Penguin Books Australia

Free recipes from Food, Fashion, Friends by Fleur Wood, Quail Egg and Truffled Mushroom Choux Pastries, Cheat's Mille-feuille with Chocolate Mousse, page 14.

Quail Egg and Truffled Mushroom Choux Pastries

Making your own choux pastry can seem daunting, but it’s an art worth mastering. I think it’s actually a lot easier than some pastry chefs would have you believe.

6 quail eggs
40 g black caviar

Truffled mushroom
20 g butter
200 g button mushrooms, finely chopped
sea salt and cracked black pepper
1 black truffle, finely chopped

Choux pastry
60 g unsalted butter
pinch of salt
125 g plain flour, sifted
3 eggs

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

For the choux pastry, combine the butter, salt and 180 ml (3/4 cup) of water in a small-medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the flour, stirring to combine. Return the pan to the heat and stir over medium for 3 minutes or until the mixture starts to come away from the sides of the pan.

Transfer the mixture to a deep bowl. Beat with an electric mixer, while adding the eggs one at a time. Spoon 12 heaped teaspoons of the choux mixture onto the prepared tray. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, place the quail eggs in a saucepan and cover with water. Place over medium heat and simmer for 4 minutes or until the eggs are cooked and soft in the middle. Remove the eggs from the saucepan and allow to cool before peeling. Cut in half and set aside.

For the truffled mushroom, melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes or until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir through the truffle.

To serve, slice the top off each pastry and spoon in a teaspoon of the truffled mushroom. Add half a quail egg, garnish with caviar and top with the pastry lid.

Makes 12

Cheat's Mille-feuille with Chocolate Mousse

If the choux pastry seems too complicated, try this instead. If you’re feeling adventurous, experiment with different fillings: custard, cream or strawberry mousse are all delicious alternatives.

3 sheets ready-rolled puff pastry
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 x 300 g tub good-quality chocolate mousse
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Cut eighteen 7 cm x 6 cm rectangles from the puff pastry sheets and place on the prepared baking trays. Lightly sprinkle with caster sugar and bake for 5-6 minutes or until golden.

Place a tablespoon of chocolate mousse on top of six puff pastry rectangles, then top with another rectangle. Add another tablespoon of mousse and another rectangle to create a stack, as shown.

Dust with icing sugar, to serve.

Serves 6