Yesterday for the first time, I had my first go at making choux pastry! If you regularly read my blog you will know that pastry of any kind is my weak area of baking and I promise on many occasions to beat it.

Well now I have made a start and I am very impressed that my first attempt at choux went so well, especially as I was rather rushed and stressed at the time! It had been a manic day of baking, I had a few minutes to throw the ingredients together, my daughter Rosie needed my help with something, the gardener decided to knock on the kitchen window for a chat about the lawn & the dog got out and was chasing the gardeners dog like a lunatic around the garden !!! It was not a relaxed, serene baking moment by any stretch of the imagination! Rather a sketch from Carry on Baking !

I should of chosen a better time to bake these, but I really wanted something for dessert, as my eldest Son Simon was coming for dinner and I thought that these cannoli cream puffs seemed just perfect.

They were gorgeous, light, fluffy and so yummy, so full of flavour, unlike shop brought ones that taste of cardboard & nothing else. I didn’t fill mine on this occasion with the mascarpone & ricotta filling as Simon is not a cheese fan, but I am going to make them again soon to have with coffee with my friend Fiona, she will love them.

So all I can say is, have a go, it is no where near as scary as you may think. You just require a good measure of elbow grease.

Buon appetito

Pastry :
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 Tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain flour
4 large eggs

Filling:
1 1/4 cup whole milk ricotta
1 1/4 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Makes 12

You can also replace cinnamon with grated orange or lemon zest or sprinkle chopped chocolate or mini chocolate chips over filling. A drizzle of melted chocolate over the top is also a nice variation, you can really make them your own and taylor them to your taste & occasion.

Icing sugar to dust

Drain the Ricotta – Place ricotta in a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Press down lightly with the back of a spoon and allow to drain for about an hour before making filling.

Preheat oven to 220C,  425F. Place a wire rack in the centre of your oven, and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine hot water, butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

Add the flour all at once and stirring vigourously and constantly, cook until mixture clears the sides of the pan and forms a ball around your spoon in the middle, as you stir ( about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat.

Add eggs, one at a time. After each egg addition, stir quickly and vigorously, until the egg are combined (it will start out as a slimy mess, but just keep stirring and it will come together, it is a bit of a work out & will make your arms ache). Repeat with each egg. Once all eggs are added, stir a bit more until smooth and shiny.

Add batter to piping bag fitted with a large star tip (alternately, drop balls of batter onto prepared pans and roughly shape with the back of a spoon). Pipe batter onto prepared pan, leaving about 2 inches between each one.

Bake for 15 minutes at 220C, then reduce heat to 176C (350F) and cook for about another 10 minutes, or until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped. Do not open the oven while they are cooking.

Remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine filling ingredients (except chocolate chips, if using) and beat well until light and fluffy. Add filling to piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Cut pastries in half (or use a sharp knife to cut a small hole in the side) and pipe either a ring of filling around the outside of the bottom half or fill the cavity with filling.

If using chocolate chips, you’ll need to go the cut in half route. Simply sprinkle chips on top of filling before putting the top on.

Sprinkle generously with icing sugar. Serve immediately or refrigerate uncovered for up to 6 hours.