Ghibli Week 1: Profitotoroles

Let's get this week kicked off! Today we visit the towering trees of Japan to seek out a friendly neighbour...have you guessed it yet? It's となりのトトロ (My Neighbour Totoro) time!! This is arguably the most well known of all Hayao Miyazaki's work, and Totoro himself is part of the Studio Ghibli logo and as well known in Japan as Winnie-the-Pooh is to the UK. My Neighbour Totoro was released in 1988 and it's dazzled adults and children alike since then. It's one of my favourite movies, and I'm not afraid to admit I've got a Totoro plush in my room. 

(source) aaaaah he's so cute 

Something I've always been fascinated by is food art, and you'd be hard pressed to find a country that does it better than Japan. So is it any wonder that they've even made profiteroles or cream puffs in the shape of Totoro? This place is the only officially recognised seller of Totoro cream puffs so you know they're good. It's one of the places that I want to see when I eventually visit Japan, but for now you can read more about them here! 

Now these are something I've made before, but I decided to try and imitate the store's puffs. Overall with this recipe...I think I could've done better presentation wise. It's one of those where the equipment you use really has an impact on the quality of the finished product, so I think there'll be some piping bags in my near future. However taste wise: it's crisp but not buttery, and even a day old, they're not soggy so that's a plus in my book. Warning: go no further if you can't stomach a beloved character being consumed.

Crazy eyes. They know what's coming.

Admittedly this one's a bit dark. Sorry kids!

Now this recipe calls for choux pastry, which can be quite daunting to make. Practice makes perfect and once you get the hang of it, you'll be whipping out profiteroles and eclairs like no one's business. At first glance, the recipe is simple (famous last words). Butter and water in a pan, stir in flour then add eggs. Okay, so what could go wrong? One, your flour could burn, rendering the entire thing useless. Two, your flour mixture could be too hot and actually cook your eggs, resulting in some kind of scrambled disaster. Three, and this one's the most common, your profiteroles don't rise. In perspective, this isn't a big deal because you can plump them up with whatever filling you like, but there's something incredibly disappointing when you look at those flat pastry pancakes instead of golden mounds of joy.

Quick science lesson! (Disclaimer: I am not a food scientist nor have I ever studied food science; everything I've learnt is from reading recipes til my eyes cross, watching cooking shows and internet. So much internet.) I've touched on this before in my previous post about the scones, so it's kind of the same principle. The crust traps the steam which is formed when the water evaporates, resulting in the characteristic puff appearance. Okay, science over.

So solutions: number one, keep an eye on the roux (the flour and butter mix) and use a low heat; number two, make sure you cool the mixture down. A bit vague, I know, but my go-to standard is body temperature (so you can touch it without it burning you). Thirdly, add the egg little by little, don't dump it all in at once. Try not to add more than maybe two tablespoons at a time, and make sure the mixture is beaten really well before adding more egg. Fourthly, preheat your oven really well  for at least 15-20 minutes before you plan to put them in. You can also make them crispier by lowering the heat, slitting them open with a sharp knife (be careful of the steam!) and baking them for a bit longer which will help to dry out the insides.

Mmm delicious watery butter

Off the heat immediately and chuck the flour in and beat it, beat it, beat it. 

You get killer arm muscles.

Adding the egg bit by bit, looks ridiculous

But gradually...

It becomes great.

Boom. Choux pastry. #winning

When it comes to the making of, you can be fancy and do it almost like a pear like shape so he gets a head and body, but I was having enough difficulty squeezing it out from the plastic bag onto the greased paper to bother with that. I went with the vague oval approach for the bodies, then with the remaining dough in another bag, I piped a little 'u'-ish shape for the ears. So this is a really dumb story and I probably shouldn't be telling you this but I tried using baking paper for the pastry bag, which usually works for things. Looking back, I probably folded it wrong but live and learn! Anyway, I made this cone shape thing, then realised I had no way of keeping it closed; so at first I used sticky tape. Didn't work because, well, it's baking paper. Then I decided to staple it shut. It looked legit, so I was like yeah, this'll work. It didn't.

My cone of shame

Using a freezer bag, you've got pretty much no control where your puffs go hence the terrible use of space.

Not the nicest I've ever made.

Dampen your finger with water and squash them into submission.

Decoration wise, go nuts. Easiest way is probably going to the shops and getting pre-made icing eyes (I'm pretty sure they exist) or alternatively get those icing pens from the supermarket and draw on faces. If you've got a bit of time to spare, you can also make them out of white chocolate and dark chocolate or Nutella for the details. I melted down some white chocolate blocks and piped them into circular shapes and put them into the fridge, then when they were hardened, got some Nutella on a toothpick and drew in pupils. Back into the fridge until I needed to use them, then drew on the nose with Nutella and melted the back of the white chocolate eye with a fingertip. I've got really warm hands though, so it might be easier to use a knife that's been sitting in hot water and is wiped dry before using. I filled them with a mixture of custard and cream from their base, then sat them in a cupcake liner, but presentation's completely up to you!

If you have any that aren't up to scratch, eat them.

Look at that lopsided Totoro. He's just accepted his fate.

Profitotoros (profiteroles)

Makes 12 totoros

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• 1C plain flour
• 100g butter
• 300mL water
• 4 eggs, beaten

METHOD

1. Preheat your oven to 220'C and grease and line a baking tray.
• Optional: put a baking tray half full of water on the bottom shelf of the oven to create more steam when cooking
2. Put butter and water into a saucepan big enough to hold everything, then melt over medium heat until mixture is bubbling.
3. Remove from heat then add the flour all at once. Beat the flour in until it forms a smooth dough and comes away from the side of the pan. Leave aside to cool.
4. Once mixture has cooled, add the beaten egg bit by bit, mixing well until mixture is uniformly combined and sticky.
5. Pipe or dollop onto lined baking tray about ~5cm apart. 
6. Turn down oven temperature to 180'C (fan forced) (200'C electric oven) and bake for 20-25 mins until dough has puffed up.
7. Turn down the temperature to 160'C (fan forced) (180'C electric oven) and continue to bake for ~30 minutes or until golden brown. 
8. Turn off the oven and leave profiteroles inside with the door ajar. 
9. Once cool, slit the bottom of the profiterole and scoop out any uncooked dough (essentially, hollow out the profiterole)
10. Fill and decorate with your choice of filling.

Happy slothing!!
xx