This is mostly a technique video, as these beautiful birds
would work with any number of fillings. Pastry cream, lemon curd, mousse, and
fresh fruit are all perfect with this pâte à choux delivery system. This
classic French dough has a thousand uses, and must be mastered by any serious
cook.
Pâte à Choux (Cream Puff Dough)
*enough for about 8-10 “swans”
1/2 cup water
1 tsp sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
pinch salt
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
*Bake "bodies" at 425 F. for 20-25 minutes, necks for about 12 minutes
*Bake "bodies" at 425 F. for 20-25 minutes, necks for about 12 minutes
For the ganache (makes extra):
4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
4 oz boiling heavy cream
For the whipped cream:
1 cup very cold heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp sugar or to taste
*whip cream to soft peaks, add sugar, and whip to firm peaks
42 comments:
Hi Chef John! I love your videos!
Any tips for what to do if you want to make these the night before serving them?
what kind of knife was that?
looks like a damascus tomato knife of sorts
These look absolutely stunning. Thank you, Chef John!
Sorry, never done overnight! The longest I've made ahead is a few hours.
Wow. Mind = blown.
It's amazing that you can make a swan outta anything! Have you ever done a swan burger? (My wife is pregnant with twins and needs her protein.)
Never did them over night, because really who could wait that long to eat them!!!!! Awsome
Chef John would it be possible to put the directions like oven temp and cooking time as well in the blog? It's helpful to screenshot and read when making so we don't have to rewind the video if we miss something :) I'm SO making these for my mom!
Great presentation and doable - perfect for the occasion! Maybe chocolate pastry cream instead of ganache.
I would love to see you make an olive oil based lebanese garlic dip, better known as Toum,
cheers
I made a batch, but my puffs didn't work and now I have a bunch of hoopty biscuits. Is there a secret to getting them to puff?
This is Awesome chef, i am going to try this today, and if it comes out like your's i will use them as a dessert special for next week for dinner service! Thanks Again chef
I'm sure the pastry could be made and kept over night with ease. The piping shouldn't take too long depending on how many you want.
this is going to be my first time making this and I don't what kind of flour to use and also could you tell me the temp. and time how long they need to be cooked.
I want to make these swans but i am German. So i have no real clue about the measurements. Can you give them in grams/milliliter please?!
I tried to convert the measurements.
If anyone can confirm these i would be very grateful.
1/2 cup = 125 ml water
1/2 cup = 60 g flour
1 cup = 250 ml very cold heavy cream
4 oz = ~ 120 ml boiling heavy cream
4 oz = 110 g of chocolate
425°F = 220°C
(heavy cream and creme double is the same as far as i know)
Hallo John,
I did it but its way to much Butter.
My question is: how muxh Butter in grams is 4 tablespoons?
I got only One nice looking but Mythos mother was very Happy,
Thanks ;D
Made for my mom today and added peanut butter fudge in with the panache and used extra cream they came out great
Made for my mom today and added peanut butter fudge in with the panache and used extra cream they came out great
Hello Chef,
My kids and I tried making these today but ours didn't puff up either and where flat. Our dough didn't look as thick as yours but we followed the recipe. What could be the problem
Sorry, but I have no idea! I got at least 10 photos sent from people that had success attempts, so I know the recipe amounts are correct. That yours was "thinner" suggests a measuring problem. But really no way to tell unless I saw what you did. Watch the video again, and see which step looked different, and compare to what you did.
Such a neat idea. Definitely gonna try. Is it possible for you to do a video making Blood Orange Cheesecake? Haven't had any luck finding a good recipe.
Just made these tonight! So easy and fun!
I noticed your recipe is nearly identical to another one from a famous french chef (doubled amount), except for the amount of butter. Yours is double the amount in the other recipe. I split the difference and they came out great. Can you tell us if you add more butter for a particular reason? I'm making these for an "iron chef" party this weekend.
no reason, that's just the recipe i like! :)
Can you do a video for Blood Orange Cheesecake?
I can't even describe how happy these make my wife. I'll begin with I don't make swans, the regular puffs do it for her.
My first batch came out absolutely perfect and the next two were bitter disappointments. As soon a as they came out oft the oven they collapsed. I know now that they fell because they werent fully cooked and as such I'm back on track and in good graces with the misses.
I did discover a neat little trick along the way. The dough is so sticky that getting into the corner of a freezer bag was tough. The stuff just seemed to stick to the sides of the bag and didn't want to leave the spatula. I figured out that I can just slop it in the bag and run the blade of a pastry scraper on the outside of the bag to to push it into position with no waste at all. And, by setting a finger I can make adjustments to the dough I piped onto the baking sheet. I'm sure there's a pun in there somewhere!
Thank you Chef John.
Hi, this recipe is great, except I found my birds a little too small for what amount of dough I got out of this recipe. I'd recommend doubling if you want very large and impressive birds to show off to mama.
When you say oz, do you mean it in volume or mass?
choc is mass, and cream is the same either way!
Chef John, I made these tonight (couldn't help myself!), and I found myself using milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate (as it was what was on hand).
My ganache did not turn out fluffy/creamy like yours! After continuous mixing, it wound up as a kind of runny, thin consistency.
Do you know if this was due to the wrong chocolate or perhaps I measured incorrectly, or maybe I didn't mix it long enough? Any help would be great- otherwise they came out fabulously!
I need to make 300 of these for an event (Yikes) Could I freeze the cream puffs and then defrost and fill? BTW, your voice over and directions on the video was very easy to understand and amusing--loved it!
The temp and time to bake is listed in his blog and he mentions it during the video--people, read carefully and listen up--such a beautiful dessert and he explains it in an easy to understand method--Thank you!!
You can freeze, but they get kind of soggy! This is a tough thing to do for that many, even for a professional baker!
You can freeze, but they get kind of soggy! This is a tough thing to do for that many, even for a professional baker!
Could I order these from you Chef John? I'm in SF! I need them for an event on 9/20. Please help! :)Let me know if you're able to do it or know anyone that could! Thanks so much!
Sorry, catering is too hard! ;)
I don't know anyone, but any decent bakery can make them.
Thank you for sharing all your lovely recipes, Chef John. I really enjoy trying out your recipes and savoring the end results! :-)
Hi Chef John! I made these cream puffs the other day and took step-by-step photos -- they were a huge success! Thanks for sharing such a no-fail cream puff recipe with us! :)
I hope you don't mind that I blogged (and fangirl'ed you a tad!) about them (with links back to your site).
http://www.bakingalchemy.com/life-is-but-a-cream-puff-part-ii-the-puff/
-Jenn from Toronto
After the choc ganache I added a small layer of the fresh raspberry sauce (http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2015/02/fresh-raspberry-sauce-easy-and-effective.html) so good! Thanks for another great recipe to add to my repertoire!
I made the cream puffs and it was so so good! I always trust your recipes! Thanks so much :)
Chef, I love your videos and your good humor. I make cream puffs all the time but I hadn't thought to put the chocolate sauce on the inside and it has made for a pleasant surprise when I have served cream puff swans at dinner parties.
Thanks for all of the cooking.
Hi chef,
How much water should I add to melt the butter?
Thanks!!!
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