Cream Puff Swans Recipes

WEDDING SWAN CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once; stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until smooth and shiny. , Cut a small hole in the corner of pastry bag or heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; insert round pastry tip #7. Fill bag with batter. On a greased baking sheet, pipe 3 dozen 2-in.-long "S" shapes for the swan necks, making a small dollop at the end of each for the head. Bake at 400° for 5-8 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. , For swan bodies, drop remaining batter by 36 level tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. With a small icing knife or spatula, shape batter into 2-in. x 1-1/2-in. teardrops. Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks. , Meanwhile, prepare pudding according to package directions for pie filling; chill. , Just before serving, cut off top third of swan bodies; set tops aside. Remove any soft dough inside. Spoon filling into bottoms of puffs. Top each with a small amount of jam if desired. Cut reserved tops in half lengthwise to form wings; set wings in filling. Place necks in filling. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

CREAM PUFF SWANS

Steps:

• PASTRY
• Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Place templates on baking sheets; line with parchment paper. Measure flour and set aside.
• In a large saucepan, bring butter, water, salt, and sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour all at once. Stir quickly until all the flour is incorporated, about a minute. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, for another minute or two.
• Transfer dough to the bowl of an electric mixer, and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat until the dough loses its "slimy" look, and each egg is incorporated. (You may only need 3 eggs, depending on your climate.) The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl.
• Spoon dough into a pastry bag fitted with a coupler. Attach a #10 tip (1/2-inch) to coupler. Pipe dough to make 12 swan necks on a baking sheet, using template as a guide. Smooth out peaks and round tops with a moistened finger; remove template. (You're aiming for something between a numeral 2 and a question mark, with a little beak if you're skilled and/or lucky.)
• Remove the tip from the bag and pipe out 12 swan bodies on a second baking sheet, using template as a guide. These will be about 3" long, and about 2" wide. One end should be a bit narrower than the other. Smooth out peaks and round tops with a moistened finger; remove template.
• Egg wash: Whisk together 1 egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush tops of dough with egg mixture. Place swan necks on baking sheet in the freezer.
• Bake swan bodies at 425° for 5 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 375°, and bake 30 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to a wire rack, and cool completely.
• Bake swan necks at 375° for 15 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to a wire rack, and cool completely.
• PASTRY CREAM
• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, flour, and salt. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture starts to boil. Cook for 2 minutes until thickened.
• Remove from the stove. Slowly whisk 1/4 cup of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add the egg yolk mixture to the hot mixture in the saucepan. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour or overnight.
• When pudding is chilled, whip cream to form soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the pudding until evenly mixed. Cover and chill until ready to use.
• ASSEMBLY
• Cut swan bodies in half horizontally. Cut the top halves in half to create two wings.
• Dollop or pipe a small amount of pastry cream onto the widest part of the bottom halves. Fix the swan necks in the cream. After you've put the neck in place, fill the bottom halves with additional pastry cream. Place wings on each side.
• Chill until ready to serve. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving if desired.

GOURMET CREAM PUFF SWANS RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat water, butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan on low until butter has melted.
• Turn the heat to high, and allow the mixture to reach a rolling boil.
• Add the flour and stir with a stiff spatula until the mixture has the consistency of mashed potatoes.
• Turn the heat down to medium for one minute. Take off heat and set this panade aside to cool to room temperature.
• Crack the eggs into a bowl and stir with a fork.
• Transfer the room temperature panade to a kitchen stand mixer bowl.
• Using the paddle attachment, add the eggs in three parts at medium speed.
• Fill piping bags with the cream mixture. Pipe into 16 2-inch tear-drops (swan bodies) and 16 S-shaped squiggles (swan heads and necks).
• Preheat oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Bake the swan bodies for 30 to 40 minutes.
• Bake the swan heads and necks for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Using a serrated knife or kitchen shears, slice off the top quarter of each swan body, and then slice each quarter into vertical halves.
• Fill the body with whipped cream.
• Add the vertically sliced halves to the sides as wings.
• Top with the head and neck piece.
• Serve immediately. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

SWAN CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Grease a large cookie sheet. In a 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, heat margarine, salt and one cup of water until it melts and boils. Remove from heat. Add flour, all at once with wooden spoon, beating vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Add eggs, one at a time, beating with wooden spoon after each addition. Preheat oven to 375. Spoon 1/2 cup batter into pastry bag with large writing tip. On greased cookie sheet, pipe 8 (3 inch long) "question marks" for swans neck, making a small dollop at the beginning of each head. Drop remaining batter, using a large spoon and pushing off with rubber spatula, onto cookie sheet into 8 large mounds, 3 inches apart. With moistened fingers, smooth batter to round mounds off. Bake 20 minutes until necks are golden. Remove just the necks to a wire rack to cool. Continue baking creme puffs 45-50 minutes longer until golden. Remove to wire racks to cool. Almond Creme Filling: Beat Rich's whip until soft peaks form. Set aside. Prepare pudding mix with milk. Fold in whipped cream and almond extract. Cut off top third of cream puffs and set aside. Spoon some cream mixture into each puff (swan's body). Cut reserved top pieces in half. Set into cream for wings. Place swans necks into cream. Refrigerate. On serving dish arrange swans in a pretty pattern. Dust confectionary sugar on top of each swan... Enjoy!!