Vanilla-Chocolate Cream Puffs

Another day of learning from the chef of the Looshaus (Austria)

Yes. Another day in the kitchen of the famous Looshaus restaurant in Payerbach (Austria). Another wonderful yet exhausting day with the amazing team, full of intense learning and marvelous experiences. This time we didn’t cook a four-course dinner for everyone but our guests could choose from the menu. This means that I could watch a lot of dishes being prepared and served. It was quite hard for me to pick one particular recipe to be presented here today. In the end I went for the Vanilla-Chocolate Cream Puffs.

My day in the Looshaus started at 9 am as I should help during lunch time. When I arrived, my first task was peeling a huge pot of boiled potatoes. And when I say huge I also mean it. I swear. But actually I quite enjoyed it because I wasn’t alone, standing there peeling the potatoes. I was helped by lovely Petzi with whom I had a really nice chat. After the peeling session Hanni, the chef, showed me how the starters are arranged on the plates. This required some concentration and thinking because every dish is different, served on different plates, garnished in different ways, and so on. I think in the end I knew what to do, or so I say.

Afterwards I had a close look over Silvia’s shoulder, watching her prepare the meat for the wild boar schnitzel and asking her hundreds of questions concerning the preparation and cooking of meat. She told me that the key to a delicious dish is excellent quality of the meat. It guarantees tenderness. Sometimes, if she feels it isn’t ready to be cooked yet, she keeps the meat in the fridge sealed in vacuum packaging. When cooking the meat, she likes to do it slowly, giving the meat time to reach perfection. She usually sears it on both sides and then leaves it over indirect heat, covered with a lid, maybe with some ‘jus’ (home-made gravy) until it reaches the perfect tenderness.

Right, I know it all in theory now. I know why the steaks, schnitzels and chops taste so amazing in the Looshaus. Whether I can do it with the same results, that’s a question still to be answered. But I’ll definitely try very soon. Maybe I’ll receive some more clues during one of my next expeditions to the Looshaus-kitchen! 😉

Wow, I learned so much that day. The next thing I did was watching the making of puff pastries. Hanni even told me the exact recipe.  What is really important when making choux pastry is that it needs quite some time to be kneaded with the eggs. This makes the dough smooth and shiny and will result in good puffs. And then, make sure that you bake them long enough (without burning them, of course). They must get really, really light in weight and must not be damp inside.

The vanilla-chocolate cream is utterly delicious, too. You don’t need extra sugar as the white chocolate is already sweet enough (at least I feel it provides enough sweetness). If you think otherwise, just add a tablespoon of sugar when you cook the custard.

Right, before I’m finally giving you the recipe I want to say a big “Thank you” to wonderful Hanni and her amazing team. Finally, I met the last member of the team, Karine, another superb cook.

Karine

Here is the recipe now:

Vanilla-Chocolate Cream Puffs

Serves 4
For the choux pastry:
50 g (a little less than ¼ cup) butter
250 ml (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) water
1 tablespoon sugar
140 g (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) flour, all purpose
3 eggs, medium size

For the vanilla-chocolate cream:
250 ml (1 cup + 1 tablespoons) milk
2 tablespoons cold milk
40 g (1/3 cup) custard powder or corn starch
some vanilla essence
100 g (4 ounces) white chocolate
1 heaped tablespoon (50 g) mascarpone or cream cheese
200 ml (a bit less than 1 cup) whipping cream

8-10 strawberries

Preheat the oven to 170°C (150° fan, 325°F, gas mark 3).

Chop the white chocolate. For the vanilla-chocolate cream combine 2 tablespoons cold milk and the custard powder. Stir until smooth. Put the custard mixture and the remaining milk in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and put the chocolate chips and the vanilla essence into the mixture. Stir until the chocolate has melted. Transfer into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave to cool completely.

For the choux pastry bring the water, the sugar and the butter to the boil. Add the flour in one go and use a wooden spoon to stir vigorously. Over medium heat stir until the dough comes off the sides of the pan and a white film forms on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer or a food processor and allow to cool until lukewarm. Add the eggs and use the paddle attachment to beat the dough until it is smooth but chewy. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper. Transfer the dough to a piping bag with a 1,5 cm (1/2 in) nozzle and pipe round shapes of about 4-5 cm in diameter onto the tray. If you don’t have a piping bag just use a spoon to place little scoops on the try. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes. They must be puffed and golden and should be very light in weight. Bake a little longer if necessary. Transfer onto a rack and allow to cool completely.

Mix the cold custard and the mascarpone with a handheld mixer until smooth. Whisk the whipping cream until it forms peaks. Fold the cream into the custard and put into the fridge for another 2 hours.

Cut the puffs horizontally and scoop some cream onto each bottom half. Put a strawberry on the cream and the top half of the pastry on top. Serve immediately.

And here is the recipe for printing: