Daring Bakers, August: Filled Pate a Choux

Kat of The Bobwhites was our August 2012 Daring Baker hostess who inspired us to have fun in creating pate a choux shapes, filled with crème patisserie or Chantilly cream. We were encouraged to create swans or any shape we wanted and to go crazy with filling flavors allowing our creativity to go wild!


I have made many a pate a choux project, and many a filled swan. They aren't as elegant as I could've made them, but here they are!







Notes:
-This recipe made some really wet choux paste, so I cooked and stirred like crazy when the dough was in the pot, before adding the eggs. If the dough doesn't ball up, it's still to wet.


The necks all baked up and cooling on a cookie sheet.


I baked the puffs for over 15 minutes until they were golden brown so they wouldn't deflate, then I pierced them with a thin paring knife--the swans I pierced down the middle of the top where I'd be slicing the puff for the wings, and each puffs I pierced in their sides and baked them for about 5 more minutes, then turned the oven off, propped the oven door open, and let them sit in there for about another 10 minutes to ensure they were completely dried.


All golden, crispy, and ready to fill! For the puffs, I just jammed a piping tip into the whole I'd made with the paring knife and filled it with chocolate pastry cream.



Check out my fellow DBers' filled choux!