I tried making cream puffs for the first time three days ago. They ended up being cream flats. I took another look at the recipe I followed, then found another one on another website with much more explicit and additional instructions but exact same ingredient list, and followed that one. I got cream puffs. Even Fahim was impressed.
Well, a little, anyway. Turns out his mother used to make them years and years and years ago. But since she's in Kurunegala, I couldn't ask her what I did wrong with the first batch.
Anywho, the second batch turned out much better, although, to nitpick, the ones baked on an aluminum sheet stuck, but the ones I baked on glass came off perfectly fine. I think I'll be sticking to glass from here on out. Except the ones on aluminum were much softer, and the ones on glass were drier. They were baked in two batches. I have tweaking to do.
So. Fahim wanted chocolate icing inside his, but I wanted something a bit lighter. Like, say, whipped cream.
So, I got whipping cream. 36% fat. Right within the 35-40% range required for whipping purposes. And I whipped. And whipped. And it turned to butter. So I got the second thingie out, and tried whipping that, but... It was not doing anything either. I mean, both whipped. A bit. But not to the point of keeping a peak or anything resembling a peak. They barely got waves.
So I figured, well, the cream's crappy (not literally, but close enough ) so I'll do something else with it. I remembered that awful gross chocolate couverture I had in the freezer, and thought, well, maybe as a ganache it'll taste better or at least be passable or something. Oh, please, please, please be passable or something.
It ended up tasting pretty good. Too dark, so I added sugar, and whipped it a bunch more, and whaddya know, it starts getting thick enough to hold a shape. And it tastes really good. Even Fahim liked it. Really really really really good. Not like it has gross horrible waxy Sri Lankan crap chocolate in it, but like it has really really really really good dark chocolate in it. Wow!
What is it about lousy cream and horrible chocolate that it mixes up good like that?
And then I fill the cream puffs - which really were incredibly puffy - completely hollow inside like they're supposed to be - and Oh. My.
The only downside - for Fahim (and only Fahim, cuz I gotta tell you, I got a huge kick out of it) - was that the ganache-wannabe oozed out of the puff and dribbled on his beard. It was luverly. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Wow, I thought this was going to be about something different...
*clears throat* I don't know, my husband prefers cool whip and I don't like whipped cream, so I haven't made it in years. What kind of mixer are you using? Maybe it's too slow?
Well, sounds like it all worked out in any case.
Posts: 1676 | Registered: Jul 2000
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The whipping must be done with a metal whisk or mixer blade. The bowl really makes a difference. It needs to be glass or metal (never plastic) and perfectly dry - water will retard the whipping.
Which brings me to what I suspect the real reason might be...how humid is it right now?
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Cool whip is not pressurized. Which, in my mind, makes it more suspect.
And whip cream in a pressurized can is real whip cream (if you buy the right stuff). Many restaurants use refillable cans with pressurized cartridges.
quid, were your bowl and beaters chilled? That can help. And, if it's really hot there, an ice bath under the bowl can help, too.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Imogen - yes, I think it's called choux pastry. And I'm with you on Cool Whip.
ladyday -
I don't know what kind of mixer it is. Maybe it's a Moulinex. I dunno. Even when we get brand name stuff that is recognized in North America, it isn't always the same quality for equivalent brands. So, possibly being slow? Yeah, that's possible. Absolutely. This is the first time I've tried using this machine to whip cream.
It's always humid here. It's a tropical country in monsoon season. Silly question.
Yeah, I suspect it's that combined with heat. You know, tropical country and all that. So, no, I didn't have ice under the bowl. But it sounds like something worth trying next time.
Everything was chilled and I was using dry metal. It's most likely either a. it got hot too fast or b. whipping cream here is really lousy. Either one is so entirely possible.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I personally find cool whip revolting but my husband likes all kinds of odd things *shrugs*. What can you do?
Posts: 1676 | Registered: Jul 2000
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I'm allergic to CoolWhip. And other non-dairy substitutes. How weird is that?
