These past few weeks, my Saturday mornings have consisted of coffee, breakfast, and Martha Bakes on repeat. There is something about her calm voice, her adept skills and the nonchalance she brings to, let’s face it, some pretty complex baking. Croissants? Pâte brisée? Multi-layered cakes? Martha says, “No problem!” All in one half-hour show no less.
This. woman. is. fearless.
Not much scares me when it comes to baking. I like to think I’m confident (crazy?) enough to at least try most challenges set before me. Meringues? GOT THIS. Basic bread dough? GOT THIS. Souffles? GOT. THIS.
But I have to admit, pastry still freaks me out a little. And I still have nightmares about the 3-day disaster that was the great croissant carnage of 2011. Ok, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic but three days of prep and hope and hard work to fall flat on my baking face…that HURT. I digress…
For me, the pastry freak-out is two-fold: Will I spend the time and money gathering up the right (often expensive) ingredients – the eggs, the butter, the cream – then follow each step to the letter, and be lucky enough to bring it all together in a successful fashion at the end of it all?
Second, and maybe more importantly, will I be successful the first time I try something new? (‘cause I’d better be, goddamnit!)
As you can probably tell by now I am not good at failure. I’m working on it, I swear.
Fear is a funny thing, isn’t it? Walking alone into a crowded bar won’t literally kill you, but it doesn’t mean you don’t still feel the fear. Truly unscary things (pastry) can still feel scary in life (the kitchen). I guess we can thank our DNA for hardwiring us to be risk averse, but man it can throw a wrench in the plans when you want to try something new and maybe a little bit out of your comfort zone and you are immediately met with what can sometimes be paralyzing fear.
Scared or inspired, I had dinner plans with friends and it was my turn to bring dessert. So fresh off my pep-talk from Martha herself, in the comfort of my safe little apartment, I decided to give this pâte à choux a try so I could bring profiteroles to dinner and impress everyone. Cue applause!
Pâte à choux or choux pastry is a classic, light pastry dough that you can use to make éclairs, cream puffs, croquembouches, and, profiteroles! It should be light and fluffy, yet substantial, and to me it tastes a bit like the bottom of an ice cream cone that has been sufficiently moistened by sweet melting ice cream. I mean that as a good thing, btw.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret here. Turns out, pâte à choux is, like, the easiest thing to make, EVER! Sure, you need a piping bag (maybe the scariest part), but I kid you not there are only three or four ingredients in it and before you can brush the hair from your eyes the pastry has come together in a glorious, shiny dollop, ready to pipe into the most adorable little swirls of crispy baked goodness.
What was I so afraid of?
Like all good unfounded fears, I came out the other side feeling like a rock star for conquering it, wondering why I had waited so long to face it, and trying to figure out how I could make up for lost time. Just think! all these years of my life WITHOUT PROFITEROLES in them. What a waste of dessert time! I have some serious catching up to do. Who’s with me?
I guess sometimes the things we are most scared of aren’t actually that scary after all. Don’t they say the hardest part is deciding to make the jump?
The question is, are you willing to put in the time, the effort, and most importantly, the heart?
For me, when it comes to baking, the answer is always yes.
Mel xo
What scares you, either in the kitchen or outside of it? Sometimes saying it out loud and hearing some supportive words can really help. Tell me more in the comments below.
- Pâte à choux
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs, plus 1 large egg white
- Profiteroles
- Pâte à choux
- Large egg (for egg wash)
- Chocolate sauce
- 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- ¼ cup superfine sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, diced
- For serving
- Vanilla ice cream
- Icing sugar for dusting
- Pâte à choux
- Bring butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides and a film forms on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes.
- Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Raise speed to medium; add whole eggs, 1 at a time, until a soft peak forms when batter is touched with your finger. If peak does not form, lightly beat remaining egg white, and mix it into batter a little at a time until it does.
- Profiteroles
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl for the egg wash. Set aside.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer Pâte à choux to a pastry bag fitted with a ⅝-inch plain tip. Pipe dough into 2-inch rounds about 1 inch apart. Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Brush tops with reserved egg wash. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes. The profiteroles should feel light and airy. Remove puffs from oven and transfer sheets to wire racks to cool completely.
- Make the chocolate sauce: Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of hot water to melt gently, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Put the milk, cream, and superfine sugar into a pan and bring to a boil, whisking continuously. Take off the heat. Still whisking, pour on the melted chocolate, then return to the heat. Still whisking, let the sauce bubble briefly over medium heat. Turn off the heat and whisk in the pieces of butter, one at a time. Put the sauce into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and keep warm in a bain-marie.
- Using a serrated knife, slice off the top third of each puff; set aside. Place a scoop of ice cream on the bottom of each puff; replace tops. Dust with confectioners' sugar and drizzle with chocolate sauce. Serve immediately.
Comments (1)
Oh Mel, how art, or in this case, baking imitates life!