I decided to make a choux pastry version of the classic hot-cross bun and this is what I came up with!
What's on the menu?
- Spiced choux au craquelin (cream puff pastry with crunchy butter cookie layer)
- Orange icing cross (to give an added crunch)
- Cream cheese filling that's lightened with whipped cream and peppered with juicy orange juice soaked raisins. The filling is aromatically flavoured with dark brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and orange zest.
My family is really thankful to have found a church community that generally tries to live out the faith by showing love and generosity towards those in need. We have been on the receiving end of such generosity for some years now, and the motivation for them to do so is because of the new life that we have found in Jesus. It's a far cry from some who have used the name of Jesus for selfish personal gain and dragged it into the mud. So as part of the church's Culinary Arts Ministry, I am happy to share what God has gifted me with! Feel free to bring along your family or friends to join you to hear the Gospel in an informal setting at this event!
You may watch part of the process of making these choux buns in this reel:
Hot cross choux buns
(makes about 32-36 mini buns)
Craquelin
You may prepare this in advance and keep frozen until needed, up to a month ahead of time if kept in airtight condition. Place the cutouts in layers separated by parchment paper if stacking for storage.
28g unsalted butter, slightly softened
24g caster sugar
28g plain flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1. Mix butter and sugar together briefly with a spatula for about a minute. Sugar doesn't need to dissolve in the butter.
2. Add sifted flour, cinnamon and allspice. Mix well until a dough forms.
3. Roll to about 2-3mm thick (I roll mine to 2.4mm thick using metal guides) between parchment paper. Freeze until firm, at least 20 minutes.
4. Cut 3mm circles with cookie cutter. Place cut-outs on a lined baking tray. Put back into the freezer until needed.
Choux pastry*
120g water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
20g unsalted butter, room temperature
20g olive oil (may replace with butter)
60g plain flour, sifted
2 large eggs**, lightly beaten
* The Instagram reel shows baking of pastry batter from frozen after piping into 3cm diameter silicone molds. If you don't have the molds, you may follow the steps described in this post. You may resize the template below provided to fit A4 paper for 2.5cm diameter circles. If baking from frozen, increase baking time by 5 minutes
**50-58g without shell on for each egg. Use more egg as necessary depending on batter consistency
1. Preheat oven to 220C/205C (fan). Line baking tray with 2.5 cm diameter circle template and place perforated mat over the template. You may use parchment paper or silicone mat if you don't have perforated mats. Perforated mats are the best for making sure the base of the pastry is flat and it helps to retain the pastry shape better.
2. Place water, sugar, salt, oil (if using) and butter in small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil while stirring with spatula. Once it boils, remove from heat and pour the flour all in at once. Whisk quickly for the flour to absorb the liquid. Switch to spatula and knead until no flour is seen.
3. Put the dough back in stove to cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes to cook off excess water while kneading continuously with the spatula. I usually use a more precise weight measurement of an 8-10% reduction in weight of the dough after cooking instead of using time measurement. Transfer dough into a mixing bowl and let it cool to at least body temperature.
4. Add half the egg into the dough and mix well until smooth. Add half of the remaining egg and mix until smooth. Add the remaining egg a spoon at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the batter appears smooth and shiny, and is able to fall off the spatula slowly, leaving a deep "V" as it hangs off the spatula as shown in the reel.
5. Transfer batter into piping bag fitted with a large round piping tip (or just cut a 1 cm hole if you don't have piping tip). Pipe tall dollops of batter over the circle template until it reaches the circumference of the circles. The dollop of batter should be about 2.5-3cm tall.
6. Quickly place frozen craquelin circles on top of each piped batter and press down slightly. Dab a little water in the baking tray all around before putting into the oven. The steam produced by the water will help the pastries to rise although it's optional.
7. Bake for 10 min at 215C/200C (fan). Reduce temperature to 190C/ 175C (fan) and bake for 20min. Reduce temperature once again to 145C/ 130C (fan) and bake for another 15-20 min until pastry is totally crisp and dry but not browned further. Cool completely before filling or storing in airtight container. You may freeze it and fill it another day. Re-crisp the pastries in the oven by baking for 8min at 160-170C if you stored it in the freezer or for 5 min if stored at room temperature for up to a week. Do note that oven temperature and time is only a guide. Adjust according to what works for your oven. Do not open the oven door during the first 20-25 min of baking as the pastries may collapse.
Orange icing***:
50g icing sugar
4g meringue powder
10g fresh orange juice
1. Whisk together icing sugar and meringue powder.
2. Add orange juice and whisk until icing is smooth and thickened, about a few minutes.
3. Transfer icing into piping bag fitted with a #44 ribbon piping tip or cut a side slit about 5mm long along one of the seams of the piping bag to mimic the ribbon piping tip without the actual tip.
4. Pipe the cross on top of the pastries and tap down with a clean finger dampened with water to ensure the ribbons piped are flat against the pastry as shown in the reel.
5. Dry in 70C oven for 20 min or until hardened. Cool completely before filling.
*** If you don't want to use meringue powder for the icing, you may make royal icing the traditional way from raw egg whites. If using raw egg whites, whisk 12g egg whites with 60g icing sugar and 1/2 tsp orange juice until smooth for 6-8 minutes. Drying in the oven at 70C is necessary to cook the egg whites as well as dry the icing thoroughly. It will take about 1h or more. Feel free to use melted white chocolate for decorating the cross if you prefer something faster and find the extra crunch optional.
Hot-cross bun flavoured cream cheese filling:
300g cream cheese, softened
120g whip topping
180g whipping cream (at least 35% fat)
80g dark brown sugar
2-2.5 tbs orange zest
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
120g raisins
1-2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
60g (4 tbs) orange juice (for soaking raisins)
1. Soak raisins in orange juice overnight in the fridge or for at least an hour. Drain the excess juice from raisins. Set aside.
2. Mix softened cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon together until smooth with a spatula. Add vanilla if you wish.
3. Whip cold whipping creams until firm peak with an electric mixer.
4. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture in a few additions.
5. Add orange zest and drained raisins. Mix well.
Transfer into piping bag. Fill the pastries as shown in the reel.
with love,
Phay Shing
