Bon Appetit Desserts (90 page)

Drop dough by generous tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets, making 24 cream puffs. Smooth tops with wet fingertips.

Bake cream puffs 15 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and continue to bake until cream puffs are deep golden, about 10 minutes longer. Using small sharp knife, cut small slit in side of each cream puff. Return to oven, turn off heat, and let dry 15 minutes.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

FILLING
: Stir mango and sour cream in medium bowl to blend. Beat whipping cream and ½ cup powdered sugar in large bowl until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into mango mixture. Cover bowl and chill filling at least 30 minutes.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

Using serrated knife, cut cream puffs horizontally in half. Spoon filling into bottom halves; cover with tops. Sift remaining ½ cup powdered sugar over cream puffs.

Divide cream puffs among 12 plates. Spoon Spiced Mango-Mojito Sauce onto plates and serve.

Spiced Mango-Mojito Sauce

This refreshing dessert sauce would also be delicious on angel food cake with a tropical fruit compote.
Makes about 1⅔ cups

2 large mangoes, peeled, pitted, diced

6 tablespoons plain whole-milk yogurt

4 tablespoons (or more) sugar

3 tablespoons spiced rum

1 tablespoon fresh Key lime juice or regular lime juice

1½ teaspoons (packed) finely chopped fresh mint

Puree mangoes in processor until smooth. Transfer 1½ cups puree to medium bowl (reserve remaining puree for another use). Mix yogurt, 4 tablespoons sugar, rum, lime juice, and mint into puree. Sweeten sauce to taste with more sugar, if desired.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Strawberry Cream Puffs with Strawberry Sauce

Chances are you already have everything you need to make these cream puffs-water, butter, salt, sugar, flour, and eggs. Together, these staples create puffs that are delicately crisp and golden on the outside, and hollow and tender on the inside. The cream puffs should be a rich golden brown when done and the centers should be slightly eggy and moist but no longer doughy.
Makes about 18

¾ cup water

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon sugar

¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour

3 large eggs

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon kirsch (clear cherry brandy)

⅛ teaspoon vanilla extract

6 large strawberries, hulled

Strawberry Sauce (see recipe)

Powdered sugar

CREAM PUFFS
: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine ¾ cup water, butter, salt, and sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring to melt butter. Add flour all at once; using wooden spoon, stir vigorously until mixture clumps together, forming ball. Stir 1 minute longer. Transfer dough to medium bowl. Using electric mixer, add eggs 1 at a time, beating until dough is smooth after each addition (dough will be slightly soft and shiny).

Using 1 rounded tablespoon dough for each cream puff, spoon dough onto prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart and forming mounds about ¾ inch to 1 inch high and 1¼ inches in diameter. Using moist fingertips, gently press tops of cream puffs to flatten any peaks. Bake until golden brown, about 37 minutes. Using small sharp knife, cut small slit in side of each cream puff. Transfer baking sheet to rack; let cream puffs cool.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

FILLING
: Beat cream, 1 teaspoon sugar, kirsch, and vanilla in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Combine strawberries and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in small bowl. Using fork, crush berries. Fold crushed strawberry mixture into cream mixture.

Using serrated knife, cut top third off each cream puff. Place cream puff bottoms, cut side up, on plates. Spoon filling into bottoms, mounding slightly. Ladle Strawberry Sauce over, allowing sauce to spill onto plates. Cover with cream puff tops. Dust with powdered sugar

Strawberry Sauce

This classic dessert sauce, known also as a coulis, is delicious with the strawberry cream puffs. It’s also good over vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, with crepes or waffles, or in a trifle layered with sponge cake, whipped cream, and fresh strawberries.
Makes about 2½ cups

2 1-pint containers strawberries, hulled

3 tablespoons sugar

Puree 1 container strawberries with sugar in processor. Transfer to bowl. Quarter remaining strawberries; add to sauce.

Fried Lemon-Scented Ricotta and Mascarpone Cream Puffs

Pâte à choux,
the same dough used to make traditional cream puffs and éclairs, is deep-fried in this recipe, adding some crunch to the cream-filled pastries.
Makes 3 dozen

¾ cup whole milk

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, diced

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch of salt

¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour

4 large eggs

Vegetable oil (for frying)

1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese

⅓ cup mascarpone cheese

¾ cup powdered sugar, divided

½ teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

Bring milk, butter, sugar, and salt to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Add flour all at once. Stir vigorously until dough is smooth, forms ball, and light film forms on pan bottom, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in eggs 1 at a time.

Add enough oil to heavy large saucepan to reach depth of 2 inches. Attach deep-fry thermometer to side of pan and heat oil over medium heat to 350°F Working in batches of 4 or 5, drop 1 tablespoon batter into oil for each cream puff. Fry until golden brown and puffed, adjusting heat to maintain temperature, about 5 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer cream puffs to paper towels to drain.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Stir ricotta cheese, mascarpone cheese, ¼ cup powdered sugar, and lemon peel in medium bowl to blend for filling. Cut cream puffs in half horizontally. Spoon 1 rounded teaspoon filling into bottoms; cover with tops. Sift remaining ½ cup powdered sugar over. Arrange on platter. Refrigerate cream puffs until ready to serve, up to 3 hours.

Rhubarb-Raspberry Jalousie

These French rectangular pastries, similar to turnovers, are often filled with poached fruit or jam. This modern version saves time by using frozen puff pastry and combines fresh rhubarb with raspberry preserves. Cutting slits down the center of the jalousie not only makes the pastry look pretty, it also allows steam to escape, which maintains the filling’s thick, jammy consistency.
6 servings

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter

4 cups ½-inch pieces trimmed rhubarb (from about 1 pound)

1 cup raspberry preserves with seeds

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed

1 large egg, beaten to blend

Vanilla ice cream

Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add rhubarb. Cover and simmer until rhubarb is tender and falling apart, about 10 minutes. Add preserves and ¼ cup sugar. Cook uncovered until mixture is very thick and reduced to 2 cups, stirring frequently, about 35 minutes. Chill filling uncovered until cold, at least 1 hour.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 16×12-inch rectangle. Cut pastry in half lengthwise, forming two 16×6-inch rectangles. Place 1 rectangle on prepared baking sheet. Spoon filling onto pastry and spread out in even layer, leaving 1-inch plain border. Brush border with egg. Top with second pastry rectangle; press edges firmly to seal. Brush edges with egg. Fold edges over, forming ½-inch border. Press border with tines of fork to seal. Brush top of pastry with glaze; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Using sharp knife, cut 1½-inch crosswise slits down center of pastry at 2-inch intervals, exposing filling.