Strawberry Cream Puffs

Choux Pastry

1. Preheat oven to 375°F / 190°C.
2. Place the salt, water, sugar (if using) and butter in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
3. When the water is starting to boil (butter should be melted at this point), add the flour in one go. Do this while holding the saucepan away from the stove/heat, and vigorously mix the flour in, so that it absorbs all of the water (use a wooden spoon or spatula to do this).
4. When the flour has absorbed the water and it's coming together as a dough, return the pan to the stove (medium heat). Cook the dough for 2 – 5 minutes while you mix and move it around in the pan until you get a dough that pulls away from the side when you mix it. If you gather all of the dough on one side of the saucepan, and then stick a spoon in the dough, it should stay upright.
5. Transfer the dough into a bowl, and let it cool down slightly for a few minutes. In the meantime, whisk all the eggs in a jug. The eggs should be whisked to mix the yolks and egg whites.
6. Add the vanilla extract (if using), and then the eggs in 4 - 5 additions, while mixing the eggs into the dough well, between each addition. You can use a handheld mixer or a whisk to do this. For larger batches, you can use a stand mixer.
7. Only add enough of the eggs to get the right consistency (i.e. a dough with a glossy sheen with pipeable consistency. You may or may not use up all of the eggs).
8. Prepare a baking tray by lining it with parchment paper.
9. Pipe circular mounds of the choux pastry dough, using a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (I use Wilton 1A or 2A tip, or you can cut the pastry bag opening instead). The pastry mounds are about 1.5 inches at the base, and roughly 1 inch in height.
10. For craquelin tops - Place a circular disc of the red cookie on top of each piped dough mound. Make sure the disc is centered on the dough mound. Don't push it down.
11. For plain choux or craquelin topped choux - Bake in preheated oven for 30 – 40 minutes in the center of the oven, or until the choux pastry shells puff up and are golden brown on top (the craquelin topped choux will have a crackly, red surface on top, but you will see the color of the pastry on the sides). Do not open the oven door until you have reached the 22 - 25 minute mark at least.
12. Remove from the oven, and let the choux pastry cases cool completely in a draft-free area. Preferably in a place that is not cold. (Letting them cool inside a switched off oven, but with the oven door open is even better, but not necessary).
13. Once the cases are at room temperature, they are ready to be filled.

Craquelin

1. Place the butter, salt and sugar in a bowl and cream the ingredients together until creamy and fluffy.
2. Add the flour and mix until the mixture looks crumbly. Using your hands, bring the crumbly bits of dough together to form a soft but cohesive dough.
3. Split the dough into two equal-sized portions, and place each portion inside a gallon size ziploc bag. Roll out each piece inside the ziploc bag until it’s about 2 - 3 mm thick. Remove excess air in the ziploc bag and close it. Place both ziploc bags on a flat tray and keep them in the freezer overnight (OR until completely frozen).
4. Once frozen, cut 1.5 - 2 inch circles from the dough. You should get about 40 discs in total. Place the cut discs on a tray that is lined with parchment paper, and return to the freezer until needed.

Strawberry cream

1. Place the strawberry and sugar in a saucepan. Heat the strawberries and sugar until the strawberries have softened, and the sugar is dissolved. Let the mixture come to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat, and use a stick blender to blend the strawberry until smooth. Cover and chill for a few hours, until the mixture is completely chilled.
3. When ready to make the cream, place the water in a heat-proof bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin powder over the water. Gently mix and let this sit until the gelatin has bloomed (about 10 - 15 minutes).
4. When the gelatin has bloomed, microwave the mixture just to dissolve the gelatin (about 10 - 20 seconds). DO NOT let the mixture boil.
5. Place the cream, vanilla and confectioner’s sugar in a bowl. With a whisk attachment, whisk the cream on medium speed. Add the melted gelatin while the cream is being whipped.
6. Whip the cream until you reach soft peak stage. Then whisk for a little longer until the cream is a little stiffer, but NOT at stiff peak stage (mid peak).
7. Add the chilled, blended strawberry coulis and whisk to completely mix the strawberry with the cream. Whisk until it thickens and is at mid peak stage again.
8. The cream will be a pale pink color and very creamy. It is still soft, but can be piped. (When piped it will still hold a soft shape).
9. Keep the cream in a piping bag that is attached with a ½ inch open star piping tip.

Macerated Strawberry filling

1. Place the diced strawberry and sugar in a bowl. Mix well and let it sit in the fridge and macerate for at least 20 minutes.

Assembly

1. You can fill the pastry cases by either inserting a piping tip to the bottom of the pastries, or you can cut the cases in half and then fill them.
2. To fill pastry cases from the bottom - cut a small “x” on the bottom of the pastry case using the tip of a small, sharp knife. Place the strawberry cream in a piping bag that is attached with a 1 - 1.5 cm large round tip.
3. Insert the small piping tip into the pastry case from the bottom and squeeze the cream into the case until full. Repeat with all the pastry cases.
4. To cut and fill pastry cases - Slice the choux pastries in half as shown in pictures in the post, along the middle or slightly closer to the top. I prefer the middle for plain pastries, and towards the top for craquelins.
5. Fill the bottom of the pastry with strawberry cream.
6. Optional - Place a small amount of fresh, macerated strawberries (with the liquid drained out), and then top with another swirl of strawberry cream. Then place the top half of the choux pastry back on. Repeat with the rest of the pastries.
7. Dust the tops with confectioner's sugar and add a sliced strawberry for decoration (optional).
8. Serve immediately.