We had a great time at the Old Town St. Patrick's parade! I'll post pics later. First, I wanted to share some art. With dessert.
My mom always served dessert when we were growing up. One of her simple standbys was profiteroles, but we only knew them as cream puffs.
Before I get to the cream puffs, I'd promised to show the little artists' trading cards (ATCs) from the project Erin and Blair organized for over 900 children. The kids were placed in age-appropriate groups of 6. Each child painted, colored, or decorated five 2.5" x 3.5" cards and mailed them to other group members.
E was very excited and set to work.
Here's a sample of the 5 cards she painted. As her mama, I can't decide between the forest or the haunted house.
Fox & Squirrel, Fox in a Forest, Haunted House.
Here are some of the cards she received in return. It was so exciting for E (and for me) to get these jewels in the mail:
I love the title of the one with concentric squares: Entrance to a Mine.
But what about the cream puffs!? We received our South Mountain Creamery delivery yesterday, and I had sprung for farm-fresh eggs and whipping cream:
D had surprised me with flowers, so as I was preparing supper, I thought, what can I quickly make to surprise him? My mom's cream puffs sprang to mind. I used the pate a choux (cream puff!) recipe from Nick Malgieri's How to Bake, but cut it down to 1/4 because it was just D and I.
Cream Puffs (Profiteroles or Pate a Choux Dough) for 2
1/4 cup water
1 T plus 1 1/2 tsp unsalted butter
pinch of salt
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 egg
Place the water, butter, and salt in a pan; stir; set the burner for medium heat; bring to a boil.
Remove from heat when the mixture begins to boil. Use a sifter to add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Return the pan to the stove and cook, stirring all the while, until the dough begins to leave the pan, like this:
I can remember my mother cooking the dough on the stove.
Put the paste in a bowl and stir with the spoon for a minute so it cools down a little. Then add your egg. I used a whisk and a little muscle to beat the egg into the dough; at first you might think it won't come together, but keep going, it will.
Then put it in a pastry bag. At this point, you could chill it for a few minutes--the result will be a higher pouf. If you're fresh out of pastry bags, do the plastic-bag-with-the-corner-cut-off trick:
Then pipe it onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper or other lining:
Try to pile it higher than this to get a taller pouf. Fix mistakes with a water-moistened finger.
Then bake for 20 minutes (check at 15 minutes; you want them golden-brown); and out they come:
When cooled, slice puffs with a serrated knife to open. I used sweetened whipped cream as a filling, or you could use ice cream. (You could make pastry cream [think eclairs], but it must be cooked and chilled before using, i.e., advanced planning.)
Then top with your favorite chocolate sauce. Here's mine:
Chocolate Sauce for Cream Puffs (or Ice Cream)
Serves 2.
Melt 1 oz. good-quality semi-sweet chocolate over low heat.
Stir in a small dab of unsalted butter until melted.
Stir in 1/8 cup of heavy cream (for a thick sauce like the first photo) or whole milk. (I use skim milk in a pinch, it's just runnier.) The sauce will be a lighter grayish color now, with bits of congealing chocolate, until you complete the next step.
Bring to a *brief* low boil to re-melt the small chocolate bits, whisking all the while, until the cream or milk is well-blended. Immediately remove from the stove to avoid burning. Spoon over filled puffs.
Cream puffs are quick to make, and really should be eaten as soon as they're made. Enjoy!
