Cream Puffs

I love this recipe.

Make them into little balls and you have cream puffs.
Roll them a little long into logs and top with chocolate ganache once they are done, and you have elcaires.

Brush the little balls with egg wash and cross hatch like and peanut butter cookie and sprinkle some pearl sugar and you have those deliciously delicate french pastries, choquettes.

this is the ever-versatile choux pastry recipe. Mine is a Japanese take on the choux recipe.

It tastes incredibly similar to those custard-filled giant cream puffs that exploded in my face (quite literally) on my trip to Hokkaido.

Next i need to master the cream puff swans.

Something just fills me with glee when i think of eating cream-filled swan puffs.

Fill these babies with buttercream or custard.
If you are daring, vanilla ice cream.

In fact, i stuff my puffs (heh. heh.) with a variety of ingredients. the whackier the better. I like fig jam and kaya (coconut custard) and peanut butter and mousse.

Try it out. go crazy.

Coconut Layer Cake

This cake, is a commitment.
You have to make the cake, make the custard, make the cream. Split the cake. Manage not to break the cake, layer the cake, make sure the cake doesn't fall over as you ice the cake...

You get my drift.

And even the buttercream or custard isn't the easiest thing to make.

You may even have to drive down to your nearest supermarket to grab some coconut extract if you don't have any already (who would?)

But, nevertheless, this cake is worth it.

So make that cake, custard, cream, what have you. Don't have coconut extract? what are supermarkets FOR?

And then when you have run out of cake it is perfectly fine to go ahead and make another because practice makes perfect, and who can resist a perfect coconut layer cake?

(only people allergic to coconut)
(even then, maybe not.)

Vanilla Custard

This has got to be the best custard for filling puffs and tarts.

It's good cold, even better warm, and it is completely understandable if you just end up eating it straight out of the jar with a sppon.

Simple Buttercream

I'm not so much of a buttercream junkie.
i am a girl of custards.

Feel like buttercream is too sweet to fill your cream puffs or shortcrust tarts?
try the custard recipe instead!