Choux pastry is used in eclairs, caramel puffs, cream puffs and can be filled with both savoury and sweet fillings from melted cheese sauce to chocolate ganache or custard fillings.
Preheat your oven to 220 degrees celcius
Ingredients
140g Plain Flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
100g Butter
5 eggs
1 extra egg slightly beaten (for brushing the pastry)
Method
1.Place butter,water and milk into a sauce pan.
2.Bring ingredients to a boil and then take off the heat immediately
3. Sift flour into pan.
4.Stir in the flour very fast with a wooden spoon until smooth (make sure you use a wooden spoon)
5.Return the sauce pan to the stove and mix very well until the pastry pulls away from the corners of the pan (this should take about 3-4 minutes)
6.Remove the saucepan again from the heat.
7.Beat in one egg at a time.Make sure each egg is mixed in thoroughly before adding the next.
8.Now ,put the finished pastry into a piping bag and pipe onto a lined baking tray
9.Brush piped pastry with the beaten egg and place into the preheated oven for 10 minutes.After 10 minutes turn the oven down to 200 degrees celcius and leave the oven door slightly open.(You can wedge the oven door with a wooden spoon or a wet dishcloth while it cooks for another 10 minutes)
10.Take pastry out of oven and allow to cool fully before filling
Quiche and Pie Pastry
It's so quick and easy to prepare your own quiche, pie crust at home. Why would you compromise on the taste of your overall dish if you can whip it up in less than the time it would take you to run to the store.Try out our delicious savoury pastry recipe below
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Plain Flour
1/2 cup Cold Butter
tsp salt
20ml ice water
1 Large egg yolk
Method
1. Place the flour,salt and butter into a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles bread crumbs
(if you don't have a food processor you can rub the butter and flour together with your fingers)
2. Mix the ice water and egg yolk together
3.Blend the egg yolk mixture to the flour and butter mixture until it starts to form into clumps
4. Bring the mixture together with your hands and form a disc shape
5.Wrap the pastry disc into some plastic wrap and place in the fridge for atleast 15-25 minutes before use
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Plain Flour
1/2 cup Cold Butter
tsp salt
20ml ice water
1 Large egg yolk
Method
1. Place the flour,salt and butter into a food processor and blend until the mixture resembles bread crumbs
(if you don't have a food processor you can rub the butter and flour together with your fingers)
2. Mix the ice water and egg yolk together
3.Blend the egg yolk mixture to the flour and butter mixture until it starts to form into clumps
4. Bring the mixture together with your hands and form a disc shape
5.Wrap the pastry disc into some plastic wrap and place in the fridge for atleast 15-25 minutes before use
Short Crust Pastry
The foundation to any perfect tart starts with the perfect sweet crust pastry. This recipe can be used as a base for tarts, cups, mini tartlets and any other sweet pies shells
Ingredients
2 cups Plain Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
125g butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
pinch salt
Method
1. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
2. Add the egg and mixture until fully combined with butter and sugar
3. Finally add salt,sifted flour and baking powder into mixture
4.Once completely combined ,use your hands to form a dough.
Now your pastry is ready to use as any dessert base
Ingredients
2 cups Plain Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
125g butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
pinch salt
Method
1. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
2. Add the egg and mixture until fully combined with butter and sugar
3. Finally add salt,sifted flour and baking powder into mixture
4.Once completely combined ,use your hands to form a dough.
Now your pastry is ready to use as any dessert base
Banoffee Pie Martini
Now that spring is finally here, we all will be looking for lighter,fresh desserts to put together when entertaining at home. Bananas are one of those fruits that always seem be available at the shops. Why not try this one with a little kick in it. It's a classic with a twist
Banoffee Martini
Ingredients
1 pk Ginger nut biscuits (you could also use wine biscuits)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tin of caramel
Bananas
200 ml Fresh cream
1Tablespoon Castor sugar
1 Tablespoon Brandy or Irish cream
Cinnamon
Method
1. Crush Ginger nut biscuits with a rolling pin or in a food processor
2. Melt the butter and incorporate this with the crushed biscuits
3. Your biscuits mix is now ready.If you want to make it even yummier and you have a few spare minutes.Then slightly toast the crumbs under the oven grill until slightly crispy
4. In a seperate bowl loosen up the Caramel by mixing it with a few drops of warm water.
5. Whip the cream and sugar together until it has almost reached soft peak consistency.
6.Fold in brandy or Irish cream to the cream mix
7. Slice bananas and put to the side
Now you're ready to put it all together
8.Get out your martini glasses and drop a tablespoon of the biscuit mix at the bottom of each
9.Then layer a little bit of caramel on top followed by a dollop of the cream and bandy mix on top
10.layer with a few slices of banana and then repeat the layering process until the martini glass is full.
11. Finally dust the top with cinnamon and voilaaa!
A perfectly easy and quick dessert for a fancy get together
Perfect Baking
Fresh Eggs- Always use fresh eggs that are at room temperature. You'll be amazed at how fluffy and light a fresh egg can make your cake batter compared to a stale one
Sifted Flour- Sifting the flour, baking powder etc before adding to a mixture helps with the fluffiness. Sifting= no lumps. By sifting you airate the flour that adds to the lightness... become one with the light
Be prepared- The cake /cupcake tin etc that you will be using should be prepared and lined with a baking sheet or greased before you start mixing your cake batter. Why? Because your batter should spend the least amount of time hanging around after it has been incorporated. Letting your batter hang around could be the difference between a fluffy light cake and a dense one
Fan Bake vs Classic Bake- If you own an oven that has a fan bake option then you need to beware of the following. Fan Bake basically circulates the hot air all around the cake much faster than a classic bake. If your recipe specifically tells you to cook on fan bake then stick to those instructions. If you have an older recipe from back in the day then you're better off sticking to classic bake. If you only have a fan bake option on your new oven then turn your oven a few degrees lower (5-10 degrees celcius) to get the equivalent of a classic 180 degree celcius setting.
Lemon and Poppyseed Muffins
Ingredients- Preheat Oven to 170 Degrees Celcius
2 Cups Self raising Flour
1 cup Sugar
1/2 cup poppyseeds
rind of two lemons
80g Butter
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
Method
- Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy
- Add one egg at a time and mix well
- Add whole milk and blend with mixture
- Add sifted flour, poppy seeds and rind to wet ingredients
- fold together..don't overmix this
- fill muffin/cupcake tin 3/4 of the way
- Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes
- Remove from Oven and dust with icing sugar or top with lemon and cream cheese frosting
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