“Choux Am I” Date and cinnamon choux creams

These cute little puffs are made with light and airy choux pastry paired with a dainty, date-laced filling – perfect for afternoon tea and special-occasion entertaining.

• makes

  32

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 75 g unsalted butter
• ½ tsp salt
• 150 g (1 cup) plain flour, sifted
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• icing sugar, for dusting
• ground cinnamon, for dusting

Date and cinnamon cream

• 150 g (1 cup) Medjool dates, pitted
• 200 ml boiling water
• 600 ml whipping cream
• 60 g icing sugar mixture, sifted
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 240˚C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Place the butter and salt in a saucepan with 185 ml water. Bring to a simmer and remove from the heat. Add the flour and mix well with a spatula. Return to low heat and mix until the batter is smooth and glossy (not oily) and pulling away from the sides of the pan but forming a film on the base of the pan.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for around 3 minutes. Add the beaten egg about a quarter at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop when the batter is liquid enough to form a 'V' hanging off the end of the spatula as you lift it out of the batter. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle.
4. Pipe rounds of the choux batter around 5 cm in diameter and 2 cm tall. Leave a few centimetres between each round. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 190 ˚C and bake for a further 15 minutes or until the puffs are golden and hollow. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
5. Meanwhile, for the date and cinnamon cream, soak the dates in the boiling water for 1 hour. Drain and reserve the soaking water, then blend the softened dates with a little of the soaking water into a coarse paste. Whip the cream with the icing sugar and cinnamon, then gently fold through the date paste. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
6. Cut the tops off the choux puffs and pipe in the date cream. Replace the tops, dust with icing sugar and cinnamon and serve.

Note

• The puffs are best served as soon as possible after filling. Alternatively, the unfilled puffs will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week. To refreshen, place in a low oven for 15 minutes before cooling and filling.

Photography by Adam Liaw.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.