Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

So there are two types of chocolate croissants that I have had. The more traditional, just croissant wrapped around a piece of chocolate. The other is stuffed with some sort of chocolate goo. I prefer the first kind. So when I found out we were making f%$*ing croissants, I knew I wanted some of them to be chocolate. Part of it is because they are good; the real reason though is that I am lazy and they are much easier to shape than my Hanz and Franz shaped ones. You do not need to do anything special. You roll out the dough as directed, but cut it into 6 by 4 inch rectangles rather than triangles. Place a 1 ounce piece of bittersweet chocolate…but really size is up to you. I happened to use my prize chocolate that I won for winning the soup contest over at Running with Tweezers. Tami sent me some lovely Dagoba Organic Chocolate and I used the Roseberry kind(with dried raspberries and bits of rosehips for a hint of citrus)for my 1 ounce(HA) piece of chocolate. Anyway, starting from a long side, roll up each rectangle carefully, encasing the chocolate in the center, and proceed as directed for plain croissants. I have to say that these were YUMMY….though not quite as lovely as my Hanz and Franz ones.

First, I apologize if this post makes little sense…I’m on Vicodin people.
So a bunch of us(Lis, Ivonne, Veronica, Jenny, Brilynn and Helen) got together and decided to bake the same thing. We are no strangers to this as we have done it before. I did however groan loudly when I heard what we are making…croissants. Out of our little group, I was the only non-croissant virgin(though I am not sure if Helen has made them before or not), in fact I have been around the croissant block more than a few times(don’t tell my parents :P) I know what a pain they are to make and the time they take. In fact, next to cream puffs, croissants are my least favorite things to make….and I don’t do it very often. I made them once for my hubby who wasn’t a fan because he likes the giant ones from Costco. You know the pale, giant ones that have very little flavor and hardly flake at all. So do a lot of people from the States, like them that way(because that is what they are used to). Ugh, drives me crazy. To me they should be dark and so flaky that when you bite into them you have about 20 crumbles all over your shirt. They should reek of butter. And they don’t need be the size of  both my fists put together. I made mine 2 weeks ago(lucky for me since I would not have been able to stand and make them this weekend).

We tried a recipe from a cookbook that I received for Christmas, Tartine, which looks very promising. I will say that I like the croissant recipe that I normally use much better, but this one served it’s purpose.

Mine are shaped nicely because I was in charge of shaping croissants for my friends catering company that I used to work for on the side. I like to tuck in the ends so it looks like little weight lifters flexing…if you are old enough, think of the SNL skit of Hanz and Franz. I get them so brown because I go egg wash crazy. Most people say 2 coats…I usually go 4.

I’m not typing out the recipe because sitting at the computer actually hurts my foot, so the less time I can spend on here the better. If you want the recipe, buy the cookbook, or maybe on of the other girls was insane and wrote out the 5 pages. They had some pretty crazy adventures while trying to make theirs and hopefully they blogged about it.

I made chocolate ones also, I will post about those on a later date when I feel better. I also would like to thank everyone for their kind words of encouragement. I go to the doctor tomorrow and will hopefully recieve some good news!!!

So I wont be cooking/baking for a little while. I went on an excursion today and ended up in urgent care. I have a grade 1 ligament tear and am on crutches and have an air cast(and lots of happy pills)…so cooking/baking is a no-no…and so is playing hockey. I will have a post on the 30th(a little collab event that I luckily already baked for!). I’m suppose to be laying down with my foot up for the next 72 hours so I wont be getting to check up on your blogs either

Hope things are better on everybody else’s end.

Though the lion is my least favorite character from the wizard of Oz(edit- I really mean the scarecrow), I have to say that I can really relate to him as of late. I’ve been so busy I just don’t seem to even know what day of the week it is…I put sticky notes up on the mirror in the morning to remind me. So the day I made cream puffs, I made eclairs…chocolate ones. But stupid me puts the cream puff up and not the eclairs and so I missed my opportunity to participate in SHF…duh! I’m hoping that life will start slowing down and I can know what day it is without having to look at a sticky note. But for now I am off to see a wizard about getting me a brain.
These are very similar to the cream puffs. The dough is the same but I added a TBSP of cocoa powder to it. The filling is a chocolate pastry cream that I once again made into diplomat cream. I also went with a different glaze too.

