Wild Garlic Choux Puffs

Hello food lovers,

Spring is finally here. Among the season's treasures, wild garlic stands out with its delicately garlicky flavor and vibrant color. Picked in the undergrowth from the first sunny days, it elevates many recipes.

On our blog, you've already discovered the recipe for the wild garlic roulade and the asparagus and wild garlic tart that you loved!

Today, we're bringing you a new recipe to showcase this herb: savory flower-shaped choux puffs filled with a creamy ricotta and wild garlic cream.

A perfect spring bite for a fresh and flavorful appetizer.

Let's get started with the recipe!

To make 16 flower-shaped choux puffs, you will need:

Wild garlic craquelin

- 30gr butter

- 40gr flour

- 40gr grated parmesan

- 1 pinch of salt

- 5 wild garlic leaves

Choux pastry

- 62gr milk

- 62gr water

- 55gr butter

- 2 pinches of salt

- 1 pinch of sugar

- 70gr flour

- 2 eggs

Wild garlic pesto

- 13gr sliced almonds

- 25gr wild garlic

- 13gr grated parmesan

- 35gr olive oil

Wild garlic and ricotta cream

- 250gr ricotta

- 100gr Philadelphia

- 60gr wild garlic pesto

- 5 wild garlic leaves

- 5 turns of pepper mill

- 2 pinches of salt

First of all, we'll make the craquelin. This is essential for getting nice, even choux puffs.

Wild garlic craquelin

In a bowl, add 30gr butter, 40gr flour and 40gr grated parmesan.

Add 1 pinch of salt and finely chop 5 wild garlic leaves.

By hand, mix all the ingredients together to form a nice dough ball.

Once you have a nice dough, place it on a sheet of baking paper and cover it with another sheet. Using a large rolling pin, roll it out as thinly as possible.

Place everything in the freezer while you prepare the choux pastry.

We can now move on to making the choux pastry.

Choux pastry

In a saucepan, pour 62gr milk and 62gr water.

Add 55gr butter, 2 pinches of salt and 1 pinch of sugar.

Heat everything over medium heat until the butter melts into the liquid mixture.

Once it comes to a boil, add 70gr flour and reduce to low heat.

Using a wooden spoon, dry out the dough. This step is essential for the choux puffs to puff up during baking.

Mix vigorously. A ball will gradually form. The dough is sufficiently dried out when it pulls away from the saucepan and a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan.

Transfer the dough to a bowl. Using the flat beater (K beater), mix for about 30 seconds at speed 1.

With a fork, lightly beat 2 eggs in a jug — this will make them easier to incorporate later.

Preheat your oven to 180°C, fan-assisted.

Add the eggs little by little while letting the mixer run at low speed.

Mix until you get a smooth, shiny dough.

Prepare a piping bag fitted with a 12 mm round nozzle and fill it with the choux pastry.

To fill the bag neatly, use a jug to help.

To make 16 small flowers, prepare a perforated baking tray lined with a perforated silicone mat with indentations to get a nice, even shape.

Pipe 5 small choux puffs to form a flower. Use the largest indentation and leave the center of the flower empty.

It's important that the choux puffs are touching each other, otherwise they may break when filling.

Once all the choux pastry has been piped, take the craquelin out of the freezer.

Use a 20 mm round nozzle to cut out small craquelin circles. Place one craquelin circle on each choux puff.

Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Do not open the oven door before the end of baking, otherwise your flowers may collapse.

After 20 minutes, the choux puffs should be golden brown. Leave them to cool at room temperature.

I recommend making them the day before. Once completely cooled, wrap them well in a zip-lock bag. They will be easier to cut.

We can now prepare the cream to fill our flowers. To do this, we'll start by making a wild garlic pesto.

Wild garlic pesto

Start by toasting 13gr sliced almonds. To do this, preheat your oven to 180°C, fan-assisted.

On a perforated baking tray lined with a perforated mat, spread out the almonds. Bake for 12 minutes in the middle of the oven.

Once toasted, let the almonds cool completely.

We can now make the pesto. In a blender, add 25gr fresh wild garlic, the 13gr toasted sliced almonds and 13gr grated parmesan.

Finally, add 35gr olive oil and blend everything until you get a smooth paste.

Our pesto is ready! :-) Keep it in the fridge.

Last step of the recipe: the wild garlic and ricotta cream.

Wild garlic and ricotta cream

In a bowl, add 250gr ricotta and 100gr Philadelphia.

Add 60gr pesto made just before and finely chop 5 wild garlic leaves.

Season with 5 turns of the pepper mill and 2 pinches of salt. Mix with a whisk to get a smooth cream, taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Get a piping bag and a 10 mm star nozzle.

Transfer the cream into the piping bag and keep it in the fridge until it's time to fill the choux puffs.

We can now fill the choux puffs. To do this, cut them in half lengthwise using a small serrated knife.

Be careful, they are very fragile! It's important that the bottom part stays in one piece in order to keep the flower shape.

Pipe cream into each small choux puff and cover them with their top half.

And here is the result: choux pastry flowers with spring flavors.

They will keep for 2 days in the fridge, well wrapped in a box.

I hope you enjoy this recipe.

Have a lovely Sunday, food lovers!

Sophie

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.