Mini Eclairs

Last year, I blogged about my egg salad puff, using choux or puff shells as bread. I made changes to recipe to make them savory, but it got me thinking.

I really luv those eclairs at the café, filled with creamy goodness and chocolate ganache on top. I made the sweet version of cream puffs before, but Brek didn't like it. He said that the puffs tasted plain. I agreed.

After looking at the choux recipe, all of the sweet ones have such a tiny amount or no sugar at all. I decided to test several recipes and came up with my own dairy free version. Adding sugar to the choux dough really elevates the sweets in the eclairs. My kids actually prefer eating the baked choux without the filling or frosting. Hey, less work for me, right?

Make sure to use coconut butter and not coconut oil as the butter has more body than the oil. And have a hand towel ready as it can get pretty messy eating these little sweets.

Mini Eclairs
adapted from Martha Stewart's choux
makes 20-25

1/2 cup (4 oz.) water
1/4 cup (2 oz.) coconut butter (not coconut oil)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2.3 oz all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
pastry cream
chocolate ganache

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degree. Place a nonstick mat on a baking tray. Set aside.
2. In a small sauce pan, whisk together the water, coconut butter, salt, and sugar.
3. Bring the mixture to a soft boil.
4. Add the flour and whisk while the pot is over a low heat.
5. Once the flour mixture becomes a dough, turn off the heat.
6. Set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes.
7. Once cool, add an egg.
8. Alternating between a spatula and a whisk, mix the egg into the dough.
9. Once the egg is mixed into the dough, add the second egg and repeat step 8.
10. Transfer the choux dough into a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch round tip.
11. Pipe the dough on to the prepared baking sheet into 3-inch log.
12. Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.
13. Remove the éclair puffs from the oven and immediately split them to let out the steam. 
14. While the éclair puffs are cooling, prepare the pastry cream and chocolate ganache as directed.
15. Spoon the pastry cream and sandwich the puff.
16. Drizzle with chocolate ganache. Enjoy!!! 

STORING: These mini eclairs taste best the day they are made. Keep the eclairs without the filling in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Allergy Info: These mini eclairs are free from dairy, corn, legumes (soy), nuts (not coconut), and fish.

Apple Crisp

So a couple of weeks ago, I admitted that I hate baking pies. Yes, it is time consuming. I don't know about you, but I personally don't like the taste of pie crust.

For Thanksgiving, I baked an apple pie for dessert. Grandpa said the pie crust was really thick. See, I told you. I just don't like making or eating pie. That got me thinking. Why can't I just bake the filling. Really!!!

Lately, all I've been doing is thinking, thinking, thinking... how to adapt recipes. Way back when, I posted a coffee cake with streusel toppings. What if I just bake the apples with the coffee cake's streusel on top.

But the truth is I've been dying to use my cutest apple-shaped baking dish that I bought last winter. I hadn't had a chance to use it at all. Plus, it was also an opportunity to bake something new for breakfast. "What!!!" you said. "Apple pie filling for breakfast???" Oh yeah...

By the way, I woke up the next day, and the apple crisp was nearly sold out. YES!!! It was very tasty with crusty bread like ciabatta or baguette.

Apple Crisp
serve 4-6

4 cups (12 oz.) granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and large cubed
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Streusel:
1 1/2 Tablespoons (1.5 oz.) light brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons (1.5 oz.) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (1.5 oz.) sliced almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 Tablespoons (0.4 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sunflower oil

1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
2. Spray an 8-inch round baking dish with a cooking spray.
3. Place the cubed apples in a prepared dish.
4. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon. Then using your hands, coat the apples with cinnamon and sugar. Set it aside.
5. In a small bowl, place all of the streusel ingredients and mix well.
6. Sprinkle the streusel on top of the apples.
7. Bake in a preheated oven until the apples are fork tender, about 30 minutes
8. Allow the apple crisp to cool for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at a room temperature.

STORING: Keep the apple crisp cover with a towel at a room temperature for a day. If there is any leftover, transfer it to a container and keep in in the fridge for up to a week.

Allergy Info: This apple crisp is free from or can be made without dairy, egg, corn, legumes (soy), and fish. 

Thai Pumpkin Custard (Sankaya)

Since my parents arrived last month, we have been doing a lot of eating and discussing recipes. I mentioned to them that I would luv to learn how to make Thai desserts.

We came across the Thai pumpkin custard. I remember how much I luv the custard on top the coconut sticky rice. Since I bought a pumpkin, I decided to try steaming it with a custard filling. But the pumpkin itself tasted too plain. 

Grandpa told me that I used the wrong pumpkin. The pumpkin for the Thai pumpkin custard has to be Japanese pumpkin called kabocha squash. It has sweeter taste which compliments the coconut egg custard well. After grandpa bought the kabocha squash, I tested my Thai pumpkin custard recipe again. It was perfect... naturally sweet from kabocha squash and creamy custard with a hint of coconut aromatic (from the coconut sugar). Grandpa likes to eat the skin because, he told me, it has the most nutrients. I just want the custard!!!

I tested my Thai pumpkin custard recipe three times and all of the pumpkins broke after they were cooked. I'm still not sure why but maybe the pumpkin itself was too soft during the steaming process. Still tasty though. With that said, my instruction includes that the pumpkin sits on a plate while steaming. You got it. Just in case the pumpkin breaks, the custard will stay in the plate.

This is a great Thanksgiving alternative dessert to pumpkin pie. It is also a make-ahead dessert. I'm planning to make just the custard filling and spoon it on top coconut sticky rice. Heaven!!!

Thai Pumpkin Custard (Sankaya)
serve 6-8

1 small (2 lbs.) Japanese pumpkin (kabocha squash)
5 extra large eggs or 6 large eggs
1 cup (7 oz.) palm or coconut sugar
1 cup (8 oz.) coconut milk

1. Hollow out the pumpkin and scoop out the seeds. Place it on a baking plate with rim. Set aside.
2. In a large (4 cup) measuring cup, whisk the eggs.
3. Add the palm sugar and whisk until creamy.
4. Whisk in the coconut milk.
5. Pour the custard filling inside the pumpkin. NOTE: If there is any leftover custard filling, pour it in a baking cups. Steam as directed for about 15-30 minutes, depending on the amount of the filling.
6. Place the filled pumpkin in a steamer. NOTE: I use this stacked steamer.
7. Steam until the tooth pick inserted in the custard comes out clean, about an hour.
8. Let the Thai pumpkin custard cool at a room temperature.
9. Place it in the fridge to set, about 4 hours to overnight. NOTE: The custard needs to set so leaving it in the fridge overnight is highly recommended. If cutting into the pumpkin while it is still warm, the custard will fall apart.
10. To serve, slice the pumpkin into wedges. Enjoy!!!

STORING: Place the Thai pumpkin custard in a container in the fridge for up to a week.

Allergy Info: This Thai pumpkin custard is free from or can be make without dairy, corn, legumes (soy), wheat, nuts (not coconut), or fish.