Taro & Strawberry Choux Buns
Wendy Lau
tags:Issue 220
Makes
10Preparation
40 mins plus cooling timeCook
30 minsIngredients
CRAQUELIN | |
40g butter, softened | |
50g sugar | |
50g plain flour | |
3g ube flavouring (McCormick brand, can be found in most Asian supermarkets) | |
CHOUX PASTRY | |
¼ teaspoon salt | |
½ teaspoon sugar | |
40g butter | |
80g plain flour | |
1 egg | |
TARO CUSTARD | |
30g taro | |
30g cornflour | |
¼ teaspoon agar agar | |
30g sugar | |
¼ teaspoon ube flavouring (McCormick brand, can be found in most Asian supermarkets) | |
250ml soy milk | |
TO ASSEMBLE | |
10 strawberries, leaves trimmed off |
The prettiest choux you ever did see!
View the recipe collection here
Instructions
1. | CRAQUELIN |
2. | Mix everything together until there are no lumps or chunks of butter left. |
3. | Roll out between two sheets of baking paper until roughly 2mm thick. |
4. | Cut out 7cm circles and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. |
5. | Keep the cut circles in the freezer, while you reroll and cut the leftover dough. |
6. | CHOUX PASTRY |
7. | Heat the oven to 160°C fan bake. |
8. | Put 100ml water in a pan with the salt, sugar and butter and bring to the boil. |
9. | Once boiled, remove from the heat and quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Mix until there are no lumps of flour. |
10. | Return to the stove on a medium heat and keep stirring. |
11. | The choux pastry is ready once everything comes together into a ball, the dough is shiny and it is beginning to stick to the bottom of the pot. |
12. | Remove from the heat and put into a bowl, spreading it out so that it can cool more quickly. |
13. | Alternatively, put it in a mixer and mix it with a paddle to let it cool down. |
14. | Whisk the egg. Add half the egg to the dough, mixing until fully combined. Then mix in the other half of the egg. |
15. | The choux pastry is ready once the mix looks shiny and smooth. |
16. | To check further, lift the spatula and let the mixture fall slowly into the bowl – it should fall off the spatula in a tapering V-shape. |
17. | Put the dough into a piping bag and pipe 7-8cm diameter circles onto a lined tray. |
18. | To help with sizing, take a round cutter of the corresponding size, dip it in flour and then put onto the lined tray as a sizing guide. |
19. | Put a disc of ube craquelin on top of each choux and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. |
20. | Do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes or the choux could collapse. |
21. | Turn the tray around for the last 5 minutes. |
22. | Once golden, remove from the oven and leave to cool until ready to use. |
23. | TARO CUSTARD |
24. | Steam the taro until softened and then mash with a fork. |
25. | Add in some soy milk if it’s too thick. |
26. | Mix everything together in a pan and place on the stove. |
27. | Heat, while still mixing with a whisk, until it starts to bubble and thicken. |
28. | Remove from the heat and leave to cool. |
29. | TO ASSEMBLE |
30. | Cut off the top third of each choux. |
31. | Using a star nozzle, pipe in some taro custard until the choux is half full. |
32. | Put a whole strawberry inside, pushing it in so the taro custard oozes out slightly. |
33. | Pipe around the top of the choux covering the strawberry. |
34. | To make it look a little neater, use a cookie cutter to cut a circle from the choux pastry tops and place them back on top of the filled choux. |
Recipes & food styling Wendy Lau / Photography Tony Nyberg