As Pumpkin Month starts to wind down, I have to say, somehow I’m not sick of pumpkin. To be perfectly honest here, I haven’t been the best on making something pumpkin everyday – some days, well, I just wanted chocolate. It happens. But I did stumble upon a rather delicious pumpkin idea, if I may say so myself, when this little guy was created.
I made pumpkin éclairs, peeps.
Since last Christmas, I have had a few near and dear family members gently suggest I make them éclairs everyday. So one night, with a lovely glass of wine, I decided to make pumpkin crème éclairs.
First up, I made pumpkin pastry cream. Very similar to normal pastry cream, just add pumpkin and spices with the egg yolks. See?
Yum. I also added a touch of butter at the end, to make it richer tasting. Because that is needed with pastry cream, of course.
At this point, I spread it out to cool in the fridge (macro! Looks sort of not so good, I know, but it is, trust) and drank another glass of wine. Pumpkin brings that out in me. Must be the Fall air.
I might have had a little bite first to make sure the crème would be ok…
With the crème made and cooling off and a nice glass of red wine nearby, I started in with the pâte a choux. And I had a couple issues with the choux. It just wouldn’t rise right, though I tried two different recipes. Must be the altitude… oh well, I had my choux for the éclairs and a few puffs, regardless of their ending shape. Here’s a picture of better looking pâte a choux than the ones I made that day. A sort of sad statement, I know.
After piped out, I baked the choux up and let them cool. Then I poked two holes on the bottom (usually 3 holes, I know, but mine were smaller than normal this round). While I was filling the choux with the crème, I realized I had no food coloring for the glaze. Truly, this was a thought out process, no?
A little thing like that didn’t stop me, though. Course not. I made some simple syrup and melted up the fondant. While I was missing the coloring, I at least had right temp for the glacage so it was shiny! Score one for me. Downside – white glacage is boring. It just is, no other way to describe it. So I plopped a walnut on top and called it decorated. Super fancy, I know.
I then took strategic pictures of the final product so it looked better than reality. Not bad, right?
Infinity shot of an éclair.
I also made a few puffs, for smaller bites.
It was such a little bite, I tested it to make sure it was ok before I gave some of them away to others. I don’t particularly like éclairs, but for the sake of others, I ate it up.
Final verdict: Pumpkin éclairs, not a bad thing at all. So far, my favorite kind of éclair. Not saying much, as they are low on my list of preferred desserts personally, but pretty delish. The magic of pumpkin crème.
So you too can partake in the magic, here’s the pumpkin pastry cream recipe. Seriously, make this. Its yummy.
Pumpkin Pastry Cream
*I suggest doubling the amount…because its good. But all amounts listed here are for 1 recipe.
1 cup whole milk (or a combo of skim and half and half – because that makes it whole, no?)
3 egg yolks
¼ cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla beans
1 tablespoon butter
In a small saucepan, warm the milk, half the sugar and vanilla over low heat until boiling.
While the milk is warming, whisk together the egg yolks, pumpkin, sugar, flour, spices, and cornstarch.
Once the milk is boiling, add at least half of it, whisking constantly, to the pumpkin mixture to temper.
Add the milk and pumpkin back into the hot milk, constantly stirring, and continue to cook it while it boils for 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat, and mix in the butter. Chill in a shallow dish with cling wrap touching it until ready to use.