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Strawberry Tabatières
Ingredients
½ lb strawberries
6 tablespoons redcurrant glaze
¼ pint double cream
For choux pastry
3 oz butter
7½ fl oz water
3¾ oz plain flour (sifted)
3 eggs
For pastry cream
1 egg (separated)
1 egg yolk
2 oz caster sugar
2-3 drops of vanilla essence
¾ oz plain flour
½ oz cornflour
½ pint milk
For praline
2 oz almonds (unblanched)
2 oz caster sugar
Method
Set oven at 400°F or gas mark 6. First make choux pastry: boil butter and water together, draw pan aside, allow bubbles to subside, then shoot in all the flour at once. Stir the mixture vigorously until it is smooth. Cool it slightly, then beat in the eggs thoroughly, one at a time. The dough should then be smooth and glossy. Pipe out the choux on to a dampened baking sheet in the shape of small turnovers and bake in pre-set oven for about 20 minutes, until crisp to the touch.
To prepare pastry cream: cream the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla essence together until the mixture looks white; add the flours and a little cold milk and make into a smooth paste. Heat the remaining milk and pour it on to the egg mixture, blend together and return to pan. Stir cream over the heat until boiling, then draw pan aside. Stiffly whip the egg white.
Turn one-third of the pastry cream into a bowl, fold in the egg white gradually, then return mixture to the pan containing the remaining cream and stir gently over heat for 2-3 minutes to set the egg white. Turn cream into a bowl, cover and leave to cool.
To make praline: put almonds and sugar into a small, heavy pan; cook over a low heat and stir with a metal spoon when the sugar begins to colour. Continue stirring while the sugar dissolves and turns a good deep brown. The praline is ready when the nuts are well toasted (beginning to crackle). Turn praline on to an oiled baking sheet and leave to cool; then crush with a rolling pin, or use a nut mill or cheese grater.
Lightly whip cream and fold it into the pastry cream, adding enough praline to flavour it well. Split the cold choux pastry and fill with the praline cream. Arrange the strawberries, dipped in or brushed with warm redcurrant glaze, round the edge of each 'tabatière'. Then arrange on serving dish.
Tabatière:- is the French word for a snuff-box, snuff being 'tabac (tobacco) à prise'. This recipe is so called because the choux pastry is folded into a turnover shape, similar to that of a tobacco pouch.
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