New vs old recipes
I haven't made eclairs in almost two years. I thought since it's the guys' turn to bring treats to church for after the service that I would make a couple of dozen. They're not hard to make by any means, especially if you have the stuff to do it. I didn't, but as of this morning, I do now. I invested $17 in some new tart pans, a pastry bag, and a squeeze bottle for the filling.
What else I don't have anymore is the recipe for eclairs. I found one from a famous TV chef I thought I'd try. The basic recipe for the shells is pretty simple. It's a stick of butter, a cup of water, a cup of flour and about a half teaspoon of salt. I always added just a bit of sugar to mine so the dough would be a little sweeter. Run them through a pastry bag, and you've got eclairs.
The other recipe I used called for milk instead of water and baking power instead of salt. I'm sure on TV they came out great. In my kitchen, not so much. I made mini-eclairs. They taste good but they're just not how I remembered eclairs so I'm going to try another batch tonight, this time with the tried and true recipe.
The next thing I'm going to attempt to make is shortbread tart shells. I have the fruit for them; but I have to make the shells. Again, I don't have the recipe I used to use so I'm going to try another recipe I found on the internet.
I'm also gonna give making mini-napoleons a shot. I found another recipe for these; a bit more simple than the three layer ones, but they look good! I could never quite get a napoleon to set up right and I can't make pastry cream without overheating it for some reason. The egg yolks always try to cook hard on me so I'm going with an alternative solution for that.
Sometimes trying new things is good and it works out. Other times, I think it's best to just stick with what you know works. Fancier isn't always better. Sometimes just what you have is good enough. I'm pretty sure there's a life lesson in there someplace, too, but I'm kinda busy with searching for recipes. Maybe I'll get back to this another day. You know how I loves me some metaphors.
Hope you're indoors and enjoying the snow! I am.
What else I don't have anymore is the recipe for eclairs. I found one from a famous TV chef I thought I'd try. The basic recipe for the shells is pretty simple. It's a stick of butter, a cup of water, a cup of flour and about a half teaspoon of salt. I always added just a bit of sugar to mine so the dough would be a little sweeter. Run them through a pastry bag, and you've got eclairs.
The other recipe I used called for milk instead of water and baking power instead of salt. I'm sure on TV they came out great. In my kitchen, not so much. I made mini-eclairs. They taste good but they're just not how I remembered eclairs so I'm going to try another batch tonight, this time with the tried and true recipe.
The next thing I'm going to attempt to make is shortbread tart shells. I have the fruit for them; but I have to make the shells. Again, I don't have the recipe I used to use so I'm going to try another recipe I found on the internet.
I'm also gonna give making mini-napoleons a shot. I found another recipe for these; a bit more simple than the three layer ones, but they look good! I could never quite get a napoleon to set up right and I can't make pastry cream without overheating it for some reason. The egg yolks always try to cook hard on me so I'm going with an alternative solution for that.
Sometimes trying new things is good and it works out. Other times, I think it's best to just stick with what you know works. Fancier isn't always better. Sometimes just what you have is good enough. I'm pretty sure there's a life lesson in there someplace, too, but I'm kinda busy with searching for recipes. Maybe I'll get back to this another day. You know how I loves me some metaphors.
Hope you're indoors and enjoying the snow! I am.
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