Chicken Farm Baker's Project # 40 : Play me please!!, Pâte à choux, Passionfruit Meringue Eclair

Halooooo, I am alive ! hehehehe. Had been so lazy updating the blog (also the suck internet)... Some of you may know that recently I am mad of making a good croissant at home...Yesterday was already my 8th attempt and I still haven't get it right. Whenever I succeed, I will post about it :)

Anyway, today is not about the croissant, its about Eclair ! The thing that sounds simple but hard to make it perfect. My ideal eclair is hollow and neatly puff up with a minimal crack. It is so frustrating if you end up with big cracks on the surface of the eclairs or other choux products which makes it difficult to glaze. (and I still got that crack -*-)

This is my first post of Chicken Farm Baker's Project, a group of people who love to bake (also to eat I think ^ ^) and this time... is about choux. I love making choux pastry since their versatility, you can make many different products out of it... profiteroles, crouquembouches, eclairs, St. Honore, etc.

I was thinking what to make...and I saw Adriano's new product from my friend's facebook, the lemon meringue eclair... ok, I wanna make that one. In my freezer, a bag of frozen passion fruit puree was sitting...

Passion fruit Meringue Eclairs
(inspired by Adriano Zumbo)

Passion fruit curd (recipe by Bacco Winebar Pasticceria)

160 g Passion fruit puree
48 g egg yolks
60 g eggs
48 g granulated sugar
60 g unsalted butter
2 g gelatin (bloomed)

Whisk together sugar, egg yolks and eggs in a bowl. Boil the puree and temper the egg mixture. Pour back into the pot and keep stirring with the wooden spoon until the mixture is a bit thicker (not so long about 2-3 mins and don't let it boil). Take off the heat, stir in gelatin and butter.

Transfer passion fruit curd to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold.

Vanilla pastry cream (recipe by Adriano Zumbo)

500 ml milk
125 g egg yolks
125 granulated sugar
50 g corn flour
50 g unsalted butter
1/2 vanilla bean

Place milk and vanilla bean in a saucepan. Heat gently until the milk boils, remove from the heat. Whisk the yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl until thick and pale. Gradually whisk in the milk. Return mixture to same saucepan and stir over medium heat until the custard boils. Spread over a tray to cool rapidly.

Cover the surface of the custard closely with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming, at 55°C transfer to a bowl and stir through butter and refrigerate to cool completely


Passion fruit pastry cream

Mix the Passion fruit curd and pastry cream with 1 : 2 ratio

(these recipe, you will get more passion fruit cream as you needed, who cares... just use the rest spread on toast ^_^)



Pate a choux (recipe by Tiny Bakery)

50 g unsalted butter
75 g water
50 g milk
pinch of salt
pinch of sugar
75 g Cake flour (I used All purpose flour)
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 200ºC . Lightly grease 2-3 large oven trays and set aside.

1. Combine the water, milk, sugar, salt and butter in a large heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and using a wooden spoon quickly beat in the flour. Return saucepan to the heat and continue beating until the mixture comes together and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cook stirring over low heat for a further 1-2 minutes to cook out the flour. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. Transfer to a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat the mixture to release any more heat. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well between each addition until all the eggs have been added and the mixture is thick and glossy. Beat for a few more minutes, or until thickened.
3. Pipe the batter using a large plain or star tip on parchment lined sheet pans. Brush with egg wash lightly if desired.
4. Bake until the products are crisp when pressed on the sides about 35 minutes.
5. When cool, fill with Passion fruit pastry cream


Italian Meringue

150 g granulated sugar
52 g water
75 g egg white
pinch of salt

Cook the sugar and water until 118C (soft-ball stage). When the syrup reaches 110C, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and salt on low speed until foamy. With the mixer running, slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the egg whites, and beat on high speed until mixture has cooled. Use immediately.

Verdict : Taste-wise, I quite like it but in term of presentation, I think my eclair is too small compare to the meringue. I used St honore tube to pipe the meringue and found it too big. I should find some smaller tube next time :)

sorry guys, forgot to take picture of the filling :P