Ube Choux au Craquelin.. oui oui!

Hey y’all!

[INSERT PICTURE OF CHOUX IN A CROSS SECTION]

Anyone else here absolutely LOVES choux pastry?! I love how it’s light but bread-like (without the bread bloat you get from having too much) so I could have them back to back like a complete choux slut. AND because I am Asian do you know what I think would go well in one? Ube! It’s amazing and I have turned heads with this at a party I kid you not. Some makciks be like… hey, isn’t it just keladi (purple yam)? Well, yes and no. It’s a variant of purple yam commonly found in the Philippines that has a vibrant and distinct purple hue attributed to the anthocyanin content - an antioxidant which I won’t be going into since I’m not a food scientist. But the purple hue is absolutely gorgeous so allow me to convince you that Ube reigns superior!

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In this recipe I’m sharing, we’ll be making Choux au Craquelin (cream puffs) with a delicious Ube-infused Creme Legere (lightened cream)! If you’re wondering, the fundamental difference between the traditional Creme Patissier (pastry cream) and Creme Legere (lightened cream) is that the former is denser and more custard-like. Creme Legere is the same - but is whipped with heavy cream to give the custard an airier and lighter texture feel so you don’t get too sick of having too much of it. I believe that Creme Patissier goes well in a decadent dessert like an eclair but a Creme Legere is a definite go-to for me when it comes to cream puffs! To each his own, eh.

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Before we go into it, I need to sadly say that Ube isn’t readily available in Singapore where I’m from. I ordered my Ube extract from Shopee - and even then it took quite a while (weeks, in fact) for my product to arrive from the Philippines. So if you’re planning to make this for an event you should already have ordered this ingredient specifically beforehand. Now… since I’ve all but covered everything there is to take note of, let’s get started on making some good stuff!

INGREDIENTS

Creme Legere

500ml Fresh Milk

100g Caster Sugar

20ml Ube Extract

4 Large Egg Yolks

50g Unsalted Butter

30g Cornstarch

200ml Whipped Cream

Craquelin

150g Light Brown Sugar

150g All Purpose Flour

150g Unsalted Butter (softened)

1/8tsp Salt

Choux Pastry

100ml Water

100ml Fresh Milk

120g Unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

120g All Purpose Flour

4 Large Eggs

1/2tsp Sea Salt

STEPS

Craquelin

• Combine the brown sugar, butter and flour into a mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix the ingredients until they are mixed in and able to roll firmly into a ball.

• Place between two sheets of baking paper and a flat surface - and using a rolling pin, roll it out to around 5mm in thickness.

• Place it in the freezer until it becomes hard enough to cut.

• Remove from freezer, and cut into 4cm round discs. Roll and repeat until you’ve got the desired amount of craquelin discs. Keep the discs in the freezer until ready to use.

Note: Do this really quickly and if possible, away from a hot environment as the crust tends to revert back to a doughy texture if left out for too long! Normally I’d do this step at night where it’s much more cooling.

Ube Creme Patissier

• Heat the milk and Ube extract in a saucepan, until almost boiling.

• Meanwhile, in a separate mixing bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar and mix on medium setting until fluffy and pale in colour.

• Turn the mixer on low setting, then sift corn flour into the egg mixture and continue mixing again until just well incorporated.

• Transfer the mixture to another saucepan, then pour just enough of the hot Ube milk into the egg mixture slowly in a slow and steady stream to temper it. Make sure you whisk constantly to ensure the egg mixture doesn’t curdle.

• Once you’ve added enough of the Ube milk to ‘warm’ the egg mixture, put the remaining mixture over low-medium heat and continue adding in slow and steady streams until there’s no more milk. Make sure that you stir very, very well. The custard will thicken and eventually come to a boil (look out for a large bubble that pops, almost lava-like). Remove from heat immediately as that happens.

• Pass the Ube custard through a sieve to remove clumps if any. Add butter to the hot custard and give it a mix until it has fully incorporated. After which, immediately transfer to a bowl and cover the surface with cling wrap. Leave to cool to room temperature, then chill it. You may stop at this step for Ube Creme Patissier.

Note: It is imperative to cover the surface with cling wrap, so that the surface does not oxidize and leave a ‘firm’ film when you’re ready to use it. Mixing it would only mess with the custard’s consistency. Still edible, but not as smooth as it should be.

• To make Ube Creme Legere, simply whip heavy cream (approximately one-third the volume of the Creme Patissier) on medium-high setting with a whisk attachment until it forms stiff peaks.

• Gently fold a third of the whipped cream into the mixture until just incorporated, then add the rest in until the Creme Legere is uniform in consistency.

• Transfer to a piping bag with a small round tip, and store until ready to use.

Note: Do not overmix the Creme Legere as it may deflate the mixture. You want light, smooth and fluffy - but not flat.

Choux Pastry

• Preheat oven to 375F. Line the baking trays with parchment paper, and for easy reference mark 3.5cm circles in diameter so you know where and how much to pipe. Mist the surface of the parchment paper with water right before piping!

• Combine water, milk, sugar, salt, butter and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat. When the liquid begins to boil, remove from heat and add the flour in as it absorbs all the moisture. You must mix it vigorously to help it incorporate. When it forms into a dough, return the saucepan back to the stove on medium heat.

• Cook the dough, constantly moving and stretching it around in the pan until you notice a thin layer of film starts to form at the bottom of the pan. This should only take less than 5 minutes depending on your stove so keep a watchful eye.

• Transfer the dough into a bowl to cool slightly (a few minutes should do), and use a hand mixer at low speed to mix the dough while adding an egg at a time. The resulting batter should be smooth, but still able to hold its shape. Place batter in a pastry bag with a pastry tip of your preference (get creative, but I’m using 1/2” round tips).

• Pipe the mounds on the marked and misted baking sheet, and gently place the craquelin discs on top then giving it a light press to secure them in place.

• Bake it in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Note: It is imperative that you do NOT open the oven door before 25 minutes as your pastries may collapse. And use only a single rack as top-and-bottom configurations would screw with the consistency. Patience is key here so bake a batch at a time!

• After the time has elapsed, pull it halfway out of the rack and poke holes into the pastries with a stick or toothpick to release the internal moisture. Bake it for another 5-10 minutes to ‘dry’ the insides so they would not collapse.

• Remove from the oven, and let the pastries cool completely.

Note: No drastic temperature changes e.g. throwing them in an air-conditioned room or chiller as this pastry is quite temperature-sensitive!

• Once completely cooled, use the piping tip to poke a hole at the bottom of each Choux to pipe the Ube Creme Legeres in.

Not only are these pastries aesthetically pleasing, they’re also extremely delicious. You can assemble them into a Purple Croquembouche (pictured below) like I did or just serve them as they are on a plate - they’re both excellent choices!

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Now as I usually say, please don’t restrict your choice of flavour to only Ube. I’ve tried these before with Gula Melaka (coconut sugar), Chocolate-Orange, even Lemon-Blueberry and they taste absolutely divine! I highly encourage you guys to be adventurous with flavours as the possibilities are always endless. Hope that everyone has a great week and stay tuned for more recipes as I crack my brains figuring out new things for everyone to try out.

Peace out xx