Daring Bakers August 2008 Challenge -- Diary

Tuesday, August 12

9.30 am - I’ll be making the pastry cream first then the cream puff dough and then the chocolate glaze. I think I’ll make some caramel, too.

10.10 am - Pastry cream is finished. I just remembered how good it tastes!

10.28 am - Getting ready to make the dough.

10.41 am - Measured out the ingredients and it’s ready to go only I have not prepared any of the tools I’ll need.

Boiling the mixture before adding the flour.

10.55 am - Incorporating the eggs by hand. A Kitchenaid would be really nice right now.

The different stages of the dough while adding the eggs.

11.03 am - Arm exercise is finished, piping the dough.

11.16 am - Finished piping. It made 18 pieces total. Hmmm, I thought it would make a lot. Good thing I didn’t halve the recipe. Only 14 pieces could fit so I’m freezing the other four.

11.19 am - In the oven they go ― 7 minutes.

11.27 am - Inserting the wooden spoon. My oven is making a strange clicking sound it’s never made before. Goodness! I hope my cream puffs won’t explode.

11.30 am - Looking at the puffs ― they’re puffing! Yipee!

11.32 am - Flipping the pans now. I noticed that the tops are broken, not smooth. Is that normal? I don’t think so. Uh-oh, I hope they don’t fall apart.

11.35 am - SHRIEEEKKKK! I was just reading the recipe again and it says to bake the puffs at 375! I only set my oven to 350!!! Grrr, I don’t know how to read anymore.

11.40 am - Puffs are still pale and they do not look like they’re done. I’m giving them a few more minutes. Corrected the temperature, maybe it’s not yet too late.

11.43 am - Looking at the puffs again. About half of them caved in.

11.45 am - Not good.

11.50 am - Took the puffs out of the oven. They’re lightly browned. A lot of them caved in and have cracked on top.

The only one theat turned out well was the one in the botterm right corner. The round cream puffs look a little odd.

12.07 pm - Now for the chocolate sauce and glaze.

12.26 pm - Chocolate glaze covers a multitude of sins!

These puffs are ready to be filled!

1.07 pm - Cream puffs are done, am eating my second one now. They don’t look too good. The puffs did not rise very well. However, it tastes good. The pastry cream is too soft and the glaze could have been thicker. Overall, it’s not soo bad. Anyway my family does not know I messed it up. And I’m not telling!

Maybe I should have dipped the tops on the chocolate instead of pouring it over the puffs.

Things I Would Do Differently Next Time:

1. Read the recipe carefully and take note of the correct oven temperature.
2. Use 4 eggs instead of 3 for the pastry cream.
3. Use parchment paper to line the pans.
4. Allow the glaze to cool a little more to thicken, that way I could spread it on top of the cream puffs.
5. Practice piping!