CHOUX PASTE - ECLAIRS

On Week 5 in Patisserie we had 3 whole days on Choux Paste & Creme Patisserie, then apply them to dessert & afternoon items like cream puffs, eclairs as shown. Choux means 'cabbage' in French because cream puffs have a visual appearance of a cabbage, hence Choux is called 'Cream Puff Pastry' even though it is used in both sweets & savories. I was nervous as Choux is 1 of 3 test items in the last week of June, the others are Puff Pastry & Fruit Flan. These 3 lessons were the only chance for me to get it right, the next time I look Choux in the eyes would be exam time. Get it?

We had to do 3 things right to get anywhere (1) Choux Paste (2) Creme Pat & (3) Fondant. On Day 1 we did Cream Puffs and mine were the walking definition of 'extra-ordinary' ie in 2 separate words which means ... 'very ordinary' NOT 'extraordinary'. Eclairs were next on Day 2. I was even more nervous now as the exam order reads : 10 x Coffee Eclairs at 12 cm long, piped at 12 mm, with Coffee flavored Creme & Fondant. Eggs x 18, Butter x 175 gm, Milk x 1 litre, Vanilla Pod x half. Time 3.5 hours. Yes, it was a dry run of the real McCoy.

Verdict by Chef Michael ' ... none would be accepted if this were the exam, they were too large & uneven in size'. Bang, right between the eyes! I guess the cream filling & fondant (one hell of a seriously sweet affair this is) matter little if the size was wrong. Still edible, to me at least, they were spared from the bin. I thought I would seek consolation from the less discriminating motel staff. I was successful, and I felt much better.