When spicy food is mentioned, we all envision different types of food. Traditionally, most spices are reserved for a specific category, either sweet or savory. However, the latest trends in food have many spices transcending over both categories. Today, there are recipes for rosemary lemon cake or chocolate chip cookies with cayenne pepper.
One spice that has always existed in both categories is ginger. There are so many savory recipes that use ginger-you can probably have a meal with every entree and side dish containing this spice. Also, finding a dessert that contains ginger is not a difficult task, especially around the holidays.
Let's not count the days until the holidays (it is a scary thought since there is so much to do and plan)! Instead of counting days, I decided to roll out a recipe for a "holiday" spiced treat-sort of a preview of things to come. This recipe is for little cream puffs or profiteroles that are filled with passion fruit cream. Instead of using plain pastry for the outer shell, I have added gingerbread spice to the dough. In addition to the spices in the dough, the puff shells, after baking, are topped with a sugary version of the same spice. The end result is a delicious combo of tart and spicy- something special to put you in the holiday spirit.....
There are many recipes for the profiterole shells, however, I experimented with one that had minimal ingredients. A recipe without sugar and milk.This was my first time in creating this type of pastry and the "puff" factor was an issue. I was expecting the dough to rise more in baking. While a pastry chef may consider creating cream puffs and easy task, a newbie should be prepared for trial and error. Due to the level of difficulty, additional attempts with the dough may yield the tall round profiteroles we recognize. However, bear in mind that the shape has no impact on the delicious flavor of these little gems.
The recipe makes a little over 3 dozen. Be sure to read through the whole recipe and the tips at the end prior to making these.
Gingerbread Spice Cream Puffs
by Flourtrader
Ingredients/Gingerbread Pastry Shells or Profiteroles
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp gingerbread spice mix (see recipe below)
1 cup water
4 eggs
4 ounces or 1 stick of butter
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
Ingredients/ Passion Fruit Cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup passion fruit puree
4 egg yolks
2 tbs plus 2 tsp butter (melted)
1 1/4 cup whipping cream
Ingredients/Topping
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs plus 1 tsp gingerbread spice mix
Ingredients/Gingerbread spice mix (adapted from Genius Kitchen)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
The first step is making the passion fruit curd. Start by filling a saucepan with the sugar, puree and egg yolks. Whisk together and place over medium heat. Continue to whisk while the mixture is cooking. With time, the sugar will dissolve and it will thicken into a pudding-like consistency. The cooking process should take about 12-15 minutes. Test for correct consistency by checking to see if it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour in melted butter. Stir until butter is melded into batter. Empty saucepan into a heat proof bowl and cover the surface of the fruit curd with plastic. Place in refrigerator to cool completely before using.
Prepare for the profiteroles by lining two baking sheets with parchment paper. Also, in order to pipe the dough, assemble a piping bag with a coupler fitted with a plain decorating tip. The opening of the piping tip should be no bigger than 1/4 an inch. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Fill a saucepan with the water, spice mix, salt and butter. Let the mixture come to a boil and then remove from heat. Add the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. When ready, you will notice that the dough no longer has a shine to it and it does not stick to the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a mixer and add one of the eggs. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Repeat the process with the additional eggs, adding one by one. The end result will be a batter thick enough to hold its shape.
Fill the piping bag with some of the dough. Pipe tablespoon size mounds onto the baking sheet, spacing about an inch apart. Place in oven to bake until puffed and golden brown, about 27-35 minutes. Let cool on parchment paper for about 3 minutes, then transfer to rack to completely cool. Continue until all the batter has been baked into profiteroles. Clean the coupler and decorating tip. Set these tools aside for additional use in this recipe.
Once the final batch of profiteroles has completely cooled, take a small paring knife or wooden skewer and punch a hole in each one. The whole should be located in the center of the bottom of each pastry. Then you are ready to create the additional elements.
Beat the heavy whipping cream in a medium size bowl until it forms stiff peaks. Take the passion fruit curd out of the refrigerator and measure out 1/2 cup plus 2 additional tablespoons. Fold that amount into the whipped cream. Assemble another piping bag with the same coupler and decorating tip as used previously. Fill the bag with the passion fruit cream. Pipe the cream into the profiteroles, filling until the cream starts to overflow the hole. Follow this process to fill all the pastries.
Lastly, the topping will be completed. Using a small bowl, stir together the gingerbread spice mix and the sugar. Take each of the filled profiteroles and dip in the butter, covering the top surface only. After dipping in the butter, dip into the sugar mixture and place upright on a serving plate. After topping these little gems, they are ready to serve!
Tips and Notes:
1. The bake time on the standard profiterole recipes span from 20 minutes to 40 minutes- so keep an eye on these when baking. The pastries will lose their sheen and be light and dry with toasted edges when done.
2. Due to the additional of spices, the pastry shells bake up darker in color than the standard.
3. The pastries have some height to them but are always flat on the bottom.
4. If not serving immediately, store in refrigerator.
5. The spice has a more prominent flavor the next day. If you do not opt for the topping but still want a gingerbread flavor-increase the amount of spice and try a recipe that includes milk and sugar in the dough.
6. A single profiterole is about 2 bites which is a lot smaller than a cream puff.
7. Consistency is important when making the dough. If you find that it is too liquid, add a little more flour if needed. Additional time beating the dough will also help.
8. You will have about 3/4-1 cup of passion fruit curd left over. It is delicious as a cake or cupcake filling or just poured over ice cream.
**LAST YEAR: Mini Sweet Potato Cakes**
