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The Great British Baking Show™ - SU2C ™
Year
Week
Showstopper Challenge
Choux Pastry Scene of Childhood Memory
Noel Fielding: " It's time for your showstopper challenge. Now, for this challenge, the judges would like you to go back into the dark, deep recesses of your mind, and they would like you to unlock your earliest childhood memory and then recreate it in choux pastry."
Paul Hollywood: "We're looking for the bakers to produce their earliest memory in a choux sculpture."
Prue Leith: "I absolutely love choux pastry, but it is tricky to master. You really have to beat like blazes to make the choux mixture. "
I have practice time. However, I've not successfully been able to make it, so oD.
I think we're going to see a lot of problems with this. Flatlinies, over baked, too soft. The whole thing collapsing. Quite tricky.
Culinary Learnings from the Showstopper
Filling choux buns
Éclairs and choux buns are often made by slicing them in half and adding a delicious, creamy filling. In The Great British Baking Show ™, it is usually expected that the bakers will fill them from the base.
Filling choux bakes is not difficult: with a metal piping nozzle make three equally spaced holes in the base of the éclair – move the nozzle around to make sure there is space for the filling.
Depending on the size, typically 60g of filling for each éclair is perfect. Wipe off any surplus cream from the underside then apply icing or topping.
Reluctant Dropping Consistency
Choux pastry batter should be smooth, thick, and glossy. When you lift the beater, the dough should slowly fall into a thick ribbon.
Some reasons why choux pastry might not have a dropping consistency are:
There may be too much liquid in the dough or not enough flour.
Letting the dough cool too long before adding the eggs can cause a runny choux.