The other day over on my fatherhood blog I was talking about my obsession with making different things using Pate a Choux after learning about it over on Michael Ruhlman’s blog. I figured that it would be a go opportunity to fire up the video camera and make some cream puffs filled with an orange scented whipped cream and a dark chocolate orange ganache.

Dark chocolate covered puffs with orange scented cream from PJ Mullen on Vimeo.

the recipes:

pastry puffs

1. 1 cup water
2. 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3. 1 cup flour
4. 1 cup eggs (about 5 large)

• bring the water to a fast simmer, then melt the butter in the water
• when the butter is completely melted quickly stir in the flour and cook off any remaining water
• remove from the heat and mix in one egg at a time, the mixture will be very glossy, but will quickly return to a matte finish as the eggs get incorporated
• set aside to cool for a few minutes then transfer to a pastry bag, or plastic bag with one corner cut off
• on a parchment covered cookie sheet pipe out the pate a choux dough in small piles
• take some cold water on your finger and push down any high points remaining from where you piped it out
• baked in 425 degree over for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes depending on your oven

orange scented whipped cream

1. 2 cups heavy cream
2. 2 teaspoons orange extract
3. zest of 1 orange
4. 1/4 cup sugar (or 3 tablespoons agave nectar)

• add all ingredients and whip to combine using a whisk or mixer

dark chocolate orange ganache

1. 1 cup heavy cream
2. 9 oz. bitter or semi-sweet chocolate chips
3. 1 teaspoon orange extract
4. 1 pinch salt
5. 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• scald the cream in a saucepan, then add the salt, sugar and orange extract and stir to combine
• pour the scalded cream mixture over the chocolate chips in a medium mixing bowl, then stir or whisk until the chocolate is completely melted

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In our household baking is not my purview. It’s not that I’m not capable of it, but rather that my wife really enjoys it. From time to time I’ll help with measuring out ingredients and whatnot while she assembles and does the hard work.

When it came time to choose the dessert portion of our holiday meal we had considered going with the old standby of apple pie. I don’t like pumpkin pie and as much as I love pecan pie the standard configuration would surely wreak havoc on my blood sugar.

However, a friend of ours came over for dinner one night before Thanksgiving and told us about this recipe she found on Whole Foods Market’s website for a chocolate pecan pie that didn’t use a lot of sugar. Intrigued, we looked up the recipe and determined that it was certainly a solid option to do something new for Thanksgiving.

We made a few modifications to the recipe in that we used a mix of baking chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate. Also, we substituted brown sugar for agave nectar, which has been a great find considering my lingering sweet tooth despite my diabetes diagnosis.

For the first run at a recipe the results were great and we will surely be making this again.

chocolate pecan pie

adapted from this Whole Foods Market recipe

hardware

9 in pie pan
large and medium mixing bowls
whisk and spatula
parchment paper or aluminum foil
pie weights or a package of dry beans

software

1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust
4 squares (or 4 ounces) baking chocolate
4 squares (or 4 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup+ 1 tablespoon agave nectar*
2 eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups chopped pecans

* you can use 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar as the original recipe called for instead

assemblage

• preheat oven to 350 degrees
• line pan with pie crust, then cover with parchment paper or aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans
• bake pie crust for 10-12 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool
• reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees
• melt the chocolate and butter in medium mixing bowl
• combine agave nectar, eggs, vanilla and pecans in large mixing bowl
• stir chocolate mixture into large mixing bowl, then pour into pre-baked pie crust
• bake until set in the middle, approximately 50 to 60 minutes
• be sure to check on the pie as it bakes and cover the crust with foil or pie shield to prevent burning

presentation

When it came time to serve the pie we decorated the edges of the pie with some piped on homemade whipped cream. Then, we served our pie up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

With the third installment of the fall flavors series I’m turning my attention to dessert by making a port wine cranberry creme brulee. It has taken me some practice to make a good creme brulee and I feel like I’m still learning, but this came out quite well.

hardware

• medium saucepan
• medium mixing bowl
• 6 ramekins (7 to 8 ounce in size)
• large cake or roasting pan
• measuring cups and spoons
• whisk, strainer (or sieve) and other assorted utensils

software

• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 1 teaspoon extract)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup granulated sugar, divided evenly
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 cup port wine cranberry sauce
• 2 quarts hot water

assemblage

• preheat oven to 325 degrees
• combine the vanilla bean and pulp, cardamom and heavy cream in a medium saucepan over medium high heat and scald (warm to the touch, but not to the point of boiling)
• mix the eggs yolks with a 1/2 cup of sugar and whisk until well blended and the yolks are a light, creamy yellow
• remove the vanilla bean from the scalded cream by straining it through a sieve into a large measuring cup and temper the creamed egg yolk mixture by adding just a little bit of the cream at a time (this brings the temperature of the egg yolks up so that they don’t curdle in the hot cream), then whisk vigorously until totally combined
• strain the cream base again this time to remove any bits of cranberry that didn’t get obliterated when it was blended, then divide the liquid between the ramekins
• place the cake or roasting pan on the oven rack and pour the hot water in the cake or roasting pan
• set the ramekins gently in the pan and make sure the hot water comes about half way up the sides of the ramekins
• bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the center of the creme brulee is set, but not firm
• remove the ramekins from the pan and cool in the refrigerator for at least two hours and up to three days

presentation

remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you plan on caramelizing the sugar on top. divide the second 1/2 cup of sugar and spread out evenly. using a torch or the broiler, melt the sugar until it is a crispy and golden brown. give the creme brulee about five minutes to rest after browning the sugar before serving.

if you wanted to make it a little fancier, you could reserve a little of the port wine cranberry sauce before it was pureed smooth as a topping and finish it off with a mint leaf for effect.

* in the video you’ll note that I said 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom, but that was based on an earlier version of this recipe and I have instead substituted that with 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

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