Vegan Cream Puffs!!!

With a coconut fondant filling and chocolate glaze.

Wahey!!! Ok, these new egg replacers are turning out great!! Really didn't think choux pastry could be veganized but these turned out really well. I have fond memories of both cream puffs and eclairs. My Danish grandmother used to make them now and again and it was always such a treat, remember running over to house whenever she would make them, as did half the kids in the neighbourhood! Now, I have never made choux pastry before, even before being vegan so when I say this was an experiment - I mean it :) I also haven't eaten cream puffs for years so I can't really say how close this is, I feel it's pretty damn accurate. What I do know is they are absolutely delicious!!!

For the filling, if I wasn't off the soy I would have just bought a can of soyatoo spray cream, stuck the nozzle in and given it a squirt! However being off the soy made the question of what to fill these with a little more difficult. I decided on the filling I used for the Bounty Bars but made it floppier and not as stiff. I thought a coconuty filling would be nice and it's almost as much fun freaking people out that it's made with mashed potato as it is telling some omnivores their dessert is made with tofu ;)

It definitely worked out well, the coconut filling is very yum in there, with the pastry and the chocolate on top it reminds me a bit of what deep fried bounty bars might taste like (as I don't have a clue, honest!) Just a note on the dough, it is a lot stiffer and heavier than what choux dough should be. I was unable to drop with a spoon and swirl the tops, instead having to roll them into balls with my hand. As they don't puff up like choux (of course they won't without 7 eggs!) you have to pull out some of the soft filling. What you are left with though is very similar and does the job nicely:)

Choux Pastry: (makes about 7 smallish cream puffs)

1/4 cup vegan margarine (50g)
1/2 cup boiling water (4 fl oz)
1/2 cup plain flour (75g)
1/8 tsp salt
----2 "eggs"----
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp potato starch (for those in UK -available at any tesco, simple!)
1/4 tsp baking powder (I may experiment next with doubling this)
1/8 tsp xanthan gum
100ml water
2 tsp vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 180C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. First make your "eggs" by whisking the dry ingredients together then whisking in the water until smooth, then the oil. Whisk again until slightly frothy. Bring the margarine and boiling water to a boil in a saucepan until margarine is all melted. Add the flour and salt all at once. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball that cleans the sides of the pan. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Whisk up your "eggs" again and add half to the dough, mix very well, until smooth and glossy. Repeat with the remaining liquid. Take blobs of the dough and shape into even size balls. Place on the baking sheet spread apart and bake for 30 - 40 minutes. They should be golden and crisp on the outside.

After baking.

Once they have cooled, carefully split them open with a serrated knife and pull out the gooey centre, leaving the crisp shells. Next time I may pop them back in to the oven at this stage to help dry out the inside, but they were perfectly fine this way.

NOM, NOM, NOM!!!!
(after cooling and insides pulled out, toothpicks in just to show you the inside)

Now for the filling, again, if you are fine with soy you may just want to fill these with soyatoo spray cream. Here is my recipe for the coconut fondant I filled these with:

Coconut Fondant:
2 Tbsp cold, unsalted mashed potato
1/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut (20g)
3/4 cup icing sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

Cook the peeled potato in unsalted water until ready to mash. Drain and return to the pan to dry out a couple of minutes. Mash well then push it through a fine sieve until there are no lumps at all. Let cool and measure out 2 Tbsp. Place this in a bowl and stir in 1/4 cup of icing sugar. The starch from the potato reacting with the sugar will turn the mixture to liquid. Add the vanilla then keep adding the icing sugar until the mixture turns white and fondanty. Stir in the coconut - you should have a thick but slightly floppy mixture, think of the thickness of pastry cream....

Once the puffs are cool fill with the coconut mixture, about 1 Tbsp per puff.

Puffs filled.

Chocolate Glaze:
75g dark vegan chocolate
1 tsp virgin coconut oil in solid state - this works so well here, if you don't have it just use vegetable oil

Combine the chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until smooth and glossy. Let cool just enough that it's thick enough to spoon over without it running down the sides of the puffs. Spoon over each one, spreading it out a bit and leave to set!

Fin!

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