焦げパフ(kogepafu): Burnt Puff

The first time I ate a cookie coated puff was in Melbourne. I never had anything like it. I remember that day me and my friend were strolling past the shopping centre to catch the bus and then we passed by the puffy store. In the spur of the moment, it caught my eye and then I had one in my hand. Thanks to my friend and tour guide, I was able to try this little sweet treat. 

The other day I came across a recipe on my friend's blog, Tray, and her creations almost resembled that cookie coated puff. I have been saving it up for a long time, hoping to recreate that little sweet treat I had with my friend that day. But to my dismay, it's not quite the same as that sweet moment. Yet in its own way, my little puff creations were special too.

Sadly they got left in the oven a little too long. Thus they became burnt puffs. That was why there was a slight burnt smell waffling in the kitchen at the time, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. 

It reminds me of the story of Kogepan, the burnt red bean bread man, a Japanese animated character.

The poor little red bean bread accidentally fell off the tray after finishing baking and got cooked some more, until its skin was no longer a golden color and it smelt awful. But not to worry.. about half the tray of cookie coated cream puffs were burnt so they kept each other company. On the other hand, Kogepan was alone and nobody bought it. Other red bean buns mocked it and even its baker did not pay attention to it. Kogepan's only dream was to become a delicious red bean bun.

Anyways enough of that story, but if you'd like to read on then you can visit here. All the cookie coated cream puffs here were treated with care and eaten with love. Afterall, what's not to love about a little sweet treat despite the slight discoloration and smell.

Ahhh...open wide and enjoy!

Cookie Topped Choux Puffs
Makes 10-12

cookie dough
25 grams plain flour
25 grams unsalted butter
25 grams caster sugar

choux puff
30g all purpose flour
30g cake flour
40g unsalted butter
100ml water
5g castor sugar
pinch of salt
2 eggs (100g)

vanilla custard cream
(Note: this is my own recipe, as I didn't have any vanilla pods in the pantry)
1 cup of fresh milk
1/2 cup of thickened cream
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons of plain flour
2 teaspoons of vanilla essence

Directions:
cookie dough...

1. Place the butter in a bowl and use a spoon to mash until slightly softened.
2. Add in the sugar and mix to combine.
3. Add the flour and use a spatula to mix till combined. Wrap with cling wrap and roll into a mini cylinder. Place in the freezer to chill for at least half an hour.

choux puff...

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Place water, butter, sugar, salt in saucepan.Heat the mixture till the butter melts and boils. Remove from heat, add the flour into the saucepan. Using a heatproof spatula, stir the mixture quickly to mix.
3. Place the saucepan back over medium heat. Stir constantly with the spatula while letting the moisture from the mixture evaporate. The dough should become less watery and be stickier. When a thin layer of skin forms on the base of the saucepan, remove saucepan from heat.
4. Dump the dough into a mixing bowl, and while the dough is still warm, add in the eggs one at a time. Using the spatula, stir the mixture quickly to mix in the egg. When the mixture is smooth, add in remaining egg bit by bit (you might not need all of it) and repeat quick stirring motions until the eggs are fully mixed in and mixture appears smooth.
5. Transfer the dough to a piping bag (I used a zip lock bag and snipped the tip off). Line a tray with baking paper. Pipe swirls of the dough onto the tray. You should end up with approximately 10 puffs.
6. Remove the cookie dough from the freezer, slice into ten (or more) pieces and place on top of the piped puffs. Press down slightly and ensure that the cookie rounds are in the center of the puffs (if not you'll end up with lopsided cookie tops!).
7. Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Cool before filling with desired fillings.

vanilla custard cream...

1. Place milk and cream in a bowl and turn the heat on low.
2. In another bowl whisk the sugar and egg together until the sugar dissolves. Then add the flour and whisk until the mixture turns slighty pale in color.
3. When the egg mixture is ready, turn the milk mixture on high heat and pour the egg mixture in while stirring. Turn the heat on medium and stir until the mixture thickens slightly (about 3-5 minutes). Adjust the temperature lower if mixture begins to burn slightly.
4. Stir in vanilla essence. Serve warm or chill. Whisk the mix after chilling mixture before serving.

Recipe source of cookie dough and choux puff: Foodagraphy. By Chelle.