Brandmasse: Choux Paste

Does anyone know what Brandmasse is? Translated it is choux paste. It is a delicious batter that creates the fluffiest, most mouthwatering pastries. These pastries are sinful and addicting. However, they are fantastic to make for a brunch or shower!

I absolutely love this type of pasty. I can't get enough of these... It's a problem... Don't worry, I'm aware of it.

Let's name a few:
Cream Puffs
Eclairs
Viktoria A.K.A. French Cruellers

Here's the recipe:

200g Milk

200g Water

120g Butter

10g Sugar

4g Salt

Lemon zest

Bring to a boil, preferably in a copper kettle.

200g Flour

Add (all at one time) to the kettle and work with a wooden spoon until smooth and worked through. Keep stirring, "roasting" the batter.

Let the batter cool. It's best if the batter is spread out onto a baking tray, or other cold surface.

250g Eggs

Add one egg at a time while beating slowly after each addition. Do not over mix!

Now the batter can be created into whatever you'd like!

Here's what we did:

We made what's called a Sahneringe (Cream ring). Basically cream and thickened cherries sandwiched between the pastry ring.

First fill a piping bag with the finished batter. Using a star tip, pipe out rings on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Bake at 220 C 20-25 minutes.

**The pastries should be baked with lots of steam. A trick I was told is to cover each ring with a can. This way the steam is automatically created, and the pastries bake up nice and big. Otherwise, make sure to spray the rings with water.

Let cool, and cut in half.

Boil together apricot jelly and a little bit of sugar. Brush this mixture on top of each ring.

Heat Fondant in a pot. Be careful! Do not let the Fondant get to hot! Test it out on your lip. It should smooth and liquid-like. Lightly brush on top of each ring.

Fill each ring with whipped vanilla cream and thickened cherries... or choose you own filling!