Benjamina Ebuehi shares a recipe for chocolate and pumpkin spice choux buns, a dessert designed to capture the essence of autumn. The dish combines crackly choux pastry with a creamy filling made from whipped pumpkin puree and spices, topped with a chocolate craquelin disc.
Preparing the chocolate craquelin
The recipe begins with the craquelin, a thin, crisp topping that adds texture to the buns. To make this, mix 60g of unsalted butter with 65g of light brown sugar in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth. Stir in 10g of cocoa powder and 65g of plain flour to create a thick paste.
Spread this paste evenly between two sheets of baking paper. Roll the dough out to a thickness of about 2 to 3mm. Place the tray in the freezer to firm up the dough while you prepare the choux pastry.
Making the choux pastry
For the choux, heat 50ml of milk, 45g of unsalted butter, and 50ml of water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a point where it is steaming and the butter has fully melted. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately add 60g of plain flour, 1 tsp of sugar, and a pinch of salt. Stir quickly to bring the dough together.
Return the pan to the heat and cook for one or two minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl and let it cool for a few minutes. Whisk 1 to 2 large eggs in a jug. Add the eggs to the dough bit by bit, mixing until each addition is fully incorporated before adding more. The dough may look lumpy at first but will eventually become glossy.
Continue mixing until the mixture falls easily from the spoon and leaves a V shape when lifted. Transfer the dough to a piping bag with a 2.5cm opening cut from the end. Pipe 12 blobs of dough onto a lined baking tray.
Baking and assembling the dessert
Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½. Remove the chilled craquelin from the freezer. Use a round cutter to cut out 12 discs, roughly the same width as the piped choux. Place one disc on top of each choux blob.
Bake for 15 minutes. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6 and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes. The buns are ready when they are puffy and firm to the touch. Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool completely.
While the buns cool, prepare the filling. Whisk 150g of pumpkin puree, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp of ground cloves, 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste, and 90g of cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Mix in 75g of icing sugar. In a separate bowl, whip 150ml of double cream to very soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture.
To serve, use a sharp serrated knife to trim the top off each choux bun just above the halfway point. Spoon the pumpkin cream into a piping bag fitted with an open-star nozzle. Pipe swirls of the filling into each bun. Sprinkle 20g of roughly chopped pecans on top. Replace the choux “hats” and serve immediately.
Source: The Guardian
