OMDB - choux pastry for numpties this way pliz

[BoysAreLikeDogs]

ok

erk

Ooh. Have always been too scared to try choux pastry. Can I mark my place for later? Haven't got time now.

Right, first get all your ingreidnets ready. You will need:

60g plain flour
50g butter

150ml cold water

2 large eggs
pinch of salt

You will also need a suacepan

Sorry for delay, gas man arrived

Now, relax for goodness sake

If you want your choux a little sweet add a taspoon of sugar to ther flour. I never bother as it isn't necessary as the cream and chocolate are sweet enough.

aaargh 3 medium eggs

do I need to pre heat oven?

OMDB - our eggs from our hens are medium so we have the same problem as BALD! Help!!!

how many folks are lurking pinnies a-flutter??

Now, here goes, we are going to make it:

Quickly beat your eggs together in a little jug or cup and set aside.

Step one:
Melt the butter with the water over a low flame in the saucepan. As soon as it comes to the boil turn it off, you don't want your water evaporating away.

Step two:
Tip all your flour in, in one go (I have it in a cup or jug), with one hand, while simultaniously stirring the water-butter mixture with a wooden spoon with the other. DO not stop stirring vigorously.

Step three:
Keep beating and stirring the mixture vigorously until you have a smooth ball of paste that comes away from the sides of the saucepan leaving it clean. This will not take long, a few minutes max.

Step four:
Now add the beaten eggs, slowly, a little at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Don't worry if suddenly you have a slimy mess with bits of the dough seperate from the egg, it doesn't matter, just add all the egg, mixing mixing mixing, and eventually all the egg will be encorporated with the paste and you should be left with a sticky silky paste.

Ta Da. Choux pastry.

Ok, I have always just used two eggs, regardless of size, unless they are tiddly, so don't panic.

Yes, you will need a pre-heated oven, 200C, gas mark 6.

Dollop spoonfuls of the mixture onto greaced baking trays, can be little teaspoons or big tablepoons, or shaped into ovals, or squeezed out in blobs form a piping bag.

Once they are on the trays and ready to bake sprinkle the tray with a few drops of water from a wet hand. the steam from the water helps the buns rise.

Cool Thank you - will make some for next 'big thing'.

Then you bake them in the oven for ten minutes and then (here's the important part) you turn the oven up to 220C gas mark7 and bake for a further 7-20 minutes (depending on size) until the buns are crisp and golden.

So if you're making profiteroles, what size spoons do you need to use?

do you wait until they're completely cool before you inject the cream in?

Do you need something special to inject hte cream with?

Ok - to clarify - 10min at 200C and then 7-20min at 220C?

And can you re-write this with all our FAQs for the recipe section?

You should have a tray of lovely fuffed up golden balls (). Now, you are going to take a skewer/small sharp knife/knitting needle and make a hole in the side of each bun to let the steam out. This is important if you want a nice hollow to fill with cream.

Then leave them on a wire rack to cool.

Flamingo, yes, timing really depends on the size of the buns and the oven you have, so after first ten minutes just watch them every five minutes or so.

Slow down Flamingo!

Right, once they are cool you can just cut them open enough to fit the cream in using a teaspoon, or you can use a piping bag to squeeze the cream in. If they are eclairs definately just split them down the side.

For profiteroles I would use a tablespoon size dollop on the trays.

sorry. Overexcited that I might be able to make the one thing I always end up buying readymade - hardly ever buy readymade usually!

You can fill them with vanilla cream and dust them with icing sugar for a change

If you have more time than sense you can make these