Pumpkin Praline Eclairs

This Thanksgiving I had a few leftovers I didn't expect: ground pralines and pumpkin spice pastry cream.

I tried out Martha Stewart's pumpkin cream pie recipe. Excellent pastry cream but not great for pies. It tastes very similar to pumpkin chiffon pie, but pumpkin chiffon is far prettier and more stable. The pumpkin cream pie made for a soggy crust and didn't hold it's form very well.

Gosh darnit what to do?! WHAT TO DO?!?!?!?!

Okay. It's not a bid deal, but what's Thanksgiving without a little drama? :)

I took inspiration from the Laduree Sucre cook book and I opted to make a choux pastry with a pumpkin cream filling and a praline poured fondant icing using the extra ground pralines I had from my chocolate praline cake.

Fantastic idea! They came out wonderfully!

If you prefer cream puffs to eclairs, you can follow the recipe, simply changing the shape of the choux as you pipe.

Pumpkin Praline Eclairs

for the pumpkin pastry cream:

2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1/2 cup sugar
Salt
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 cups solid-pack pumpkin (from one 15-ounce can)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

1. Bring milk, vanilla,cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks with cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl.
3. Gradually whisk about 1/2 cup milk mixture into yolk mixture. Gradually whisk in remaining milk mixture. Return entire mixture to saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until bubbling in center, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately whisk in pumpkin. Whisk in butter.
4. Turn out into a bowl, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

Continue by making the choux pastry. 

for the choux:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup skim milk
½ cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
Large pinch of kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Line two heavy baking sheets with parchment paper. (If you're pans are too light, stack them. This will reduce the chance of scorching on the bottom of the puff).
2. In a small saucepan, bring the water, milk, butter, and salt to a boil. Add the flour and stir until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and dries out a bit. Roughly two minutes.
3. Turn the dough out into a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each one.
4. Transfer the dough to a pastry bag with a half inch tip (or a disposable bag with the tip cut off) and pipe four inch long strips onto the baking sheets at least two inches apart (or tablespoon sized balls for cream puffs).
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.
6. Allow to cool. 
7. Fill a piping bag with pumpkin pastry cream. Poke three small holes in the top of each eclair (one for cream puffs). 
8. Fill with pumpkin pastry cream. Wipe off any excess. Set aside. 

Continue by preparing the icing. 

for the praline icing: 

4 1/2 ounces white pouring fondant

1 tbsp. water

3 tbsp. praline paste (see below) 

3 oz. white chocolate

1. Melt the white chocolate in a a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water or in the microwave at medium power. 
2. In a saucepan, slightly warm the pouring fondant with the water. 
3. Add the praline paste and the melted white chocolate. Stir until smooth. 
4. Dip the tops of the eclairs (or cream puffs) into the glaze. 
5. Allow to set and keep in the refrigerator. 

Et voila! You have fifteen pumpkin praline eclairs ready to be eaten up!

**Praline Paste is made by grinding pralines. If you grind the pralines for a bit longer they will form a paste. If you feel impatient, add a few drops off water to speed up the process. 

Cochonettes

So, if you add cream inside a choux pastry puff, we call it a cream puff. If you add cheese, we call it gougeres. But what do you call it when you add meat? Well. If there is a term, I don't know know it. If you know it, please tell me. For now, I am christening them cochonettes. No that is not a real word, but cochon means pig in French, and choux is French...and I'm just making up stuff as I go.

George, over at the Salisbury 2011 BBQ Festival had this great idea for putting BBQ into a cookie years ago. He succeeded and they sell them every year. Then he approached me with a crazy idea. George pleaded his case (and mailed me a bbq pulled pork pig) and I decided to see what it would take to turn a basic choux recipe into a BBQ pulled pork pastry.

Now, getting a pig in the mail sounds a little rediculous. It is and I've gotten two so far! I love the look on someone's face when they ask what's in the package and I say "prok butt." But pork butt pastry doesn't exactly make it into Better Homes and Gardens for a spring brunch menu, now does it? Well, of course not. It didn't exist! Now it does. :) I'm sure they'll be beating down the door for include this recipe in their June BBQ issue. (hey now, a woman can dream!), but not with that name. Thus, I'm making up words and hoping they don't mean a swear word in any language out there. These little treats deserve a great name to describe their amazing taste, truly, they are delicious, and a fantastic twist on a classic gougere and choux pastry.

