Kitchenesia.com - As time goes on, choux pastry evolves into many unique variations based on its form and also the ingredients added into the pastry dough or in the filling.
These fluffy and crunchy pastry is such a crowd-pleasure every where it is served. Here are the most famous among them.
Profiterole
Profiterole is ball-shaped choux pastry filled with custard, cream chantily, or whipped cream. Some people also use ice cream as the pastry filling, particularly in the USA.
There are also different coating for the pastry. Mostly it is chocolate glaze, but now pastry chefs are very creative with the topping.
Eclair
Eclair, means “flash of lightning”, is a long-shaped, oblong pastry filled with creme pattisiere (custard cream).
Some pastry chefs also uses filling made of whipped cream (which gives the even lighter sensation) or chiboust creme, creme pattisiere that has been lightened with egg white.
The top of eclair is then coated with icing glaze.
Saint Honore Cake
Saint Honore Cake is maybe the most complex form of choux pastry.
It consists of the large circle base layer made of puff pastry, the second base layer on top of it made of flat choux pastry, and a ring of profiteroles filled with creme pattisiere on top of the flat choux pastry, and the topping of chiboust cream on top of these pastry.
It is considered the most difficult choux pastry to make as it involves a lot of pastry technique.
Croquembouche
Croquembouche is made from profiteroles that is attached into each other using caramel or chocolate forming a high cone.
Those profiteroles are filled with creme pattisiere.
Spun sugar are often used as the decoration of this pastry creation.
Although it is not as complex as the Saint Honore Cake, croquembouche also requires a lot of techniques on the making.
Because of its overwhelmingly beautiful appearance, croquembouche is often used as a wedding cake.
