Banana Cream Puffs

A while ago, I told you about a great new dessert cookbook by Frederik Zäll and Daniel Roos: Lyxlagat Sött & Gott. Today, I'm participating in a cook-off with four other bloggers: Matplatsen, Linnéas Skafferi, Bagerskan and Passion 4 Baking. We've all chosen a recipe from the book to try out and showcase.



Want a book of your own? The publisher, Grenadine, has promised me an extra book to give away to a lucky reader. It can ship anywhere in the world, but it *is* in Swedish. If you want it, leave a comment and I'll pick a random winner by the end of the week - make sure to include your e-mail!

My choice, or really Per's: Banana Cream Puffs. I didn't make the full recipe, which would have made ten, but instead cut it in third and got four nice little puffs which was perfect after dinner. Very tasty! And very photogenic, which is why you get so many pictures. I couldn't resist! We were asked to supply some step-by-step photos as well, but I never manage that - I don't know how you can focus on both cooking and photographing, it really doesn't work for me.

Frederik also includes ideas for what to drink while baking (his choice is a Double Bastard Ale) and I hope he won't be too disappointed when I admit I was just having coffee. Coffee goes very well with this by the way, and if you're not afraid of sweets, a mug of warm chocolate would be even better.

As for music to cook too, I'm a bit reluctant to confess that I was listening to an endless loop of Christmas carols, which is really my listening of choice during December.

Banana Cream Puffs
Makes 4

1 egg
40 g all-purpose flour
100 ml water
35 g butter

Filling:
100 ml cream (full-fat)
1 tsp vanilla sugar (preferrably homemade)
1/2-1 tbsp cognac
1 banana, very ripe

Decoration:
Dark chocolate
powdered sugar

Start with the dough. Bring butter and water to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir in the flour and stir really well to make sure you don't get any clumps. Keep stirring for a few minutes, until it looks like a nice coherent dough. Let it cool completely.

Next, add the egg. I used my Kitchen-Aid but you can beat it in by hand as well. Make sure to beat it really well, to make the dough smooth.

Shape four balls on a baking sheet, and bake for about 15-20 minutes at 200°C. Don't open the oven during baking, or the puffs will fall!

Remove, and leave to cool while you prepare the filling. They'll look something like this:



Mash the banana. Whisk the cream with the vanilla sugar into soft peaks, and stir in cognac to taste.

When the puffs are cool, split them with a sharp knife. On the bottom half, spread a layer of mashed banana and top with a spoonful of cognac-laced cream. Top with the lid, and decorate with melted chocolate and powdered sugar.

Serve straightaway - they don't keep well at all!



Recipe in Swedish:
Bananbakelse