Just because I said that last year was the year of Paris Dreaming and I cooked French whenever I could does not mean that I am through with that culinary venture by any means. I can make a mean Boeuf Bourguignon. I have both roasted ducks and made confit with them. There is a stash of snail shells in the pantry so that I can make herb butter drenched escargot on a whim. I also made the "for real" French baguettes that take 6 hours of proofing, punching down and kneading to create (no, I am not exaggerating so you'll feel sorry for me). My cream cheese averse youngest son was converted by some beignets rolled in cinnamon sugar and filled with a magnificent sweetened cream cheese and poppy seed filling . My first attempt at macaroons were not the disaster that I expected, and the taste combination of chocolate, orange, and clove was sublime.
But there is a plethora of new things still to try, Dear Reader. So now I have gone on to eclairs. Are they even French? No clue, really. But they sound and look exotic and so why not go for it?
The idea came from a blog post on http://www.pastryaffair.com/. Her recipe sounded perfect. Her picture were incredible. And they made the steps so clear that...well, even I could attempt it. Thank you, sweet lady, for the recipe! It's a new family favorite.
I have made plenty of wedding cakes in my time, but they are always decorated with fresh flowers because I do NOT pipe. The very fact that I actually piped these wobbly little things makes them amazing! And then into the oven they went to cook until dry and hollow.
Here is the filling, a basic pastry cream but flavored with coffee- slurp! The author gave the most life-saving piece of advice. Hold the pastries up to the light when you fill them. Remember how I said they cook up hollow? You can actually see the eclair being filled and not have it explode out on you unawares. Thank you for that.
Above are my baked and coffee-cream filled eclairs awaiting the dark chocolate ganache that is being made.
Just one of the two platters that I sat before my family. The salivating commenced when they hit the table and continued until they were all gone and my youngest said that he wouldn't mind if I made these again. High praise indeed!
So, go check out Pastry Affair. Except that you'll never want to settle for my paltry little blog again. But I'll still be here, attempting French dishes and dreaming of Paris...
"Dessert is like a feel-good song and the best ones make you dance." ~ Chef Edward Lee
