chocolate – The Simple Elements

I made the realization that through all my blogging, I have yet to fit any of my posts into my travel category, which is so odd, considering my husband and I love to travel and have been to many wonderful places together. I guess I live through our travels again via photographs, but in reality, I should document these experiences into words.

Paris. What can I say? It is a fairy tale, foodie’s paradise, fashionista’s live runway and wine connoisseur’s dream come true all tied into one city. Out of the places I’ve been to in Europe, it’s my favorite city. It probably helps that my husband speaks fluent French, has wonderful friends who live there and is my very own personal tour guide when we visit.

I absolutely love French food, and especially French pastry. I believe they have wonderful magical powers. My husband and I were attending a wedding in the South of France, when we learned of some sad news. When we arrived back in Paris from Toulouse, my husband knew I needed a pick me up. What better way to feel better, than indulging in fabulous french sweets? The first place he took me was to Stohrer, this incredible Patisserie around the corner from the apartment where we stay in Paris. The glass display cases are lined with beautiful pastry, colorful macarons, and picture perfect tarts. How does one even make a decision in a place like this? It was then when I spotted a glossy chocolate eclair. I’m not lying when I say it was the most wonderful treat I have ever had. Trust me. You haven’t had an eclair until you have experienced one from Stohrer. The light french pastry, filled with dark chocolate creme patisserie, topped with a layer of melted dark chocolate is pure perfection. I felt better already. I can’t do it justice by writing about it, I can only recommend that you stop by and experience the incredible sweets they have to offer. It’s truly an experience.

The people who work there, are wonderful to say the least. My husband and I had to catch an early fight back home, and there was nothing we wanted more than fresh pain chocolat and eclair before we left. My husband ran down to Stohrer while I finished packing our things. When he arrived back at the apartment, he arrived empty handed…Before I could say anything, he informed me that the pastry chef was putting a fresh batch of pain chocolat and eclair in the oven, ahead of his other pastries, just for us, as they normally are not ready at 6 am 🙂 If you haven’t had pain chocolat right out of the oven…it’s an absolute must. Now every time we’re in Paris, this is always our first stop every morning, and our last stop before heading to the airport.

On your next trip to Paris, make sure to stop by Stohrer located at 51 rue Montorgueil 75002 Paris.

In November, I wrote a post describing the difficulties of making holiday desserts to please my entire family. Everyone has a favorite, a request, a non-negotiable. I decided that I was tired of coming up with new culinary creations only to endure sighs of disappointment that I would ever think of veering from the traditional holiday pumpkin and apple pies. Luckily, my mother will support anything I decide to make, so I decided that for Christmas, I was going to make something I wanted and bring it, and people were going to eat it. I wasn’t even going to give anyone the option to give their opinion this time!

I searched for a dessert that would be sure to please, even the under 6 crowd. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love vanilla bean pastry cream, profiteroles, and chocolate? And so it was decided, I would attempt to make a traditional French Croquembouche. The name comes from the French words croque en bouche, which literally means “crunch in the mouth,” due to the traditionally used crunchy hardened caramel coating. The stunning dessert is often served at weddings and baptisms in Italy and France. There are several variations to this immaculate culinary creation, and I decided to combine my favorite flavors into mine: Vanilla bean, chocolate and raspberry. I did use the traditional caramel to build my tower. I did quite a bit of research to find the perfect pasty cream, the best profiterole recipe and combine the two into one dessert. Below you will find the recipes I chose as well as tips and tricks on how to make this incredible dessert.

Choux Pastry for the Puffs

The profiteroles are made from a traditional choux pastry. These light, fluffy and buttery bites are good enough to eat on their own…but are absolute delights when filled with vanilla bean pastry cream. The recipe for the choux pastry is from Martha Stewart…of course!

Ingredients

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
7 large eggs

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. To make the puffs: In a medium saucepan, melt butter in 1 1/2 cups water with salt and sugar. Remove pan from heat, and add flour. Return pan to heat and, using a wooden spoon, beat vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes. (A film should form on the bottom of the pan.) Cool slightly, and add 6 eggs, one at a time, beating vigorously.
Make a glaze by beating the remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water, and set aside. Using a pastry bag fitted with a coupler and a 1/2-inch-wide plain tip, pipe out mounds that are 1 inch high and 3/4 inch in diameter on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush with egg glaze, and smooth the tops. Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on racks. The puffs are best made the day of consumption, but you can make them ahead of time and keep them in open plastic storage bags allowing air to circulate.
If you choose to make them the evening before, the day of assembly, you can simply crisp back up the puffs by placing them back in a 400 degree oven for a couple minutes.

Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Also called Creme Patissiere, pastry cream is a rich custard made from milk, eggs, sugar, flour, and various flavorings. I chose vanilla bean, because I love it so. But, you can flavor it with cocoa powder, cognac or just plain vanilla extract.

Ingredients

2 cups milk
1/2 cup white sugar
2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped out
6 egg yolks
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Pinch of salt

Directions

Place the milk, half the sugar and the vanilla bean in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.
Combine the egg yolks and the remaining sugar in a standing mixer and whisk until the eggs turn very light in color. Add in the flour and the salt and continue to mix.
When the milk just begins to boil, remove from the heat. Very slowly dribble the hot milk into the yolk mixture, stirring all the time. When about half of the milk has been added, place all of the yolk mixture into the saucepan over medium heat. Using a spatula or a whisk, mix the pastry cream as it heats, making sure to reach all of the corners of the pan when you stir. Bring the mixture to a boil. Let boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. The mixture will start to thicken.
Remove from heat and add the butter. Place into a bowl and cover directly with plastic wrap to stop a skin from forming on the cream. Chill and use within a few days.

Assembly

To fill the puffs: Using a paring knife, make a small X in the bottom of each puff. Using a pastry bag fitted with a round tip, pipe the pastry cream into each puff until full.

To make the caramel: In a medium saucepan, combine 2/3 cup water, sugar, and corn syrup, and bring to a boil over high heat. Do not stir. Cover pan, and boil until steam dissolves any crystals. Uncover, and boil 5 more minutes, or until syrup is amber in color. Remove from heat. Dip the bottom of each puff into the caramel, and arrange puffs in a pyramid.

To decorate, melt your favorite chocolate in a double boiler or microwave until just melted. Place in a pastry bag and drizzle over the completed pyramid. Adorn with raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and mint leaves.

When I served this at Christmas, I placed a few profiteroles on a plate and topped them with extra chocolate 🙂