My 'avant-garde' Kue Sus..

What an afternoon!  I had wanted to make something for all to eat at home and have been browsing through my recipe books.  Quite a few looked interesting but I ended up trying out the Cream Puff a.k.a Kue Sus.  I know the taste and I know how it looks like but I have never made it. 

And so I started on my quest.  Rummaged through the kitchen cabinets and drawers, gathered all the ingredients and tools of the trade.  Then I realised there were no more fresh milk left in the refrigerator.  Sighhh...time to go to recipe no. 2!  It's ok, there's still hope of trying out the cream puff.  Wasn't really sure which nozzle to use and also how to fix the attachment for the nozzle!  I just could not figure out how to fix it.  Finally, when all looked ready and ok, I started...Bismillah...

Alhamdulillah, it turned out ok and the taste is delicious, not too sweet and not too rich.  The texture of the Choux pastry is very light and slightly crispy at the edges.  The recipe is also soo simple to follow.  But take a look at the shape of the puff!  It's neither here nor there!  And so, this is the humble beginning of "My 'avant-garde' Kue Sus"!

Don't play-play ok.  It's a bit slanting here and a bit crooked there.  But it's mine, all mine!  Hahahaha!!  There are no two pastries that are alike.  All are different in their own way (especially when I was the one who piped out the pastry..LOL!)

Now take a look at this one.  It's like a mini 'icing sugar/cocoa powder capped' mountain.  My daughter said "The shapes don't look the same from all angles!"  Ahaa..can you actually replicate my cream puffs?  No easy task, right?!?!?

However funny they looked, I still like the taste.  It's so delicious and light.  As for the Choux Pastry, I got the recipe from the blog For the Love of Baking.  She's got a lot of lovely recipes with lovely pictures.  I didn't use her recipe for the filling as I did not have all the ingredients required.  Instead, I used the recipe from Rachel Allen, and I am glad I used that cos it is so sedap!  Now what I need to do is to practice piping the pastry so that it'll at least look like normal choux pastry!  hahaha...

Kue Sus (Choux Pastry)

130gm plain flour

1 tsp salt

100gm butter

4 eggs

250ml water

Place water, salt and butter in a saucepan and set over a medium-high heat, stirring until the butter melts.  Allow the mixture to come to a rolling boil then immediately remove from heat.  Add the flour and mix well.  Reduce the heat and replace the saucepan, stirring until the mixture starts to slightly stick to the base of the pan.  Remove from heat and let cool a while.  Preheat the oven to 200C.  Add the eggs, one at a time - beating either with a wooden spatula or a hand-held mixer.  Mix well until the mixture has softened and has a nice "dropping" consistency.  Place the dough into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle and pipe onto the the tray that has been lined with grease-proof paper.  Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Creme Chantilly Filling

50gm icing sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

400ml whipped cream (measure when whipped)

Fold the sifted icing sugar and vanilla extract into the whipped cream.  Chill until you are ready to use it.  Make a small slit on the pastry and pipe the Creme Chantilly into it.