Since I had nothing better to do, I decided to make croquembouche for this month’s Improv Cooking Challenge. bahahaha! Not really – I stacked up some cinnamon cream puffs filled with Greek yogurt and drizzled honey all over them. (then attempted to photograph them before the cat tried to topple my tower…)
For a couple years now the hubster likes a bowl of Greek yogurt, cinnamon, honey & frozen mixed berries before turning in for the night. Little did he know that he was “knocking-off” that famous Greek dessert called “Yiaourti Me Meli” – yogurt and honey (well, minus the walnuts and plus the berries…)
I decided to dress it up a little in a cinnamon profiterole and top it with a bit more honey.
This was my first attempt at pâte à choux using Bob’s Red Mill® Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out. I will definitely be making more gf puffs in the future!
I started by making the yogurt so the flavors could blend together. I used 2 cups of Greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/3 cup local honey & 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
With that resting in the fridge, I went to work on the profiteroles. 
Cinnamon Pâte à Choux
1 cup water
½ c. butter (if using unsalted, add a pinch of kosher salt)
½ t. cinnamon
1 c. Bob’s Red Mill® Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour 4 large eggs
- (It’s easier to assemble ingredients before starting, because the process goes fast!) Break the eggs into a spouted measuring cup. Preheat oven to 425°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
- Combine the water, butter and cinnamon in a saucepan, bring to a rolling boil.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and add the flour all at once, stirring vigorously.
- Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat for a couple minutes until it’s cooled to below 125°F.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time on medium speed; scrape the bowl after each addition.
- After the last egg, beat the dough a couple minutes until it holds a peak.
- Scoop the batter onto the prepared baking sheets using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop. (Allow space for the puffs to expand.)
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°. Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until the dough has risen and the pastries are a medium golden brown. (They should sound hollow if you tap them…) Remove the pastries from the oven, make a small slit in the top of each, and return them to the oven for another 5 minutes, to allow the steam to escape.
- Transfer the puffs to a rack to cool.
- When they are cool enough to handle, split each one in half to air out the centers, which will help keep the pastries from becoming soggy.
- Fill the bottom half of the profiterole with the yogurt mixture then replace the top. Dip in honey and form stack on a serving plate. Drizzle with more honey.
- Serve immediately; refrigerate any leftovers.
Yield: 2 dozen puffs
They were quite tasty! To see recipes for more tasty cinnamon & honey dishes, click on the links below: Cinnamon and Honey are the Improv Cooking Challenge ingredients for this month. See what was concocted below!
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Yummm!! Those sound so delicious - what a perfect combination of flavors and textures.
ReplyDeleteThey were even good the 2nd day -- you know, when the "puff" of the profiteroles is about to expire... :)
DeleteI made my first croquembouche a couple years ago---it was a lot harder than I thought! So good to know the puffs work with GF flour :)
ReplyDeleteP.S. If you want the exact instructions for my chocolate shards, go to the Fine Cooking link in my post and that will lead you to a video. It's really easy, but it's nice to see the procedure! Thanks for stopping by!
ONE DAY! I will attempt croquembouche! I must hone my sugar skills first, though. :( Thanks for the link to the video.
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