These are so good with a warm cup of cider or cinnamon tea. Harney and Sons makes a hot cinnamon sunset tea that is perfect with these. They are a superb pair with a sniff of brandy too. They are crisp, packed with flavor and the recipe is super simple and comes together quickly. I am in my pumpkin baking phase right now which won’t be ending any time soon. These are great to bring to a potluck as they are something different to the usual pumpkin fare, and they are not messy. I like to make the dough ahead the day or two and let the flavors mingle. you can even form the dough into 2 logs and slice and bake instead of rolling out the dough if you’re feeling lazy. If you want to be even more festive a pumpkin shape cookie cutter would be quite cute. I chose to roll the dough out to get perfect circles.
Pumpkin Spice CookieThins
(yield: 2-3 dozen depending on size)
1 Cup unsalted butter, softened
6 Tbsp. confectioners sugar
1/3 Cup honey
3/4 tsp. vanilla bean paste
2 /12 Cups flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice blend
1. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the honey in a slow stream and mix until combined. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix. Combine the flour, salt and 3/4 tsp of purchased pumpkin pie spice (I like McCormick brand) in a separate bowl with a fork. Reduce the mixer to low and add the flour in two additions and mix until combined.
2. Divide the dough into two portions, flatten into discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for a least 8 hours or even up to one week. Unwrap one disc at a time and roll out onto a floured board into 1/8 inch thickness and cut into circles with a small cutter. Place onto a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet and chill for 30 minutes. Bake in a 350 preheated oven for 13-14 minutes or until light golden brown. Allow to chill completely.
3. Dip the tops of cooled cookies into glaze, then turn cookie vertical and allow excess glaze to drip down off cookies; run finger around edge to clean off edges then rest on a wire rack to allow glaze to set until no longer wet.
Pumpkin Pie Spice Glaze
1 Cup confectioners sugar +2 tsp.
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice blend (I like McCormick brand)
2 Tbsp. warm water
In a small bowl whisk to combine all the ingredients. Keep glaze covered while not using to avoid drying out. Re-whisk as needed.
Last year I attempted to make a pumpkin cannoli but my filling was too loose even with straining my ricotta cheese it wasn’t as thick as I wanted, so I took to the web looking at recipes for classic cannoli’s to see why. I found several Italian peeps saying the trick was to make your own ricotta cheese which results in a much drier version. I’ve never had an itch to make homemade ricotta until I watched various videos on YouTube. Wow, I was pleasantly surprised to find out how super easy it is; so I took to it, and I made just a small batch. As often in life I got busy/lazy and my ricotta ended up draining in the fridge for 2 days which I was not at all mad about, as it resulted in a nice thick almost cream cheese like consistency.
Now- I know most bakers will not want to make their own ricotta, so note that you can still make it but make sure to let your purchased ricotta drain until as much of the whey has drained off. I like Polly-O brand ricotta cheese. To drain just line a strainer with cheese cloth and dump in the ricotta and place the strainer over a narrow but deep bowl and place in the fridge to drain.
I admit I used pre made cannoli shells; I was lucky to find these cute mini shells from a local market where I live. I look forward to playing around in the future with making my own, but I don’t have cannoli tubes and I was more interested in knocking these out and playing around with the filling to get it just right.
Pumpkin Cannoli Filling (this will fill enough mini cannoli for 12-13) 0r 6 standard size
3/4 C homemade ricotta cheese (or strained ricotta cheese as per above)
3 Tbsp. canned pumpkin puree
3/4 Cup + confectioners sugar, sifted (depending on sweet you want your filling)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
In a medium bowl place all the ingredients and using a silicone spatula gently mix to combine. Keep the mixture chilled until ready to use.
Prepping cannoli’s:
place a small amount of white chocolate chips in a bowl and microwave until melted.
dip the ends of each end of the cannoli shells into the white chocolate and then dip into cinnamon sugar. Place the shells onto a sheet pain and let them firm up; about an hour. If you like, you can use finely chopped nuts of your choice such as pistachio or pecans instead of cinnamon sugar or do a mixture of cinnamon sugar and nuts, or even sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Make it your own.
cinnamon sugar: mix 1/4 Cup granulated sugar with 1 scant Tbsp. cinnamon to combine.
