Luxury choux from Ladurée

Luxury choux from Ladurée

Vanilla Choux

Ingredients:

For the pâte sablée:
100 gr butter, cold, diced
125 gr all-purpose flour
125 gr icing sugar, sifted
seeds from half vanilla pod

For the choux pastry:
100 ml milk
100 ml water
80 gr butter
pinch of salt
120 gr all purpose flour
4 eggs

Filling and finish:
600 ml vanilla crème pâtissière
125 ml cold whipping cream
a bit of icing sugar

Method:
1. For the sablée: In a large bowl mix well the flour, sugar and vanilla seeds. Rub in the butter, cold and cut into small dice, with the flour. Work quickly with your fingertips (or use a food processor) until the dough holds together. Form into a disk and wrap in cling film. Refrigerate for at least one hour. When cold, put the disk on a large sheet of baking paper, cover with another sheet. Using a rolling pin roll the pastry between the two sheet until very thin, no more than a millimeter. It is easier if you cut it in two parts when it gets larger. Cool again, wrapped in the two sheet, for about half an hour. Then cut it into small squares, 5 cm X 5 cm, for the choux. Refrigerate until needed.

2. For the choux pastry: Have the flour ready and sifted. in a large metal pan heat milk, water, salt and butter until they boil. Pour in the flour in one go, and mix well with a whisk. Keep whisking until the flour is all incorporated and the pastry is very smooth. Put back on the fire, mixing with a wooden spoon, for about a minute or two, until the pastry ‘fries’ (it produces a characteristic noise of something frying). Take off the heat, transfer in a large bowl and let it get cold, mixing now and again. When nearly at room temperature, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well so that each egg gets completely incorporated before adding the next one.

3. Make the profiteroles: Have two baking sheet ready and lined with baking paper, buttered. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Fill a piping bag fitted with a 10 mm round nozzle with the choux dough. Holding the piping bag vertical pipe round, well spaced profiteroles. Cover each with a sablée pastry square. Cook for about 8-10 minutes in the hot oven, until they raise. Open the oven door a tiny bit so that moisture can escape, and keep cooking until they have a deep golden hue, about 20 minutes (I used the handle of a wooden spoon to keep the oven slightly open). Take off the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

4. Shortly before serving: whip the cream until firm, and mix it with the custard. Using the nozzle of a piping bag, make a hole in the bottom of each choux. Fill a piping bag fitted with a 8 mm nozzle with the cream. Sprinkle lightly with icing sugar and serve.