Pistachio cream puffs

FIRST MAKE THE APRICOT CURD:

1. Cook the apricots. Put half of the sugar, water and butter in a medium heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir from time to time until the sugar had dissolved and the butter has melted. Add the chopped apricots, stir occasionally and cook for 5 to 10 min, until a knife can be inserted into the apricots easily and turn a bit mushy. Pass the apricots puree through a sieve into a medium-size bowl, pressing with a silicone spatula to get all the delicious juice. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom of the sieve. Discard the pulp and skin remaining in the sieve.

    

2. Make the curd. In a large heatproof bowl whisk the yolks and the other half of the sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 min. Add the apricot puree and whisk it into the yolk mixture. Now you are going to turn the puree into a silky smooth custard with a bain-marie over medium-low heat. Set the heatproof bowl over a medium saucepan filled with 5 cm (2 in) of simmering water. Continuously whisk over medium-low heat until the apricot mixture thickens and registers 75°C (170°F), about 12 min.  The custard should coat your spatula. Be careful to cook it over low heat, if it’s too hot, the custard will curdle. The eggs in the custard will cook too quickly and you’ll end up with sweet scrambled eggs.

    

3. Finish up. Scrape the curd into a strainer set over a bowl and strain. Press hard with a spatula and Don’t forget to scrape any curd clinging to the bottom of the strainer. Add the butter and stir until combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the curd. When the curd has cooled down to room temperature, refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or overnight before using it.

    

THEN MAKE THE CHOUX PASTRY:

1. Make the choux pastry. Put the butter, salt and water in a medium heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Slowly bring it to a boil and stir to ensure that the butter has melted. Add the flour in one go and vigorously stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Take off the heat and keep stirring for 3 min, pressing the dough against the pan so that the heat can dry it out. At this point, the dough should form a ball that doesn’t stick to the pan. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and wait 5 min for it to cool down a little bit. Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Line one baking sheet with parchment paper.

    

2. Incorporate the eggs. Start with 2 eggs: add them one at a time, beating with a wooden spoon until well blended after each addition. Break the last egg into a bowl and whisk it. Slowly add it to the dough until you reach a perfect consistency: thick, elastic and pipeable. After lifting your spoon from the dough you should get a bird’s beak (or bec d’oiseau as we say in France), meaning the dough should hold its shape and turn down in a curvy manner (as seen on the photo circled in red.) You might need all of the last egg or not, or you might need another egg. With choux pastry, you should check the consistency not the number of eggs stated in the recipe. Every batch is a bit different. Be careful not to add too much, if your dough is too sloppy the choux will spread out on the baking sheet and won’t rise properly.

    

3. Pipe and bake. Transfer your choux dough to a piping bag with a 1.7cm (⅔ in) round tip (I don’t have one so I just cut the tip of my disposable piping bag with scissors) and twist to enclose the dough. Pipe 4cm (1 ½ in) mounds about 4cm (1 ½ in) apart. Gently smooth down the peaks with a wet fingertip. Bake for 35 min. Do not open the oven door while the choux are cooking or they will collapse.

    

4. Dry out the cream puff shells. Turn off the oven. Slip the handle of a wooden spoon between the oven and the door to prop it slightly ajar and let the choux dry out for 20 min. They should be golden brown when ready and sound hollow when the shells’ bottoms are tapped on. Transfer the choux to a wire rack and let them cool completely filling and glazing them.

 

MAKE THE PISTACHIO GLAZE:

1. Make the glaze. Put the cream cheese, pistachio powder, powdered sugar and cream in a large mixing bowl. With a hand mixer beat the ingredients until smooth and combined. Transfer the glaze to a small bowl.

LASTLY, ASSEMBLE THE PISTACHIO CREAM PUFFS:

1. Fill the cream puffs with the apricot curd. Transfer your apricot curd in a piping bag with a 1cm (3/8in) round tip and twist to enclose the curd. Poke a small hole in the bottom of each choux pastry shell with a small knife. Insert the tip of the piping bag into the holes of the shells and squeeze the bag to fill them halfway with the apricot curd. If you put too much curd it will be a mess when you’ll bite into one.

    

2. Glaze them. delicately dip the top of the cream puff shells in the glaze bowl with a circular movement or just use a spoon.  Sprinkle with the leftover pistachio powder and/or pieces.