Place the pumpkin cannoli filling into a pastry bag and snip off the tip and fill each end of the cannolis. You can sprinkle some confectioners sugar over the top of the cannolis right before serving if you like.
Homemade ricotta cheese:
4 Cups whole milk (do not buy ultrapasteurized)
3/4 Cup heavy cream
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice or distilled white vinegar (I used lemon juice)
In a medium pot place the milk, cream, and salt and over low medium heat heat up the mixture SLOWLY until it reaches 200 degrees F, then immediately remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice (or vinegar) and let sit for about 10-15 mins untouched. You will notice that the curds will float to the top. Line a strainer with double thickness cheese cloth and place over the same pot or a bowl. Let it sit at room temperature on the counter for about an hour. Then gather the cheese cloth and gently squeeze to remove some of the liquid; don’t worry about trying to remove all of the visible loose liquid; as the fridge time will remove the rest. Place the draining set up in the fridge overnight or as I did; for 2 days to let all the excess liquid /whey drain off. You will use 3/4 cup of the strained ricotta cheese for the filling recipe above; any excess enjoy spread on toast with a drizzle of honey or other various ways. Note; if you want a lot more; simply double the recipe.
A lot of (obsessive) thought went into the creation of this beauty. I wanted to make sure all the components of a mojito cocktail came through. The mint, the lime, and the rum all had to be there but not with one overpowering the other flavor. I a took a gamble on coming up with my variation of this cake and I even surprised myself on how well it came out. My friends absolutely went gah gah over it and it was made for one of my dear friends’ birthday. I make her birthday cake every year and we usually have a pool party at her house to celebrate. It was a huge hit. I wanted to find the perfect green flower to a adorn the top of the cake and keep the decorations to a minimum. When using fresh flowers there are a few different ways to keep them safe. I always start by washing my flowers gently and thoroughly with cool water, and let them dry in my Arizona hot patio until dry. I then wrap my stem generously with plastic wrap and poke the cake with the wrapped flower. There a product called Safety Seal by Ingenious edibles that is a food safe wax that you heat up in the microwave and then dip your flowers in it and wait for it to dry before you pierce the cake. You can also wrap your cleaned and dried flowers with floral tape as well. If I only have one main flower or two; I usually like to use the plastic wrap technique as I’m in the kitchen already and have plastic wrap readily at hand.
I portioned out a bit of my buttercream and tinted with gel food colors two different tones to swish a quick tonal color after my final base coat of buttercream was done.
I decided to use a mint and lime zested enhanced sugar as a final gentle pat along the bottom portion of my cake; I felt this really enhance the overall experience, as you can also smell it when presenting the cake, one notices the smell of a mojito. I also liked the gentle crunch or texture of the flavored sugar on just the bottom as when you are eating the cake you get that subtle texture and flavor. Overall I was so happy with how this turned out. I hope you try it! if you do make sure to tag me on Instagram with a photo of your cake!
Enjoy!!
Mojito Layer Cake {Lime, Mint, and Rum flavored cake}
Before you start the cake make the rum simple syrup recipe below and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare four 6 inch baking pans with greasing, pan spray or a thin spread of cake goup*. Line the bottom of the pans with a parchment circle. Note; you can change this recipe to a 3 layer cake if you want; you’d have thicker layers, and it would also just work as a two layer 8 inch cake as well; keeping in mind to watch and bake the cakes longer as necessary.
*If you don’t know what cake goup is; it is a cake pan release mixture that you can whip up in your stand mixer which I will link here; the recipe is by Liz at The Sugar Geez Show website.
In a bowl combine the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together and whisk to combine. Set aside.
In a stand mixer bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; around 2 minutes. On medium speed with the mixer running, add in the egg whites a little at a time until combined; stopping occas. to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add in the flavor emulsions until combined. In a liquid measuring cup combine the milk, sour cream, lime juice and whisk together with a fork. Starting with the dry ingredients add in a third of the flour mixture until combined, followed by half of the liquid mixture, and alternate starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stop and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to mix with a spatula and un mixed bits. By hand fold in the chopped fresh mint leaves.
Portion evenly the cake batter into your prepared pans. Tip; a great way to portion evenly without weighing on a scale is use an ice cream scoop and portion a scoop individually into each pan, but placing the pans in row on the counter; scoop into each pan one at a time until your have used up all the cake batter. Rap the pans gently on the counter once to release any air pockets. Place evenly in the oven and bake at 350 for about 23-24 minutes or until the cake just starts to release from the sides and a wooden toothpick returns clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Place the pans on a wire rack and allow to cool until still slightly warm. Turn out onto the rack and let cool completely. While you make the buttercream. If you want- you can also make the buttercream a day ahead and rewhip with a paddle attachment to fluff up the buttercream.
Side note: I recently found out by weighing my Fat Daddio 6 inch pans empty in grams; that they all weighed a bit differently they were not the same exact weight empty as one would expect. This is why I love the scoop method; and when I worked in a commercial bakery this is how we used to portion our cake batter when placing in cake pans.
Vanilla “Easy Buttercream ”
(recipe from the sugargeekshow.com website)
(mock swiss meringue buttercream)
24 oz. (680 g) unsalted butter, room temperature.
24 oz. (680 g) powdered sugar sifted if not from a bag
2 tsp. clear vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
6 oz. (170 g) pasteurized egg whites room temperature
Place egg whites and powdered sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Attach the whisk attachment and combine on low and whip for one minute until cohesive. Note; you don’t need to whip it to a meringue stage. Add in the vanilla and salt and combine.
Add in the butter by generous tablespoons at a time and whisk until combined. It may look curdled but that is normal , just keep whipping it until it comes together and looks smooth. I stop and scrape down the bowl from time to time as I go. Switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 15-20 minutes to make it super smooth and remove any air bubbles. This isn’t required but if you want a really creamy frosting, you can choose to do this. I personally don’t but it’s part of her recipe notes.
Portion out 6 ice cream scoop size of the buttercream in a medium bowl. This will be for flavoring the lime buttercream filling portion of the cake.
Lime Buttercream Filling
6 ice cream scoop sizes of the vanilla buttercream from above
1 tsp. fresh lime juice
2 limes zested finely
Mix the components together until combined and set aside until ready to assemble the cake.
Rum Syrup
3/4 C granulated sugar
3/4 C scant of water
2 Tbsp. golden rum
In a small saucepan bring together the sugar and water to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Add in the rum off the heat and let sit until ready to use.
Mint~Lime Sugar Mix
1/4 C granulated sugar
1 lime zested (~ 1 tsp. of zest)
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh mint leaves
In a small bowl place the sugar and the zest and lime and with your finger tips rub the mint and lime into the sugar to release the oils and flavor the sugar. Set aside at room temp until ready to decorate the cake.
Cake Assembly:
Place a small dollop of buttercream onto a cake drum or cake board that you will be serving on. I suggest a cake drum as the cake is heavy and you’ll want something sturdy for the cake to be on.
Brush each top side of a cake layer twice with the rum syrup, and the bottom of each cake layer once. Place one layer of cake onto the cake drum and fill with 2 scoops of the lime flavored buttercream and level evenly. Repeat with the process with the next two cake layers. Top off with the last cake layer and spread a small crumb coat layer of buttercream ; either with the lime or vanilla doesn’t really matter. Spread a crumb coat layer of vanilla buttercream on the sides of the cake and place the cake in the fridge to chill until firm. Finish spreading a final vanilla buttercream layer onto the chilled cake.
Portion out a small amount of buttercream if you want like I did for 2 different colors of green.
For the green colored buttercream: I used electric green gel colors Americolor, and mint green for the other color until desired color reached.
