Moonsisters In the Kitchen - Swan Puffs by Chef Stephan Robert

In this episode of Moonsisters in the Kitchen, Lieke and Jetteke learn from Chef Stephan Robert how to make swan puffs. A technical job but with the most beautiful result. Easier than you think and they steal the show at every dinner!

Watch the video here to see step by step how to make these beautiful Swans: 

https://youtu.be/i7rsBLySTME

Step 1: 

To make the Swan Puffs, you need several basic ingredients.

Namely butter, 6 eggs, some water, flour, milk and sugar (brown and white) and a little salt.

For the Choux, use brown sugar because it is a bit bigger, so you get a kind of crispy caramelised taste. 

You start by making the dough, the craquelin, because it needs to rest in the fridge. And in the meantime you make the puffs. 

First, add the butter to the food processor and then add the flour and brown sugar. 

Spoon the dough onto baking paper and put another layer of baking paper on top. Roll out the dough until it is between 2 and 4 mm. Place this dough in the freezer. 

Step 2:

Then it is time to make the Choux. Put a pan on the fire and add 1 glass of water together with the milk and butter and a little bit of salt. Make sure you stay near the fire and keep stirring. Let the butter melt and the contents of the pan boil. As soon as it boils, add the flour. Make sure the dough becomes dry by continuing to stir. 

Add this dough to the food processor and add the eggs one by one. Allow the eggs to absorb 1 by 1 before adding the next one. 

Step 3: 

Add a large part of this dough to a piping bag, but keep a small part aside for the neck and head of the swan. 

Pipe small rounds onto a baking sheet or baking paper. Make two batches on two different baking sheets. 

Step 4: 

Take the other dough out of the freezer and, using a round form, cut out rounds that fit onto the puffs you have just made. 

In the meantime, make an egg wash of egg yolk, a dash of milk and a little sugar. Keep the egg white for later. Mix the eggwash well and brush half the tufts with it. The other half of the toffees will have a little round dough on top. 

The first half with the eggwash also gets an addition of pearl sugar. This is a thick sugar that you can sprinkle over the toffees (choux). 

Then both baking traysn both baking trays into the oven at 200 degrees for 5 minutes and then another 10 to 15 minutes at 180 degrees. Make sure you do not open the oven in between, otherwise the puffs will fall apart.

Step 5:

Scoop the remaining dough into a piping bag with a small spout; if it is too much dough, it is better to do it in two. 

Pipe an S-shape (the neck and the head of the swan) onto a baking sheet. With a knife, you can make a beak by spreading the dough a little at the top. 

These also go into the oven at 200 degrees for 5 minutes and after that at 180 degrees for another 5 minutes. Just keep watching carefully, sometimes they are ready a bit earlier, this depends on the thickness of the necks. 

Step 6:

Then it is time to make the cream. You can use a custard cream but for this recipe we make a whipped cream with mascarpone and vanilla. Use 45% fat whipped cream. Add 1 litre of cold cream and mascarpone and sugar to the food processor and beat the cream until stiff. 

Step 7: 

Remove the puffs from the oven, pierce small holes in them so that they do not collapse and leave them to cool. With the pastry on top, cut the puffs in half. Add the whipped cream to the bottom and cut the top of the puff pastry in half to make the wings. 

This is how you build up the puffs. You can also add jam or fruit, whatever you like. 

Step 8:

Take the necks and heads out of the oven and add them to the puffs. 

Sprinkle a little icing sugar over the swans and Voìla! 

Enjoy it!