Cochonettes

created for the Salisbury 2011 BBQ Festival

1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp Salt
1 cup All-Purpose Flour, sifted
4 Large Eggs
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
½ tsp. bbq pork rub
1/2 cup pulled pork (no sauce)
1 cup cheddar jack cheese, shredded

Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine pork and cheeses in a food processor. Pulse until finely ground.

In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt and bring to a boil. Add the flour and stir it in with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms; stir over low heat until it dries out and pulls away from the pan, about 2 minutes.

Transfer to a stand mixer and add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition, until all are fully blended. Add the cheese pork mixture and spices.

Transfer the batter into a pastry bag and pipe into rosettes (with a tip) or into small one inch balls (no tip) on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve immediately, or to store for later, allow the cochinettes to cool and refrigerate or freeze. Reheat in a 350° oven until piping hot.

Caramel Apple Toffee Pastries

This was the winner of Iron Chef Apple and is one of my favorite fall desserts! How could you ever go wrong with caramel, apples, and especially toffee? The phyllo that wraps it all up adds the perfect bit of crunch!

One line reminder to vote for Cherry Tea Cakes in the Express Night Out Best of DC Food Blogger Vote through September 30th! See instructions here! 


Sorry for being late with this post. I came off of a long day at work after a night full of red eye flights, airports, and next to no food or sleep..,oh, and did I mention food poisoning? As it is, I am taking a detox day. Fruit juices and salad only to get my body back to normal...and to make it worse with the sleep deprivation, from what I read online...you shouldn't have caffeine when you are getting over food poisoning. Worst. Monday. Ever.

Butchie had to put up with me without sleep, without food, and trying to recover on our weekly baking night. And MAN was I on one! I have next to no filter when I'm that tired and hungry. [It's fabulous--she was smiley and punchy and rude and maybe now I will never let her sleep again. --B.] Never ask me what I really think in that state. I answer as honestly as I usually do, but with less tact and diplomacy.

So I asked Butchie what she wanted to make and she answered just as bluntly honest: apples! If you want to hear some gushing on how great fall boots, fall sweaters, fall scarfs, and all flavors are--note the trend--then you should talk to Butch. She has an endless supply of enthusiasm for fall. [How could you not? Gorgeous yellow leaves, pears everywhere, perfect snuggling temperature, fireplaces with ACTUAL FIRE IN THEM. Plus, Halloween! This year I was thinking I'd go as a sexy autumn leaf. Now that Halloween is just an excuse for ladies to be as close to publicly naked as possible. --B.] Anyway, this is a good recipe for us: I have an infinite amount of enthusiasm for toffee, and even though I do not care about autumn or its apples, basically at all, Butchie makes up for it. [Maybe I'll go as an apple. --B.]

There are two ways you can make this dessert: make it all, or buy it all. We made toffee and caramel from scratch, but you can buy it too, and these pastries are still very good. I am all about lessening the chemicals I can't pronounce in my diet, so I go the scratch route...plus, c'mon, homemade caramel? Way better!

Caramel Toffee Apple Pastries

3 large baking apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

1/2 cup caramel, store bought or see the recipe below

1/2 cup toffee bits, store bought or see the recipe below

16 sheets phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 375. Spray two muffin tins with cooking spray. In a medium mixing bowl combine the chopped apples, caramel and toffee bits. Set aside.

Lay phyllo pastry sheets flat on a work surface and cover with sheet of plastic wrap. Place a slightly damp kitchen towel over the plastic wrap. Removing one sheet of pastry at a time spray completely with cooking spray top with another sheet of phyllo pastry and spray with cooking spray. Repeat until four sheets of phyllo are stacked. Cut the stacked pastry into 6 equal squares. Press each stack into a muffin tin.

Place 1/4 cup of apple mixture inside each phyllo lined muffin tin, pour a little of the caramel over the top, and pinch the corners together to form a pouch. A ring of aluminum foil can be placed around the pinched dough to hold them together if desired.

Repeat with remaining sheets and apple filling. Wrap and refrigerate any remaining phyllo.

Spray tops with cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes or until pastries are golden brown.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Eat immediately, as they will not remain crisp for more than an hour.

Toffee Bits

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 tablespoons water

Place all ingredients in a pan and bring to a hard boil, cook until a candy thermometer reads hard crack. Poor onto a greased sheet of aluminum foil. Allow to set, chop.

Caramel Sauce

3/8 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/8 cup light corn syrup

3/8 cup whipping cream

Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to a boil without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 10 minutes, until caramel has reached a dark amber color. Remove from heat, carefully and immediately add cream--it will bubble and clot. Stir sauce over low heat until sauce is smooth.