Mandarin Orange Cream Puffs
Mandarin Orange Cream Puffs filled with Mandarin curd and topped with vanilla creme mousseline. A little tart, a little sweet with bright winter citrus flavor and a little floral flair.
“A little tart, a little sweet with bright winter citrus flavor and a little floral flair.”
Mousseline Creme is a pastry cream that has been enriched with butter. Yes, if you thought pastry creme couldn’t get any better, try whipping in some good quality butter and you have the most luxurious filling for chop pastry, cakes, or mille-feuille.
Once you've made and chilled your pastry cream, the temperature can be the main cause for issue. If your butter is too cold when you incorporate it, it will become too stiff and may even look curdled. If you run into this issue, remove a spoonful of the cream and place it in a small bowl. Microwave it for 10 seconds, until it is melted. Then, add it back into the and keep whipping.
Choux au Craquelin sounds very French (because it is haha) and like many French things very complicated but with the right tools choux pastry isn’t too finicky. This dough is twice cooked. Once on the stove top and once in the oven. This is what gives it the great puff. I like to beat my pastry by hand but it is rather thick and does take a bit of work to get the eggs full combined. If you would like you could add the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer after beating in the flour and forming a ball. Then, let the mixer do the tough job of getting the eggs mixed in.
Mandarin Orange Cream Puffs
Choux au Craquelin
for craquelin
5 tablespoons cool butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
orange gel food coloring
for choux
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 egg white
Mandarin Curd
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons finely shredded mandarin peel
3 tablespoon mandarin juice
3 tablespoons water
3 beaten egg yolks
1/4 cup butter cut into pieces
Vanilla Creme Mousseline
2 cups whole milk
4 egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
Choux au Craquelin: In the bowl of a food processor, process sugar and butter pieces until it forms large crumbs. add in flour, salt, and vanilla bean paste and process until a dough forms. Bring the dough together to form a disk.
Then, roll the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until 1/16 of an inch thin. Place covered in the freezer for at least 1 hour. Cut the dough into 2-inch circles and keep circles in the freezer until ready to use. You may need to roll the dough scraps out again to get enough circles. You will need approximately 40.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment pare or a silicone mat.
In a medium saucepan combine milk, water, butter, and salt and bring to boiling. Then, add flour in all at once stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and add eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition.
Prepare dough in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe 1 1/2 inch circle and cover with a frozen craquelin circle. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden and firm. Then, transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Mandarin Curd:
In a medium saucepan stir together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice, and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Stir half of the lemon mixture into egg yolks. Return the egg yolk mixture to saucepan. Cook to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and cook and stir for 2 minutes more or until thickened. Remove from heat.
Add butter pieces, stirring until melted. Cover surface of curd with plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour for up to 48 hours.
Vanilla Creme Mousseline:
In a heavy saucepan bring the milk just to a boil over medium heat.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and egg, sugar and cornstarch until smooth.
Just when the milk comes to a boil reduce heat. Then, drizzle 1/3 of the warm milk into the bowl with the egg mixture in a thin stream while continuously mixing. Return the mixture to the saucepan, and slowly bring to a low boil, stirring constantly. Once the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, remove from the heat and stir in the 4 tablespoons of butter and vanilla.
Pour into a heat-proof container and top with plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled.
Once fully chilled and set (at least 4 hours; preferably overnight), remove from the fridge and add to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low to gently loosen the pastry cream.
Cube your remaining 2 sticks of butter and add one by one into the pastry cream. Whip on high until fully combine and smooth.
Assembly:
Fill a pastry bag with the mandarin curd and one fitted with the pastry tip of your choice with the creme mousseline. Make a small hole in the bottom of the cream puff and fill with curd. Then, pipe top with creme mousseline.
If desired top with mandarin zest and an edible flower.
makes approximately 40 cream puffs.
