Seeing as they often come in bunches, we thought we’d give you THREE delicious demos in a row, featuring two of Melbourne’s most talented cooks and one of my all-time favourite fruits: CHERRIES (which of course means………..Cherry Eclairs!)!
According to The Oracle, Damian Pike, this cherry season is actually on the slow side, thanks to inclement weather and a lazy cold-snap. Before we know it, Tasmanian reserves will take over, which means we’ll have more in stock and they’ll probably be a little cheaper, but now is the time to snap up a couple of handfuls of the juiciest, most flavoursome fruits.
The choicest local ones, mostly from the Yarra Valley, will start coming in over the coming weeks, and are definitely worth ordering in time for festive lunches. A box of cherries also makes for a tremendous corporate gift, because it can be shared around the office (or, in the case of one of my own gift boxes that found its way into a PR office last year, made into a VERY luxurious cherry cake).
If you find yourself in the possession of an excess, or want to jazz up fruit that isn’t quite right for eating fresh, a hit of heat will bring out the natural sweetness, and provide awesome table appeal.
The first recipe is from founder of Chez Dre and Bibelot, Andrea Reiss – who made her Prahran Market debut with this glorious Black Forest Eclair, AKA Cherry Eclairs. You’ll notice it’s formatted for pastry chefs – with elements separated. This actually works quite well because it means you can take parts of the dessert and turn them into your own.
Black Forest Cherry Eclairs: Chocolate choux, cherry compote, vanilla bavaroise, crumble, chocolate crème, cherry chantilly
Chocolate Pate a Choux
600g Milk
50g Sugar
10g Salt
160g Butter
300g Flour
60g Cocoa Powder
500g Eggs
-Cook the pate a Choux for 4-5 minutes
-Add the eggs slowly
-Leave it in the fridge overnight
Patisserie
1 Lt Milk
200g Cream
100g butter
150g Yolks
150g Sugar
60g Custard
430 Imaya
-Cook the patisserie for 2 minutes
-Add the dark chocolate
Vanilla Bavaroise
250g Milk
1.5 Pieces Vanilla
60g Yolks
65g Sugar
30g Gelatin Mass
200g Cream
-Bring milk to boil w/ scraped vanilla bean & gelatin mass. (Seeds only)
-Mix yolks & sugar.
-Pour milk over yolks & sugar to temper.
-Pour back into pot & cook until 84°C.
-Strain, bamix & cool to 25-30°C.
-Whip cream to soft peaks.
-Fold cream into vanilla mix.
-Set in fridge overnight.
Eclairs Croustillant
475g Butter
375g Raw Sugar
375g Biscuit Flour
40g Cocoa Powder
-Mix all ingredients in kitchenaid bowl w/ paddle.
-Weigh 150g between 2 sheets of paper.
-Roll out very thin & cut.
Vanilla Crumble
440g Almond Meal
440g Biscuit Flour
440g Butter(1) cubed
440g Sugar
150g Butter (2) cubed
10g Salt
-Mix all ingredients, except butter (2) in kitchenaid bowl w/ paddle.
-Form into balls & refrigerate for 2 hours.
-Push through wire rack.
-Bake in oven 155°C, 17 minutes.
-Once it comes out of the oven, add cubed butter (2) to crumble.
Cherry Base
560g Cherry Puree
35g Corn Flour
150g Sugar
14g Gelatin
-Bring fruit to boil with sugar
-Mix corn flour with some water & whisk into puree
-Boil for 3 minutes
-Add gelatin
-Set in the fridge overnight
Cherry Chantilly
450g Base
600g Cream
150g Mascarpone
80g Icing Sugar
-Whisk all together until firm peaks form
Cherry Compote
250g Cherry Puree
8g Pectin Nh
20g Sugar
90g Chopped Cherries
-Bring cherry puree to 50°C.
-Whisk pectin NH & sugar together.
-Whisk into cherry puree.
-Boil for 5 minutes.
-Cool completely & add chopped cherries.
