Several weeks ago I had somewhat of a »choux pastry phase« where this cute little Choux Pastry Hearts with Raspberry Whipped Cream came to life ;) They were originally not intended to be for Valentine’s Day, but they fit perfectly for that type of »holiday«, right? Well… actually for any other day of the year. I would love to get one of these 365 days of the year. I would gain a lot of weight, but I would be happy. Unfortunately/Fortunately, this is not gonna happen because there is nobody here that would bake them for me each day ;)
I have to admit that I am not the biggest choux pastry fan. I love to eat everything made with choux pastry – don’t get me wrong. I love »Croquembouche«, »Eclairs«, or »Paris Brest«. Love all of it! But choux pastry and I will probably never be real friends. More or less like macarons and I. My other love-hate relationship ;P
Making choux pastry is actually not that complicated. The dough is easy to prepare but for the piping work, you need some practice. Something I haven’t mastered during all those years I am baking. Maybe the dough feels my resentment and acts weird because of that? I don’t know. As I said already – the dough is easy to prepare. You just have to make sure to »burn« it properly. That’s what we say in Germany – properly not the right word in English ;P You have to cook the dough until you get that thin white layer on the bottom of the pot (full explanation).
Anyway. Not that difficult. My problems start when I have to pip the dough onto a baking sheet. I seem to miscalculate the size of the dough portions each and every time. The experienced baker would probably make a test with one piece and see how it turns out – but not me. I always pipe everything I have onto the baking sheet and bake it… and the results are often not what I wanted. Cute little cream puffs I imagined turn into big whoppers or something like that ;P
You could learn from your mistakes… or you can make them over and over again. Like me ;) I guess I was lucky these cream puff hearts turned out more or less the size I envisioned. Though I would have not been mad if they were bigger. Bigger hearts mean more love and more cream filling, right? ;P
Well… maybe I should stick to the tips and tricks I give to my readers in this case and make test runs with choux pastry for the future… until I am finally able to get the sizes right from the beginning. Would be nice for a change.
Anyway. I decided to use a whipped raspberry cream filling for the hearts here. Because it’s delicious! You could use regular whipped cream instead and add some jam or compote to the bottom of the hearts additionally if you want something fruity. I got some nice Cream Puffs with Cherries that are made that way. Check out that recipe.
If you want to try »craquelin« cream puffs (that’s when the top of the cream puff gets an additional layer of dough) you can check out my recipe for Valentine’s Day Craquelin Cream Puffs. Another example where the size of the cream puffs got completely out of hand ;P I wanted them to be small and cutesy, and once again they turned out monstrously big. But as I mentioned before – it’s somewhat ok if bigger means you get more filling. Right?! ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(about 12 choux hearts)
For the choux pastry:
1/2 cup (120ml) water
0.9 oz. (25g) butter
1 pinch of salt
2.8 oz. (80g) all-purpose flour
0.5 oz. (15g) cornstarch
3 medium eggs
For the raspberry whipped cream:
10.6 oz. (300g) heavy cream, cold
2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
some cream stiffener
2.8 oz. (80g) raspberries, puréed (plus more if needed)
For the decoration:
some pink sugar glaze & sprinkles
alternatively confectioners’ sugar
(ca. 12 Herzen)
Für den Brandteig:
120ml Wasser
25g Butter
1 Prise Salz
80g Mehl (Type 550)
15g Speisestärke
3 Eier (M)
Für die Himbeersahne:
300g Schlagsahne (kalt)
2 EL Puderzucker
1/2 TL Vanille Extrakt
etwas Sahnesteif
80g Himbeeren, püriert plus ggf. mehr
Für die Dekoration:
etwas rosa Zuckerglasur & bunte Streusel
alternativ Puderzucker
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
2. Add water, butter, and salt to a small pot and bring to a boil to melt the butter. Combine the flour and cornstarch, add to the pot and stir until you have a smooth dough that pulls away from the bottom and sides. Let the dough “burn off” (not actually burn but cook the flour), stirring constantly, for about 1-2 minutes – the bottom of the pot should be covered with a white layer. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
3. Add the eggs to the bowl, one at a time, and mix with the dough hooks of a handheld mixer to incorporate each egg separately into the dough. In the end, the dough should look shiny and hang down in a triangle from the dough hooks when you pull them out. Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a large round piping tip. Pipe hearts onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them far enough apart. Spray or gently brush the hearts with a little water, smoothing out any protruding tips if necessary, and then bake for about 20-22 minutes – do not open the oven during this time. Remove the baked pastries from the oven and let them cool for a moment, then slice them open with a sharp knife to get bottoms and tops. Let cool down completely on a wire rack.
4. for the filling, clean the raspberries and then mash or purée them. Whip the cold heavy cream, with the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and some cream stiffener until stiff peaks form. Add the puréed raspberries and mix in well. Transfer the raspberry whipped cream to a piping bag and pipe a good amount of it onto each (heart) base and close with the top parts.
5. if you want to decorate the hearts further, you can coat the top with some sugar glaze and add some sprinkles as well – or just dust the hearts with some confectioners’ sugar.
