Chou Pastry

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 84, Issue 1, 15 January 1952, Page 80

Chou Pastry

/***HOU PASTRY, the type usually used for cream puffs and chocolate eclairs, is easy to make and can be used in a variety of ways in the making of either sweet or savoury dishes. TO make the basic recipe boil 3oz. of JL butter with a cup of water in a saucepan and add soz. of sifted flour all at once. Beat the mixture over heat until it leaves the side of the saucepan. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes and add 4 unbeaten eggs one by one, beating each in until the mixture shines. , Drop the mixture in spoonfuls on a cold greased tray and bake it in a hot oven (400 degrees F.) for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature and bake the puffs for a further 30 minutes or until they are free from beads of moisture. If a wood or coal range is being used, it may be necessary to put a sheet of paper over the puffs to lower the temperature. Recipes Cream Puffs Use the basic recipe and form each puff with a dessertspoon of mixture. Fill the cooked puffs with whipped cream and dust them with icing sugar. Eclairs Use the basic recipe. Shape the mixture on a cold greased tray with a biscuit forcer or a pastry bag and tube. Make the eclairs 3 to 4in. long and bake them as in the basic recipe. When the eclairs are cold ice them with chocolate or coffee icing, split them, and fill them with whipped cream, custard filling, or caramel filling. Custard Filling 1 egg 1 dessertspoon of 1 cup of milk sugar 1 teaspoon of A few drops of cornflour vanilla Heat the milk. Separate the egg and beat the yolk and the sugar together until they are thick and lemon coloured. Mix the sugar, cornflour, and vanilla to a smooth paste with 1 tablespoon of water. Pour the hot milk into the cornflour mixture and then this mixture into the beaten egg yolk. Stir them all thoroughly and return the mixture to the heat. As soon as it starts to thicken fold in the stiffly beaten egg white and cook the filling for 2 minutes.

Caramel Filling 1 cup of sugar 1J cups of milk 1- tablespoon of 5 tablespoons of butter cornflour 'Melt the butter and sugar together and cook the mixture until it is golden brown. Add 1 cup of boiling milk and stir rapidly to prevent lumps from forming. Mix the cornflour with I cup of cold milk, pour a little of the hot mixture into this thickening, and stir. Then add the thickening to the remainder of the hot mixture and boil it until it thickens. Allow the filling to cool slightly before using it. Frozen Puffs Prepare the puffs from the basic recipe, slice off their tops, and fill them with ice cream. Put each top on the side of the ice cream and sprinkle chopped nuts over the exposed ice cream or garnish it with chopped jelly. Serve the puffs with jam sauce as a dessert. Jam sauce: Boil 1 cup of jam (strawberry, raspberry, or plum is suitable) in J cup of water for 2 or 3 minutes. Thicken it with a little cornflour if necessary. Chocolate Chou Rings Prepare the basic recipe, shape the pastry in rings or circles on a cold greased tray, and bake them. Split the rings, fill them with chocolate butter filling, and sift icing sugar over the top. Chocolate butter filling: Melt 2oz. of butter, add 2 tablespoons of cocoa, stir them together, and cook them for 1 to 2 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool a little, add f- cup of sifted'icing sugar, and beat the filling until it is light and fluffy. Savoury Puffs Prepare pastry from the basic recipe and bake it in teaspoonfuls on a cold greased tray. Fill the puffs with any savoury filling. Creamed lobster, creamed fish, creamed chicken, cheese, asparagus, and creamed corn are suitable. ■ Savoury Pop-ups Prepare the basic recipe, drop the mixture into cold greased patty pans, and bake it as for cream puffs. Fill the pop-ups with savoury fillings. Queen Fritters Prepare the basic recipe, drop the mixture by spoonfuls into deep fat which is just beginning to smoke, and fry it until it is delicately brown. Drain the fritters well and fill them with either sieved fruit pulp or a savoury mixture.

NELL MACPHERSON,

, Rural Sociologist,

Department of Agriculture, Auckland