Spiced Pear Choux Buns - Pōhā Hēki me te Pea Karamea
A simple choux bun filled with a spiced pear compote, cream and store brought caramel. Simply delicious in every way.
Servings 24 choux buns
Ingredients
The Choux Pastry - Te Pōhā Hēki
- 1 C (250 ml) wai (water)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) wanira (vanilla)
- ¼ teaspoon tote (salt, fine)
- 100 g pata (butter)
- 1 C (150 g) puehu parāoa noa (plain flour)
- 4 hēki (eggs, size 6, you may need a little extra)
Spiced Pear Compote - Tiamu Pea Namunamuā
- 1 quantity spiced pear compote
- 4 - 5 pea iti (small pears, beurre bosc are best but use what you have)
- 1 teaspoon hinamona kuoro (ground cinnamon)
- 2 tablespoon (30 ml) wai rēmana (lemon juice)
- ¼ C (85 ml) marahihi māpere (maple syrup)
- 2 tsp (10 ml) wanira (vanilla)
The Cream - Te Kirīmi
- 2 C (500 ml) kirīmi (cream, whipping)
- 3 tablespoon puehu huka (icing sugar)
- If you want a super sturdy cream, use one quantity of my Stable Whipped Cream instead.
Optional Extras (All Optional)
- ½ C (170 g) karamea (caramel, store brought caramel sauce)
- 80 g tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate). Use whatever chocolate you like.
Instructions
Preheat the Oven:
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C bake or 170 °C fan bake.
- Prepare two large baking trays with baking paper. Spray them with cold water or brush it on with a pastry brush. This part creates steam in the oven and helps the choux buns rise well.
Heat the Wet Ingredients of the Choux Pastry:
- Add the wai (water), wanira (vanilla), tote (salt) and pata (butter) to a pot.
- Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and then remove it from the heat.
Add the Flour:
- Sift the puehu parāoa (flour) directly in to the hot mixture. Give it a really good stir and set it back on to low to medium heat.
- Cook the mixture for 3 minutes, continuously stirring. Once a film starts forming on the bottom of the pot, cook it for another 30 seconds and then remove it from the heat.
Cool the Dough:
- Tip all of the pokenga (dough) in to a large bowl.
- Push the mixture up the sides of the bowl and leave to cool for 10 minutes. This helps it cool faster.
Prepare the Eggs:
- As the pokenga (dough) cools, add all of the hēki (eggs) in to medium bowl and whip well.
Add the Eggs in to the Dough:
- After the dough has cooled for ten minutes, slowly add the hēki (eggs) in to the flour mixture a quarter at a time, mixing well after each addition with a wooden spoon.
- Mix it until a smooth paste forms. Keep adding the hēki (egg) and mixing it until it holds a V shape when you pull the spoon out of the mixture.
Add the Choux Pastry on to the Trays:
- Add the prepared mixture to a piping bag with a small round nozzle. Pipe around 12 choux buns on to each tray, making 24 buns in total.
- If you don't have a piping bag, add the mixture with a teaspoon. Make sure there is plenty of room for the buns to grow.
Soften the Peaks of the Buns:
- If you have piped the buns, dip your finger in some water and smoosh the peaks down so they don't get burnt in the oven.
Bake the Choux Buns:
- Bake them for 20 minutes. Then open the oven and stab through both sides of each bun with a knife. This releases steam and helps them go crisp.
- Close the oven again and bake for a further 15 minutes. Turn the oven off at this point and let them cool down in the oven for around 15 - 20 minutes.
- This whole process is makes sure the choux buns are dry enough once they have cooled and therefore will hold their shape.
Make the Spiced Pear Compote:
- As the buns bake, make the spiced pear compote according to instructions and allow it to completely cool.
- This can be made up to 3 - 4 days in advanced and kept in a sealed container in the fridge.
Prepare the Whipped Cream:
- Add the kirīmi (cream) and puehu huka (icing sugar) to the bowl. Whip it until thick and luscious.
- If you want a super sturdy cream, use one quantity of my Stable Whipped Cream instead. This version works well if you are not serving the buns immediately.
Prepare the Choux Buns:
- Once the choux buns have cooled slightly in the oven, remove them and place them on the bench.
- If you are not serving them today, cool them completely and store them in a sealed container in a cool cupboard for a day or so. Or move on to the next step and fill them up.
Fill the Spiced Pear Choux Buns with Cream and Pear:
- Using a serrated knife, slice each one horizontally and allow them to cool for around 5 minutes or so.
- Once they are cool, pipe or spoon a tablespoon of kirīmi (cream) in to the bottom of each bun.
- Add the cooled tiamu pea (pear compote) on top of the kirmi. Top with more kirīmi (cream) in whichever way you want to.
Add the Caramel:
- If you are using the karamea (caramel), create a small hole in the centre of the cream and add in the karamea (caramel).
Add the Lids of the Spiced Pear Choux Buns:
- Add the lids on to each bun. At this point you can dust with puehu huka (icing sugar) or follow the tohutohu (instructions) for melted chocolate.
Melt the Chocolate:
- Chop the tiakarete parauri (dark chocolate) in to small pieces.Add the chopped tiakarete (chocolate) in to a small pot and gently melt it together over low heat.
Top the Spiced Pear Choux Buns:
- Divide the tiakarete kua rewaina (melted chocolate) between the 20 choux buns.
Serve the Spiced Choux Buns:
- The filled buns are best served within an hour of filling them or otherwise they risk going soggy.