Spread a thin layer of darker color green along the bottom of the cake and the lighter green along the top half of the cake and spread until smooth. Chill the cake until the green color is mostly firm but not super tacky. Place the mint lime sugar along the bottom of the cake drum and with your hand scoop up and press with the help of an offset spatula onto the bottom portion of the cake; going up about 2 1/2 inches worth.
I had some buttercream leftover and used to tint one more darker color with the mint green and placed on a piece of plastic wrap the 3 colors next to each other and rolled the plastic together into a log and placed in a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip to place a row on top of the cake and a few pressed flowers onto the sides of the cake. I think it was a large 1M tip. tbh I don’t remember. I sprinkled Just a tiny bit of some extra lime mint sugar on top of the stars on the top of the cake.
Serve the cake at room temperature so the buttercream does not taste like a hunk of butter; this is key when serving with this type of buttercream.
People laugh at me when I say I make my own Birthday Cake, but it’s something I love doing, and have done for several years now. There’s a certain calmness knowing you don’t have to worry about if the decoration is perfect, or the flavor is not something someone else doesn’t quite like, because well; it’s all about me. I kept the decoration pretty simple, and attempted a quick curtain drip, but suddenly realized I was too skimpy on the amount, so it didn’t quite fall the way I intended, but none the less, it tasted good. I’m not usually a huge fan of peanut butter flavor, but the filling on this has some peanut butter in the buttercream because to capture that peanut butter nougat flavor it requires tossing in some peanut butter. The peanut butter buttercream then gets a generous squeeze of caramel and finally topped off with some chopped lightly salted peanuts to complete the filling layer. The chocolate buttercream on the chocolate cake just seals the deal.
My go to chocolate cake recipe is simply the perfect chocolate cake on the back of the can of Hershey’s cocoa except I change the boiling water to strong hot coffee instead; been using this recipe for years and it never fails. You don’t even need to use the stand mixer for it; I just simply whisk the batter by hand with a large whisk.
Chocolate Cake
yield: (3 layer 6 inch )
1 3/4 Cup Flour
2 Cups Sugar
3/4 Cup Hershey’s cocoa powder, sieved
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 Cup milk, warmed to room temp or slightly warmer
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
1 Cup very hot coffee
2 tsp. vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 6 inch cakes pans. Warm the milk in the microwave if it’s not at room temp, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Whisk in the milk until combined, then stir in eggs along with the oil and whisk vigorously until combined. Using the same whisk stir in the hot coffee and vanilla until batter is smooth. The batter will be very thin. Divide batter into equal parts into the 3 pans. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 26 mins or until a skewer inserted reveals a few moist crumbs. Depending on your oven; you may want to rotate your pans half way through for even baking. Do NOT overbake or cake will be dry. Allow cakes to cook in their pans over a wire rack until cooled.
Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream
4 lg egg whites
1 Cup sugar
pinch of kosher salt
3 sticks unsalted buttercream
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted but cooled slightly
Prepare a bain marie and place the egg whites, sugar, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer (I have a Kitchen Aide); so if your bowl doesn’t fit over a saucepan place a metal or glass bowl over your pan that allows it to fit without touching the water in the pot. Place the mixer bowl over the bain marie and heat the mixture until it reaches 160° F. Take off the heat place on the mixer with whisk attachment until you reach a stiff meringue. Add in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated, then mix in the vanilla, and finally the melted but sl. cooled chocolate. Change to a paddle attachment and mix until smooth to remove any air.
Peanut Butter Swiss Meringue Buttercream
3 lg egg whites
3/4 Cup sugar
pinch kosher salt
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
5 Tbsp. smooth peanut butter (don’t use natural style) I used Jif brand.
1 tsp. vanilla
Using a bain marie set up, place the egg whites, sugar, and salt in a large heat proof bowl to a temperature of 160 degrees F, whisking continuously. Remove from the heat, and whisk until you have a stiff meringue and then add in the butter and peanut butter until the mixture comes together. Add in the vanilla and beat to combine.