Pate a Choux

7 ounces water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3/4 ounces Unsalted Butter
5 ounces Flour - All Purpose
5 extra large eggs
1 TBSP cocoa powder

Boil water, salt. cocoa and butter in a heavy saucepan.
Add flour while stirring, continue stirring for several minutes, until the mixture gets very hot and uniform in consistency.
Transfer mixture to an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, and mix on Low speed for 2-3 minutes until mixture has cooled down.
Crack the eggs into a clean container.
While still mixing on Low add the eggs, one at a time.  After the addition of each egg wait until the mixture absorbs it and becomes completely smooth again.
Using a pastry bag, dispense the choux paste through the desired tip onto a paper lined baking pan or non-stick pan.
Bake in a hot oven 425°(F) until they have puffed and gotten some color, then reduce the temperature to 350°(F) until they dry out inside. Do Not Under bake or they will fall flat. Cut one open to check the inside for wetness, before removing from oven, if your not sure that they are done.
Make into small puffs - large puffs - small eclair - large eclair - small buchette - large buchette and riviera shells (paris brest). This formula will yield 25 to 30 small puffs or eclairs, likewise 8 to 10 of the larger items.

Source; The French Pastry Chef

Chocolate Pastry Cream

2 cups whole milk
2 large egg yolks
6 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP cornstarch
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. Fill at large bowl with ice cubes and water. Set aside in a smaller bowl that can hold the finished cream and be placed in this ice bath. Set aside a fine-meshed strainer too.
2. In a small saucepan, bring the milk to the boil. Meanwhile, whisk the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Whisking all the while, very slowly drizzles a quarter of the hot milk into the yolks. Still whisking, pour the rest of the liquid in a steady stream into the tempered yolks.
3. Strain the mixture into the saucepan, place the pan over medium heat, and, whisking vigorously and without stop, bring the mixture to the boil. Keep the mixture at the boil-whisking energetically-for 1 to 2 minutes. Still over heat, stir in the chocolate, then remove the pan from the heat and scrape the pastry cream into the small bowl.
4. Sett the bowl into the ice-water bath and, stirring frequently so that the mixture remains smooth, cool the pastry cream to 140F, as measured on a instant read thermometer. Remove the cream from the ice-water bath and stir in the butter in three or four additions. Return the cream to the ice water bath and keep it there, stirring occasionally, until if is completely cool.

Diplomat Cream

1 package(2 1/4 tsp) powdered unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
2 cups pastry cream
1 cup heavy cream

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a small bowl and stir to break up any clumps. Let the gelatin soften in the water for about 2 minutes. Heat the softened gelatin over simmering water or in a microwave for about 20 seconds on low power until the granules melt and the mixture is clear. Stir the gelatin into the pastry cream by hand with a rubber spatula until blended.
Whip the cream in a chilled bowl until it holds a medium peak when the whisk is turned upright. Working by hand with a spatula, fold the whipped cream into the pastry cream(2 cups) in 2 or 3 additions, folding just until evenly blended.

Source: Adapted from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America

Chocolate Glaze

1/2 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 tsp unsalted butter, room temperature
7 TBSP chocolate sauce(recipe to follow)

1. In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil over medium heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat and, little by little, add the chocolate, stirring the mixture gently with a spatula: Start at the center of the pan and stir slowly in a small circle. As you add more chocolate, continue to stir gently in a circular fashion, gradually increasing the size of the circle. Measure the temperature of the mixture with and instant read thermometer:it should be 140F. If it is too cool-as will often be the case-warm it in a microwave oven or scrape the mixture into a metal bowl and warm it over simmering water:remove from the heat as soon as it reaches the proper temperature. If the mixture is too hot, let it cool to 140F.
2. Stirring gently, blend in the butter, piece by piece, and the chocolate sauce. Once again, take the temperature of the glaze; You’re aiming  for 95F to 104F., the temperature at which the glaze attains prime pourablitiy. If the glaze is too cold, it can be warmed in a hot water bath or microwave at low setting.

Chocolate Sauce

4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar

Place all the ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the sauce thickens very slightly and coats the back of the spoon. Be patient-this can take 10-15 minutes and shouldn’t be rushed.

To Assemble:
Slice the eclairs horizontally in half. Set the bottoms aside for the moment and put the tops on a rack place over a sheet of parchment or waxed paper.
Spread over the tops of eclairs with a metal icing spatula. Allow tops to set while you fill the bottoms.
Pipe the chocolate diplomat cream into the eclair bottoms. Place the tops over the filled bottoms, jiggling the tops to settle them, and serve the eclairs as soon as possible.
Source: Adapted from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, written by Dorie Greenspan