Categories: pastry

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 6 Tbsp. butter, cut up
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs
• Brittle topping
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. water
• Caramel Ice Cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 2 cups heavy or whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• Pinch salt
• Praline
• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 2 cookie sheets.
2. Bring water, butter, salt and sugar to boil in saucepan, until butter is melted. Remove from heat. Add flour all at once and beat vigorously with wooden spoon until smooth.
3. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until pastry pulls away from sides of pan, about 1 minute.
4. Transfer pastry to large mixer bowl. Beat 30 seconds to cool slightly. At medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with 1/2 inch plain tip and pipe 1 1/2 inch mounds 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 22 minutes, rotating pans once, until golden. Cool.

6. Brittle topping:

7. Follow steps 1 through 3 for caramelizing sugar (below).
8. Place puffs on racks over wax paper. Carefully spoon caramel evenly over tops. Cool 10 minutes. Cut each puff in half horizontally. Spoon in about 2 Tbsp. ice cream and replace top. Cover and freeze up to 2 hours. Arrange 3 puffs on each dessert plate. Sprinkle with chopped Praline.

9. Caramel Ice Cream:

10. Follow steps 1 and 2 for caramelizing sugar. (below). Carefully stir in cream and milk (mixture will bubble vigorously.) Return to heat, stirring until mixture is smooth.
11. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and salt in large bowl. Gradually whisk in half the hot cream mixture. Return to saucepan with remaining cream. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture coats back of spoon, 4 minutes. Strain through fine sieve into bowl. Cover and refrigerate until completely cold, 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
12. Transfer to ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Spoon into freezer-proof container; cover and freeze overnight.

13. makes 6 cups

14. Praline:

15. Oil cookie sheet. Follow steps 1 and 2 for caramelizing sugar (below), but omit water. Remove from heat and stir in nuts. Pour onto prepared cookie sheet. Cool. Transfer praline to cutting board and coarsely chop.

16. makes 1 1/2 cups.

17. How to Caramelize Sugar:

18. Sugar caramelizes between 310 to 338 degrees. Just a reminder: This is not child’s play.

19. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Cook over medium-high, stirring with a wooden spoon just until sugar dissolves. Then bring to a boil without stirring.

20. Continue cooking to a medium to deep amber color, depending on desired flavor. The deeper the color, the more distinctive the flavor. Be careful not to burn the caramel.

21. Remove pan from heat and carefully place in a bowl of cool, not iced, water for 30 seconds to stop the cooking.

22. To make caramel cages: Spray the outside of an inverted Bundtlette pan with vegetable cooking spray. (Or brush outsides of each of six pyrex custard cups with vegetable oil.) Carefully drizzle hot caramel over each mold. If too thick to drizzle, reheat over medium heat. Cool 15 minutes. Carefully loosen caramel and lift off cages.

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