Note: If you like it a bit fruitier, you can mash a few extra raspberries, mix them with some sugar and use that as a filling inside the harts underneath the raspberry whipped cream.
1. Den Ofen auf 200°C (390°F) Ober-/Unterhitze vorheizen. Ein Backblech mit Backpapier auslegen und zur Seite stellen.
2. Wasser, Butter und Salz für den Brandteig in einen kleinen Topf geben und aufkochen, bis die Butter komplett geschmolzen ist. Mehl und Stärke vermischen und dann in den Topf dazugeben und verrühren, bis ein glatter Teig entsteht, der sich vom Topf löst. Den Teig unter ständigem Rühren etwa 1-2 Minuten abbrennen lassen – der Boden des Topfes sollte dabei mit einer weißen Schicht bedeckt sein. Den Teig in eine Rührschüssel geben und für ein paar Minuten abkühlen lassen.
3. Die Eier einzeln zur Schüssel dazugeben und mit einem Handrührgerät (Knethaken) in den Teig einarbeiten. Der Teig sollte glänzen und in einem Dreieck an den Knethaken herunterhängen, wenn man diese aus dem Teig zieht. Die Masse in einen Spritzbeutel mit großer runder Tülle einfüllen und dann Herzen mit genügend Abstand zueinander auf das vorbereitete Backblech aufspritzen. Teiglinge mit etwas Wasser besprühen oder vorsichtig einpinseln, herausstehende Spitzen ggf. glätten und dann für etwa 20-22 Minuten backen – den Backofen dabei nicht öffnen! Die fertigen Windbeutel aus dem Ofen holen und einen Moment abkühlen lassen, dann mit einem scharfen Messer aufschneiden, um Böden und Deckel zu erhalten. Auf einem Kuchengitter komplett auskühlen lassen.
4. Für die Füllung die Himbeeren säubern und dann zerdrücken bzw. pürieren. Die kalte Sahne, mit Puderzucker, Vanille Extrakt und etwas Sahnesteif steif schlagen. Die pürierten Himbeeren dazugeben und gut unterrühren. Himbeersahne in einen Spritzbeutel füllen und dann eine gute Portion davon auf jeden (Herz-) Boden aufspritzen und dann die Deckel aufsetzen.
5. Wer die Herzchen noch weiter dekorieren möchte, kann die Oberseite mit etwas Zuckerglasur bestreichen und dann bunte Streusel darüberstreuen oder die Herzen einfach mit etwas Puderzucker bestäuben.
Hinweis: Wer es etwas fruchtiger mag, kann ein paar zusätzliche Himbeeren zerdrücken, mit etwas Zucker verrühren und dann in die Herzen einfüllen und danach die Sahne darauf spritzen.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Choux Pastry Hearts with Raspberry Whipped Cream
- Prep Time: 00:30
- Cook Time: 00:20
- Total Time: 01:20
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Pastry
- Cuisine: International
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Choux Pastry Hearts with Raspberry Whipped Cream are not only cute – they are also delicious and perfect for Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day ;)
Ingredients
For the choux pastry:
1/2 cup (120ml) water
0.9 oz. (25g) butter
1 pinch of salt
2.8 oz. (80g) all-purpose flour
0.5 oz. (15g) cornstarch
3 medium eggs
For the raspberry whipped cream:
10.6 oz. (300g) heavy cream, cold
2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
some cream stiffener
2.8 oz. (80g) raspberries, puréed (plus more if needed)
For the decoration:
some pink sugar glaze & sprinkles
alternatively confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.
2. Add water, butter, and salt to a small pot and bring to a boil to melt the butter. Combine the flour and cornstarch, add to the pot and stir until you have a smooth dough that pulls away from the bottom and sides. Let the dough “burn off” (not actually burn but cook the flour), stirring constantly, for about 1-2 minutes – the bottom of the pot should be covered with a white layer. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let cool for a few minutes.
3. Add the eggs to the bowl, one at a time, and mix with the dough hooks of a handheld mixer to incorporate each egg separately into the dough. In the end, the dough should look shiny and hang down in a triangle from the dough hooks when you pull them out. Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a large round piping tip. Pipe hearts onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them far enough apart. Spray or gently brush the hearts with a little water, smoothing out any protruding tips if necessary, and then bake for about 20-22 minutes – do not open the oven during this time. Remove the baked pastries from the oven and let them cool for a moment, then slice them open with a sharp knife to get bottoms and tops. Let cool down completely on a wire rack.
4. for the filling, clean the raspberries and then mash or purée them. Whip the cold heavy cream, with the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and some cream stiffener until stiff peaks form. Add the puréed raspberries and mix in well. Transfer the raspberry whipped cream to a piping bag and pipe a good amount of it onto each (heart) base and close with the top parts.
5. if you want to decorate the hearts further, you can coat the top with some sugar glaze and add some sprinkles as well – or just dust the hearts with some confectioners’ sugar.
Note: If you like it a bit fruitier, you can mash a few extra raspberries, mix them with some sugar and use that as a filling inside the harts underneath the raspberry whipped cream.
Notes
Enjoy baking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
