Book of Yum

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the
boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium
and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very
quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You
need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough
will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your
handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time,
beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough.
You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do
not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you
have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it
should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed below. Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

Baking the eclairs (directions for making about 10 eclairs and freezing 10 for later):
• Cream Puff Dough Recipe (above), fresh and still warm

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Position the rack in the lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.

2) Prepare a large Ziploc gallon or quart freezer bag by cutting out 2/3 of an inch slice out of the lower corner of the bag. Fill the bag with the warm cream puff dough and pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 4 1/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers.
Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff. The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs. Put ONE of the baking sheets in the freezer and then once the eclair dough is frozen, put them in a plastic bag back in the freezer and wash the baking sheet.

3) Slide the OTHER baking sheets into the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet so that the front is in the back and the back is in the front. Bake for another ten minutes or until eclairs are golden and sound hollow when you tap on them. It is really important that they not be undercooked as they will deflate if so. Turn off the oven and open the door, letting them cool slowly in the oven. Place on a rack to finish cooling.

Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling, or stored in a tupperware overnight, making sure they are completely cool before you close the lid. If you store them overnight, re-crisp them in the oven for 5 minutes and let cool again before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the
bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40
degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of
the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the
bottoms with the pastry cream.

3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. I made half with Vanilla pastry cream and half with Espresso pastry cream. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream
and wriggle gently to settle them.

WHISK together first 4 ingredients in a 3-quart saucepan. Gradually whisk in half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Cover and chill 4 hours. Yield: 3 cups.

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly
 in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)

• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

*First half of these directions are the same as those for the rasgulla*
Make Chenna (the cheese base for the sweet):
Bring milk to a boil in a large pan (I like the ceramic lined dutch oven type for milk recipes) over medium high heat. Stir frequently, because it likes to burn on the bottom. You also want to avoid skins forming on the surface, so keep stirring. A wooden spoon works well.

When milk has come to a low boil, add your lemon juice and watch the whey separate, leaving white bits in the pan. When the whey looks clear, turn off the heat. Prepare a strainer with a dampened, thin towel (flour sack type is perfect) or cheesecloth. Pour your cheese into the strainer and rinse it with cold water to get rid of some of the lemon flavor. Lightly squeeze out water until only solids remain in a ball shape.

If you have one of the mini bowls in your food processor, it’s perfect combined with the small metal blade attachment. Put the cheese in the mixing area and process it until it sticks together in a sleek, creamy ball. It will almost be glossy, like taffy. This is the magic state of perfection. (Oh, so satisfying!) Take it out of the bowl and separate it into sixteen equal parts. Form them into balls and flatten slightly so they are little round discs. Place on a plate and cover with a damp towel so they don’t dry out.

Wash your dutch oven and fill it with 4 cups water. (You have a lid, right? This is very important! You must use a wide pan- a saucepan won’t work unless you do multiple batches.) Bring the water to a boil and then decrease the heat and stir in all your sugar. Stir it for a few minutes on low. Once the sugar has dissolved, add your cheese discs. They will double in size, so give them room to grow! Cover and let them simmer on low for 15-20 minutes. Remove the cheese to a plate. A spoon with holes is ideal- the rasgulla is delicate and can easily be marked, so be careful.

To make Rasmalai:
You can either add the rasgulla back to the sugar syrup and let them soak in it for a few hours (chilled) before adding it to the milk sauce OR you can add it to the following milk sauce to soak for at least 2 hours before serving.

To make your saffron-cardamom milk, heat your milk in a broad, non-stick pan. I used my fry pan. Bring it to a boil, stirring constantly, and then whisk in your sugar, the saffron in milk, and cardamom powder. If you like, you can add the cheese discs now, or reserve the milk for later.

If you want to go really crazy, you can add 1/4 cup pureed mango to the saffron milk and then use mango slices to garnish. Yum!