[Ferrandi] Week 7: Pâte à Choux

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Following viennoiseries, we had a full week of pâte à choux, a light pastry dough for making éclairs, profiteroles, croquembouches, etc. Choux relies on steam trapped inside the dough to make it rise, and the technique used for making pâte à choux is designed to develop elasticity in the dough (to expand) while maximizing moisture (to generate steam when baking).

To make pâte à choux, melt salt, sugar, and butter in water, bring to a boil, remove from heat and add sifted flour. After mixing, add eggs little by little until dough is smooth and soft. Then, pipe batter using a pastry bag onto a lightly buttered baking sheet. Egg wash and streak with a fork.

Once the choux have reached their full size, slightly open the oven door for steam to escape and allow choux to dry properly.

After cooling, poke 2~3 holes at the bottom of each choux, then fill with pastry cream.

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[Shanghai] Éclair at Andaz

Éclair at Andaz

Add: Andaz Shanghai, 88 Songshan Lu / 嵩山路88号上海安达仕酒店1楼
Tel: 2310 1720
Hours: 7am~10pm
Website: www.andazshanghai.com
Price: 18 RMB/eclair, 30~50 RMB/coffee or tea
Visited: Feb 2012

Éclair at Andaz specializes in – you’ve guessed it – éclairs. But before we go on, here are a few words on Andaz for those of you who are unfamiliar with this hotel collection. It is Hyatt’s new line of contemporary, boutique-inspired hotels, located in hip cities around the world like London, New York, and LA. Shanghai’s Andaz, opened only a few months ago in October 2011, is the first in Asia and the sixth in the world. Next time you are in Xintiandi, be sure to drop by and check out its chic designs.

Back to Éclairs, where éclairs take center stage. These oblong-shaped pastries are made from pâte à choux, baked until crisp and hollow inside, then filled with flavored pastry cream and glazed with fondant icing. The word éclair actually came from a French word meaning “lightning” or “flash of lightning”…Why? Je ne sais pas.

Also available: a selection of chocolates, cupcakes, tarts, quiches, breads, and the likes.

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