful making pate choux before I would tackle profiteroles.
Well -- whoa! I guess I'll try this the Costco miniature cream puffs. (that is unless they have hydrogenated oil -- that is an absolute no-no for me) I hope they are made with butter.
I have not ever tried making pate choux, but I think in a few weeks, I might -- I was sort of under the impression it was like making croissant's, but I see that it is not.
Yes...then adjust chocolate to half & half to get the consistency that you seek. You may want it thinner or thicker. Or use Nestle's chocolate bits if you are experimenting & leave the good chocolate alone at this stage.
Profiterole and pate a choux are the same thing. I usually see them called "profiteroles" when they are filled with ice cream. But the recipe for the pastry is the same. DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)
You are right: "Profiterole and pate a choux are the same thing."
In the Larousse Gastronomique English edition, here is what is written ab= out it:
=93Profiterole (Pastry) -- Little balls of chou paste (see DOUGH) piped t= hrough a forcing (pastry) bag. These little =E9clairs may, after cooking, be fille= d with various substances: game or other pur=E9e, cheese mixtures, etc. or sweet=
custards, jams, etc. Profiteroles, filed with vanilla custard and iced with caramelized syrup,= are used for making Croquembouches and G=E2teaux St. Honor=E9. Profiteroles with a savoury filling are used to garnish soup Profiteroles are usually forced through a forcing (pastry) bag with a pla= in round nozzle on to a baking tin. They are brushed with egg and baked in a=
moderate oven. Garnish the Profiteroles with French pastry cream(see CREAM) or sweetened=
whipped cream. Arrange in a pyramid on a dessert platter and pour over Ch= ocolate sauce See SAUCE.=94
My mother used to make them all the time. She made them the size of a ten= nis ball filled them with sweetened whipped cream or with French pastry cream= that we call =93Cr=E8me patissi=E8re=94. She then dusted them with powdered su= gar and arranged in a single layer on a serving plate. My mother was a good cook = and enjoy it. When we had visitors we always had a choice of two or more dess= erts. And these =93Choux =E0 la cr=E8me=94 as we used to call them was often on= e of the choices. When I was 13 years old or so, my mother ask me to clean the tab= le for her while she continued to entertain her guests. Almost every time I went= from the dining room to the kitchen I would eat one of them. I ate so many tha= t I was sick during the night and for many years after I could not eat any anymor= e. But now I enjoy them again. I made them a few times but I eat too many for my= own good. So I do not make them anymore. I would make them somewhat smaller. = I also made, with the same dough, the chocolate =E9clairs, which are long and na= rrow. I would cover them with chocolate sauce. A friend of mine does them small 1= - 1=BD diameter and fills them with all kind of mixtures and serves them as appe= tizers. She does discard the top of them.
They are at their best made the same day as the party or meal and filled = almost at the last minute. I know Costco has them frozen. They are good but far = from the fresh ones with a more crispy texture to the dough.
I always was of the understanding that pate a choux is the dough and that dough (pate a choux) can be used to make profiteroles (see my definition below) and HUNDREDS of other recipes by using the pate a choux (dough) for thingies such as , éclairs, cream puffs, as well as filling with all kinds of vegetables and fruits, fish/salmon etc.
Profiteroles definition: (Mine)
1)pate a choux as the dough 2) filled with a cream mixture and 3) covered with chocolate (or other) sauce.
If you go to google and click on "images" and type ?profiteroles,? you will see that they almost all of the jpgs are what I describe. They fit my description of a finished product, not a baked dough, and they are all in my opinion what I call profiteroles, NOT pate a choux;
Pate a choux is a dough!!!
the nit picker picks again.
PS, these pate a choux filled with cream inside are sitting in my freezer (bought at BJ's Saturday) called miniature cream puffs, NOT pate a choux and NOT profiteroles. When I pour my hot little chocolate sauce over them, they will be profiteroles.
"Dee Randall" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:
My undestanding is that all profiteroles are made from paté a choux which, by the way, is more of a heavy batter than a dough. Admittedly, not all paté a choux ends up as profiteroles. IMHO, the earlier poster was only trying to say that profiteroles "are" (made from) paté a choux (not the other way around). Perhaps I was reading into it my own understanding.
"Pick a Nit????" All I meant was that it shouldn't be such a big f****** deal! Zeeesh!
"Dee Randall" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:
I think you've got it, too. I'm in total agreement with your assessment and I actually have made paté a choix many times, usually to make large cream puff shells or shells for eclairs. I confess I have never actually made profiteroles, although I've eaten my share. I would not like the tedium of all those tiny little things.
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