Choux Pastry (for Miniature Puffs & Eclairs), Sea-level Recipe

Choux Pastry Recipe, Sea-level:

*Use a piping bag and large plain tip to apply this to a buttered cookie sheet, for mini-eclairs, and puffs.

3 cups sifted, organic chestnut flour

3 cups cold water

2 tsp salt

12 TBL butter, melted

12 fresh, organic eggs (not beaten up beforehand, add one at a time into mixture after the flour step)

1. Whisk over medium heat on the stovetop:

-Water
-Melted butter
-Salt

2. Bring to a boil for 1 second, then remove from heat. Whisk in the flour.

3. Put it back onto the hot burner, then whisk it for one minute.

4. Take it off the hot burner, then add one egg at a time to the pot. Whisk it well, for 10 seconds after every egg is added, one at a time.

5. Use a hand-mixer/mixer to beat the choux pastry to a smooth texture. It should look shiny, and sticky.

For the puffs, spacing them an inch apart and preheating the oven is the first step. For beginners, it's easier to space the puffs with a buttered mini-muffin pan.

Preheat oven to 350°F, with the center rack. Butter a mini-muffin pan or a cookie sheet. Pipe spaced mounds, each two tablespoons worth into the cookie sheet, using a piping bag and large, plain tip. Think of a large Hershey's kiss candy's shape, but more pointed/taller.

Bake it for 30 - 35 minutes, until it looks golden in color, and when you cut it in half, the inside feels dry and, also, looks hollow.

Cool for 15 minutes. You can make it into profiteroles. To do that, dip each puff into a sugar-free, dark chocolate/caramel sauce. Then, let the chocolate/caramel icing cool for ten minutes. Next, cut each puff in half and fill each one with reduced-fat, sugar-free, crema/mascarpone/whipped cream/vanilla bean ice cream/custard. Use a melon baller for the filling, e.g. ice cream/custard, so that the size is uniform with each chocolate/caramel puff.

Mini-eclairs:

The same method also applies to the mini-eclairs. Just switch to a buttered, large muffin/cupcake pan, to space it more easily. Pipe spiral strips into the muffin pan, each two inches in length. Bake it for 30 - 35 minutes at the same temperature as the puffs. Check it by cutting one in half, and gauging it like the puffs. Cool for 15 minutes.

To fill:

Make a hidden hole, the size of the large, plain tip on the bottom side of each eclair. Fill the piping bag with sugar-free, vanilla custard/chocolate buttermilk mousse, then fill each eclair through the hole.

To Coat/Ice Eclairs' Tops:

Dip the tops into a sugar-free, melted, thick, dark chocolate sauce, one by one. Use a light pinching/pincer grip onto the back, middle, centers of each eclair. After the excess sauce drips off, return them to a cookie sheet or large pan, to set, for 15 minutes.

This can be made 24 hours prior to the potluck/event serving time, and kept in the fridge.