Strawberry Bear Choux Pastries (new filling recipe!)

Bear choux pastries again! But this time filled with a new filling. Strawberry pastry cream made with lots of strawberries!

This request came at a time when I was busy preparing for my first bear choux pastry class so I could only manage making 25 heads instead of the full body version. This bear design can also be found in my Deco Choux Pastries book.

You may refer to this post for the basic choux pastry and craquelin recipe, and how to create features like the ears out of choux batter. No colouring was added for these bears. I piped 2.5cm diameter batter, topped with 3cm craquelin for these.

Freshly baked choux pastry cases! I highly recommend using a perforated mat for baking. 

I decorated using royal icing instead of melted chocolate since you can put the pastry cases to dry thoroughly in the oven at 70°C when royal icing is used. You can't do that with chocolate. A small piece of pastry case is cut out from the base so that you can fill with filling with much ease 

Store decorated pastry cases in airtight condition at cool room temperature. I bake until the cases are crisp and dry so they can be stored for up to a week at room temperature.

Recipe for strawberry pastry cream
Ingredients:
Strawberry jam
250g strawberries
70g sugar (more if you prefer)
1tsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1 tsp strawberry emulco

Strawberry pastry cream
270g jam
50g milk
3 egg yolks
30g cornflour
Pinches of salt
25g unsalted butter
80g non-dairy whipping cream
50g dairy whipping cream

Steps:
1. Blend strawberries and place in a small saucepan together with the rest of the jam ingredients. Make sure you weigh the empty saucepan first. Cook over medium-low heat while stirring continously until the liquid is reduced and the weight of the contents in saucepan is 270g.

2. Pour milk and add salt into the cooked jam and whisk together.

3. Heat the saucepan with low heat until steaming hot but not boiling. In the mean time, in a heavy mixing bowl, whisk together egg yolks and cornflour until a paste forms.

4. Pour hot jam with milk in a slow, thin stream into the egg yolk mixture while whisking the egg yolk mixture continuously. This is to temper the egg yolks. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

5. Heat the saucepan over medium-low heat while whisking continuously. Once the mixture starts to thicken, remove from heat and whisk vigorously. Put it back on heat and continue to whisk until pastry cream thickens to consistency of your liking. Do not heat the custard too fast as it may become lumpy.

6. Remove from heat and add butter. Whisk until well combined. Transfer into a bowl and press a cling wrap on the surface. Refrigerate until cool. At least 30min or overnight .

7. Combine dairy and non-dairy whipping cream in a mixing bowl. You may use either type of cream or adjust the ratio according to personal preference. If you are using fully dairy cream, be careful not to overwhip. Whip whipping cream until firm peaks.

8. Take pastry cream out from fridge and stir briefly with spatula to loosen it. Fold in whipped cream in 3 batches, mixing well after each addition.

I like to store the pastry cream in sealed piping bags in the fridge so that the recipient can fill the pastry cases when it is party time. I recommend filling choux cases only when you are about to eat so that you can enjoy it crisp on the outside with cold and creamy filling on the inside.


With love,
Phay Shing