It was my good friend’s girlfriend’s birthday. You know, the one who got me THE baking book
that I’ve been baking from like this and this
and this
and this! So obviously I wanted to make her something for her birthday. I remembered her mentioning that she likes
Nutella, so I knew I wanted to make her something that incorporated it. I have
this theory that people who like Nutella like it for the ganache-like
consistency (i.e., if you gave them a jar of ganache, they would like it just
as much and the hazelnut portion of the spread would not be missed). So, I knew that I wanted to keep the creamy
consistency of Nutella (i.e., not mix it into a cake batter or make cookies
from it as it would take on the consistency of that baked good). I decided on cream puffs with a Nutella-based
filling. I’m not huge on cream puffs, but
I knew the day would come when I would make them. I just had a feeling. Let’s see how they turn out…
Check out the verdict at the end of the post!
Pate a Choux
Original recipe from here.
Makes 12.
Ingredients
¼ cup butter
½ cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon sugar
½ cup flour
2 eggs
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line baking pan with parchment or silicone mat.
3. In a medium saucepan, boil water, butter, salt, and sugar.
4. Once boiling, add four, take off heat and stir with a wooden spoon
into a paste.
5. Put the pan back on the medium heat and continuously stir the dough
until there is a thin film of the flour on the bottom of the pan. At that point, set the timer for 3 minutes
and continuously stir.
6. After 3 minutes, transfer dough to a bowl and stir in eggs one at a
time until you’ve got a smooth batter.
7. Fill pastry bag with whatever (larger) tip you like, or no tip.
8. Pipe rounds on sheet.
9. Lightly spray with water.
10. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.
Turn down to 375 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until
golden.
11. Take them out of the oven and cut holes in the sides of the puffs
to release the steam.
12. Put tray back in turned off oven with door ajar for 10
minutes. Close door and let them dry out
for 2 hours.
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| Step 3: Boiling water, butter, sugar, and salt. |
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| Step 4: Add flour and mix. |
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| Step 5: Cook until film on bottom of pan. 3 minutes more. |
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| Step 6: Add one egg at a time. |
 |
| All eggs added. |
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| Spay with water. |
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| After baking. |
 |
| Releasing steam. |
Nutella Whip
Adapted from here.
Ingredients
7 oz Nutella
2.5 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoons whipping cream
Directions
1. Combine all ingredients and beat for 4 minutes
until fluffy.
2. Fill piping bag with a tip small enough to be
inserted into the puff, but large enough to deliver the filling.
3. Insert in previously made hole and fill. The
puff will get heavy, which is how you’ll know when to stop.
4. I drizzled melted chocolate and added sprinkles,
but this is optional.
Verdict: OMG! These were the easiest things ever to make! So few ingredients and you basically combine
and mix! Plus, they were super delicious.
The birthday girl really enjoyed them! And even my friend – the Nutella
hater – liked them! Will definitely make these again because they are so easy
and such a crowd pleaser/wower = lots of bang for your effort!
Damn. Drooling.
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