additional items needed for filling:
Store bought thick caramel sauce (I used Trader Joes salted Caramel sauce)
Coarse chopped reduced salt peanuts
Snickers candy bar, chopped into small pieces
To assemble the cake:
Place a cake layer on a cardboard round and pipe a ring (dam) of the chocolate buttercream along the edge of the cake. Place a couple scoops of the peanut butter buttercream filling and smooth to an even layer within the dam of chocolate buttercream. Spoon a generous amount of the (slightly warm ) (warm it just enough so that you can spoon it) caramel over the buttercream (you don’t have to completely cover it with caramel, but spoon a generous amount), and top with a couple hand fulls of coarsely chopped salted peanuts. Top or pipe with a small layer of peanut butter buttercream on top; enough to keep the caramel from soaking into the next cake layer; this will ensure when you cut into the cake the caramel will be visible. Repeat the filling with the next layer of cake, then top with the third and final layer of chocolate cake. Crumb coat with the chocolate buttercream chill until firm, then finish with a final coat of chocolate buttercream. If using a ganache on top chill the cake at least a hour before topping with the ganache.
Top with an optional layer of chocolate ganache. Or decorate as desired.
For ganache: In a heat proof bowl, place 1/2 Cup of bittersweet chocolate chips and pour over 1/2 Cup of scalded heavy cream. Stir until combined then wait about 3 minutes before pouring over the cake after the cake has been chilling for at least 60 minutes. Using an offset spatula smooth the ganache over the top and allow to drip down the cake. Full disclosure, it didn’t use all of my ganache; I used too little amount and that’s why my drip did not go down the cake far enough. Top with chopped pieces of Snickers candy bar.
I never knew what passionfruit was until pastry school. Ever since, I have been obsessed with the flavor and love it immensely. It’s something that is hard to describe; but I’ll try. It is tangy, sharp but a pleasant floral fruity taste. If you are a lemon or citrus lover you will like passionfruit. If you are buying it fresh it is quite expensive unless you happen to live below the equator or in a region where it is grown. I buy the frozen passionfruit pulp by Goya brand which is easily found in either Asian or Hispanic markets. I always have one in the freezer stashed away. Buying it frozen is inexpensive. If you are lucky to buy them fresh, you’ll want to wait until the outside thick skin gets quite wrinkly in appearance which at that point you will get it at it’s peak ripeness. When you cut one open you will see seed pockets with juice inside. You’ll need to scoop out the contents and strain to get maximum juice. The flowers of a passionfruit vine are amazingly beautiful. If you decide to make the optional curd it does freeze nicely of any leftover amount. It blends nicely into buttercream as well to make a tantalizing buttercream. For any leftover passionfruit curd, I simply place in an airtight container and freeze.
Passionfruit Cheesecake
Crust:
9 sheets of Graham crackers
1 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
pinch salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
In a food processor grind the crackers until finely ground, then add in the rest of the ingredients and pulse to combine thoroughly. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease the sides and bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Press the crumbs into the springform pan.
Filling:
1 lb. cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 C. sour cream, room temperature
3 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten
3 large egg yolks, room temperature and lightly beaten
2/3 C. strained passion fruit pulp or puree
Place the cream cheese and sugar in a stand mixer and with the paddle attachment beat on medium speed until smooth. Add in the sour cream and mix until combined. Turn down the speed to medium low and pour in the whisked eggs and yolks in a steady stream. Beat thoroughly, then gently stir in the passion fruit juice and gently combine. Pour the filling into the chilled crumb lined prepared pan.
Bake for about 55-60 minutes or until the edges are set but the center remains slightly wobbly when you shake the pan slightly. Turn off the oven but leave the cheesecake inside for one hour with the door propped open with a wooden spoon. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool completely.
Optional: cover the cheesecake with passionfruit curd and chill in the fridge overnight to firm up. The cheesecake will be very soft, so do not attempt to remove the ring until at least chilled for 8 hours. I actually like to make the curd the day prior and take it out and stir to loosen a bit to get smooth before spooning over the cheesecake.