I'm going to go with it was too humid, because I have successfully whipped cream with eggbeaters. It takes a long time but it's doable. I have also whipped cream in +90-degree F weather, so I'm not absolutely sure it's heat. However, when humidity hit about 75% while we lived in Dallas, my cream would never whip properly.
I am not sure that poor quality cream would make a difference, either, since I have successfully whipped light whipped cream to a stiff peak (it takes a long time, even in my KitchenAid, but it can be done.) Now, if it was contaminated with some weird kind of something that stopped the cream from forming its structure as air was whipped into it, maybe...
But I suspect either you did not whip long enough, or humidity was to blame.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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imogen, the good instructions I found are at the Joy of Baking. If you want to give 'em a try, follow that.
Um, kq, thing is, the first time I whipped it, it went straight from barely having waves to butter. No steps in between. It didn't even begin to approach anything even similar to stiff peaks. The second time... I didn't see a point in continuing since it was doing the same thing.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Hmmm. Did you try diluting it with a little milk? Maybe it had too much fat and not enough other liquids...
I will look up the situation and see what I can find. But humidity could, imo, cause that kind of separation.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Okay. According to the information I found, heat does affect whipping; it makes the globules that need to stiffen too soft or some such. I guess working with a KitchenAid, mine is always done fast enough that it doesn't have time to warm up too much. What shape are your beaters? If they're a standard shape, you could also try a bigger bowl. That increases the chance for air to get in faster, according to the article I read (shape of beaters and bowl have to do with how the air is worked in.) And do make sure they are both chilled (beaters and bowl) in the freezer, and keep ice under them.
However, I did not find any specific information about your specific problem, which I am still suspecting is caused in part by humidity, because although I never got all the way to butter, it sounds like my humidity-related problems. Got a dehumidifier?
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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81F/27C with 80% humidity. Will that do it? Oh, and that's an hour ago and I did the whipping four hours ago. Hmm. I wonder if I can find anything closer in time?
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Are you saying I'd have to do the whipping in my air conditioned bedroom? Cuz that's the only A/C'ed room in the house and the only dehumidifier in the joint... Oh, I can just imagine the talk now!
Anyway, I gotta go to bed. It's that time. See y'all in the morning! Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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81 F isn't that hot, ime that wouldn't be the biggest problem. 80% humidity would. Sorry, sister, sounds like whipped cream is not in your future.
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Oh, and the only other advice I found is don't put vanilla, sugar, or other flavorings in until it starts to get some structure, they can interfere with whipping in adverse conditions.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Yeah, I mentioned whipping the cream in the bedroom to Fahim, and he vetoed it. I apparently make too much of a mess for his tastes, and he doesn't want to wake up with whipping cream in his hair. I can't imagine why not...
I didn't put the vanilla, sugar, whatever in the whipping cream. I thought the same thing about it needing to whip, first.
Thanks for the suggestions, all. I'll give the ice under the bowl thing a try next time and see if that helps. And/or try a different brand.
And I've reiterated my request to Fahim to install a fan in the kitchen. Maybe if he sees me dripping more after I cook he'll relent... A fan in the kitchen could help, I think.
Take the whipping cream. Buy a whipped cream dispenser. Buy some cartridges. Discard whipping cream. ... Enjoy.
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Posts: 83 | Registered: Sep 2002
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![[Frown]](frown.gif)
I took another look at the recipe I followed, then found another one on another website with much more explicit and additional instructions but exact same ingredient list, and followed that one. I got cream puffs. ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Even Fahim was impressed. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
36% fat. Right within the 35-40% range required for whipping purposes. And I whipped. And whipped. And it turned to butter. So I got the second thingie out, and tried whipping that, but... It was not doing anything either. I mean, both whipped. A bit. But not to the point of keeping a peak or anything resembling a peak. They barely got waves. ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
) so I'll do something else with it. I remembered that awful gross chocolate couverture I had in the freezer, and thought, well, maybe as a ganache it'll taste better or at least be passable or something. Oh, please, please, please be passable or something.
