Who doesn’t, at some stage, have lonely egg yolks languishing in their fridge. There they sit, dreaming of a better life, (cue violins) until one day the fridge door opens... light floods in... and their crusted remains are consigned to the bin. Awwwwww...
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| "I coulda been a contender. I coulda been been somebody..." Eggy Malloy, On the Waterfront |
The talented and lovely Jill Colonna, author of Mad About Macarons le book, and le blog (and now Teatime in Paris) threw down the gauntlet of the egg yolk challenge and I happily accepted an invitation to guest post on what was then the first anniversary of Alchemy, back in 2011.
The egg yolk challenge was a great idea because we've all had a bowl of forlorn egg yolks sitting in the fridge at some point. Having been parted from
their whites – who have gone on to star as Magnificent Macarons, Marvellous Meringues,
or Superb Soufflés – the poor old yolk tends to be forgotten.
Egg yolks can achieve greatness too. After all, Botticelli painted The Birth
of Venus using egg yolk-based paint. While Botticelli provided a feast for the eyes, here is something you can actually get your teeth into. Gateau Paris-Brest is a delectable choux pastry,
named after the famous Paris – Brest bicycle race. The shape represents a wheel.
Here it is in miniature, my Summery version with raspberries and white chocolate
pastry cream.
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For 10 – 12
gorgeous little pastries you will need…
Pastry Cream (crème pâtissière)
300mls fresh
milk
50g caster sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
extract
a pinch of salt
15g plain flour
15g cornflour
4 egg yolks
50g good quality
white chocolate, chopped
Heat the milk
in a medium saucepan until just simmering.
Meanwhile, in
a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks together with the vanilla extract and
sugar until thick and paler in colour. Add in the salt, plain flour and cornflour
and whisk until incorporated.
Slowly add the
simmering milk to the egg yolk mixture, whisking all the time (never add cold eggs
to hot liquid unless you want scrambled eggs). Mix well and return the liquid to
the saucepan. Continue to whisk over a low heat until the liquid has become a thick
custard. This will take about 3 or 4 minutes. Make sure not to boil the custard
or it will become grainy and may scramble. The custard is thick enough when it coats
the back of a wooden spoon and a finger pulled though this coating leaves a clean
trail.
Add in the white
chocolate and stir until it has melted into the custard.
Transfer to
a bowl and cover with cling film, making sure the cling film makes contact with
the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until ready to use. This can be
prepared ahead and will keep in the refrigerator for several days.
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Egg yolks – in the right company – are capable of greatness too
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Choux Pastries
150mls water
50g butter
70g strong white flour/plain flour
A pinch of fine salt
2 eggs beaten
25g flaked almonds
You will also
need a punnet of fresh raspberries
when you are ready to bake the choux wheels.
Heat the water
and butter together in a medium saucepan until the butter has melted and the liquid
is simmering
Carefully tip
the flour and salt into the liquid in one go. Stir with a wooden spoon until the
mixture comes together in a soft ball of paste and no dry flour remains. Spread
the ball of paste over the bottom of the saucepan and leave to cool to room temperature.
When the paste
has cooled, add in the beaten egg a little at a time, whisking well between additions.
An electric whisk is best for this job. You want a smooth glossy soft paste that
will hold its shape so check the mixture as you go along as you may not need to
add all the egg.
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C (fan oven). Transfer the
mixture to a piping bag and pipe circles of the mixture (approximately 8cm/3 inches
in diameter) onto a lightly buttered baking tray, leaving 5cm/2 inches between circles.
Scatter the tops of the circles with almond flakes and transfer to the oven. Bake
for approximately 15 minutes or until evenly golden brown. Remove from the oven
and poke 2 horizontal slits in the side of each pastry to release some steam. Return
to the oven for a further 2 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.
Assemble the
little pastries just before serving: slice them in half horizontally. Beat the cooled
pastry cream until smooth. For a really decadent touch, I sometimes stir a tablespoon
of mandarin brandy into the pastry cream at this stage. Pipe onto the lower half
of the pastry wheel and add fresh raspberries. Replace the top and dust with icing
sugar.
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We taste wheel-y wheel-y delicious!
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