Optional passionfruit curd:
(yield: ~ 2 Cups)
1/2 Cup passion fruit puree, divided
1 tsp. powdered gelatin
1 Cup sugar
1 large egg
2 egg yolks
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1. a small bowl measure out 2 tablespoons of the passion fruit puree and sprinkle the gelatin over and set aside to bloom. Keep the rest of the puree for the remainder of the recipe in step 2.
2. Place the remaining passion fruit puree, sugar, egg, egg yolks, and salt in a saucepan and whisk over medium heat until mixture reaches 160° F. Remove from the heat and stir in the bloomed gelatin until combined. Strain mixture into a clean bowl and stir in the butter. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap directly over the surface and place in the refrigerator to chill. Spoon a generous amount over the chilled and set cheesecake a few hours prior to you serving the cheesecake.
Note: you will have some curd leftover which you can freeze or store in the fridge to spread on scones etc. or stir into yogurt (coconut yogurt in particular is fabulous!) You can also stir curd into vanilla buttercream to make passion fruit buttercream.
I feel like cream puffs don’t get as much love as they should. Their first cousin the eclair does, but not sure why the simple and understated cream puff does not. I’m about to change that; or a least try with this elegant recipe that uses the fresh harvest of cherries that are in stores right now. These puffs are great for a party as you won’t have to worry about slicing anything last minute. It also solves the annoying “just a sliver” request some people call for. #Sorrynotsorry . The flavor is very chocolate forward with some softened cooked cherries hiding inside the filling to give a nice burst of freshness and flair to break up all the rich chocolate. They are so dainty and small that some hungry men or women may even go for seconds. This I have witnessed firsthand. The recipe makes a dozen or bakers dozen, so nothing too crazy, but it can be easily doubled if you want to.
I decided to go with a thicker and more rich filling with a chocolate cremeux and inserted a couple of fresh cherries that I cooked down to a softer texture. A stabilized slightly sweetened topping of whipped cream tops the little morsels and a quick dusting of confectioners sugar adds the elegant finesse on top.
This recipe can be made easily in stages and it’s much easier to assemble if you do to save some time.
I made the chocolate cremeux a couple days in advance and the cherries also the day prior so they have time to chill. I had some cherry syrup by way of cooking the cherries so I took advantage of it and poured a little over the whipped cream; but you should do this right before serving if you can.
These were a big hit for a party I attended. I always bring a dessert; and I not only love bringing the dessert, but everyone expects it. Don’t you just love cherry season?
Cream puff dough (pate choux)
(yield ~ 12 or 13 puffs)
45 g whole milk
45 g water
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
tiny pinch of white pepper (optional)
tiny pinch of cardamom (optional)
tiny pinch of cinnamon (optional)
103 g. bread flour
36 -37 g. whole eggs lightly mixed in a separate small bowl.
In a 3 quart saucepan or similar size place the milk, water, butter, sugar, salt, and spices if using . Bring to a full boil and remove from the heat and dump in all the flour at once. Return to a medium heat and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, or heat proof spatula; heat the mixture for exactly five minutes. I use a motion of flattening the mixture to the bottom of the pan, then turning/or flipping over the dough back again to a flattened state, and repeating this continuously for five minutes. Why 5 minutes? it removes a lot of the steam so that you can add more eggs which helps create a nice crispy puff and helps the puffs rise better. As you are cooking the dough, the mixture will leave a film on the bottom of the pan (normal) and the don’t try to scrape up the hardened cooked film. After five minutes remove the dough mass from the pan; leave the dry film on the bottom behind; don’t attempt to scrape if off. Remove the dough ball and place into a stand mixer on stir setting [first setting on a kitchen aide] and stir the dough for exactly five minutes with the paddle attachment. This will help cool down the dough to just the right temperature so that you can add in the eggs gradually. Once the 5 minutes are up, increase the speed to medium and slowly add in a bit of the egg at a time, stopping and scraping both the sides and the bottom. Don’t beat the mixture at too high of a speed as you are tying to avoid incorporating too much air. I use just a medium speed. You are looking for a smooth dough that is somewhat sticky but the key is when you lift up the paddle attachment you see a “V” shape on the paddle. If the dough is too sticky; you’ve not added enough eggs in. See pic below. Stop several times and add in the eggs a little at a time until you see this “V”shape; it will depend on your environment and humidity etc. whether you’ll need the full amount of eggs. I live in Arizona desert and the day I made mine I actually ended up putting a wee bit extra . Place the dough into your prepared piping bag fitted with a large plain tip; I use an Ateco #809. Pipe round mounds of dough onto a silpat or parchment lined sheet approx. 1.5 inches in size. Tap down any peaks of dough with a dab of water on your finger. Sprinkle a light dusting of confectioners sugar over all the dough puffs once piped, and repeat another dusting one more time. Place in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature ; don’t open the door! and bake for another 20 minutes at 335 or something close to that degrees F; depending on if your oven ; I have a digital so I use 335 degrees, but keep watch on them. You are looking to dry them out on the inside a bit so they are not too doughy. I usually sacrifice one and slice open the top of one to check at around the 18 minute mark [slicing through as an equator motion]. If too doughy then keep baking a minute or two. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a couple minutes until you can handle them and then poke with a wooden skewer through the top 1/4 portion going through to the other side to remove excess steam {this helps them not deflate}. Allow to cool completely over a wire rack before filling.
V shape: This is is the consistency you are looking for when you pull the paddle up out of the dough; you are looking for the classic V shape. Once you reach this; don’t add anymore eggs. Pipe round shapes about 1.5 inches wide by about 1 inch in height. I bake mine on a perforated eclair mat, but you can use a Silpat or parchment lined tray. Tap down any peaks with a slightly wet finger. Sift confectioners sugar over the dough twice right before baking.
Chocolate Cremeux Filling
150 g heavy cream
150 g whole milk
100 g large eggs (about 2 large eggs)
15 g granulated sugar
200 g finely chopped dark chocolate
In a small bowl combine the eggs and sugar and whisk to combine. Meanwhile in a saucepan place the cream and milk and bring to a boil. Once the milk mixture is up to temperature, temper in the mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat over a low temperature until the mixture is thickened, (you’re not looking it to be as thick as a pastry cream, but slightly thickened, then remove from the heat and pour in the chopped chocolate and stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. The mixture will be quick thin. Pour it into a heatproof container and place plastic wrap directly over the surface and allow to chill in the fridge until thickened; its best to do the day before to save time. Once cold it will be much thicker.
Cooked softened cherries
200 g fresh cherries (weighed w/ the stone in), then rinsed & pitted
50 g granulated sugar
8 g fresh lemon juice
In a small saucepan place the cherries, sugar, and lemon juice and cook over low heat stirring constantly until the cherries are softened but still mostly whole; some will break apart and that is fine. It will create a cherry syrup as a result, and strain the cherries and reserve the juice for pouring over a little once ready to assemble, reserving leftover cherry syrup for another use as desired. Reserve in a glass jar in the fridge.
I used a French star tip to pipe both the filling and the whipped cream.
Stabilized Whipped Cream
1 cup very cold heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. non fat dried milk powder
In a stand mixer bowl or a medium bowl whip the cream until you reach stiff peaks. This is my go to method for stabilized whipped cream; I know there are several methods people use, but this is my favorite by far. The milk powder does not add or mask any flavor in my opinion, and I find it really helps the shape hold once its piped and does not weep over time.
To assemble:
Cut off about 1/4 of a cooled puff and pipe a rosette of chocolate filling into the bottom of the puff. Then stuff 2 cherries down into the chocolate filling, and pipe another dab of filling on top of the cherries. Pipe a rosette of whipped cream and if serving right away; spoon a tiny amount ~ 1/4 tsp. of the reserved cherry syrup. Cap off with the top portion of the puff and dust with confectioners sugar. You can assemble them on a tray also about an 30 minutes before serving and put back into the fridge to keep cold. You can forgo the cherry syrup drizzle if you want a neater cleaner appearance but I happen to like the color it gives; you only need a tiny bit to achieve a small cascade of color.
SUZIE SWEET TOOTH 