PARIS CROISSANT AIN'T GOT NOTHING ON ME

This month's challenge was an ode to the Sugar Daddy in the form of an éclair. Now, I'll be honest…..I've never liked the éclair, nor the cream puff. Sacrilege you say? Well I concur with that. I've tried them over and over again wanting to "love" them. I was unsuccessful until I moved to Korea. In my neighborhood there is this fantastic little bakery called Paris Croissant and they make THE best éclair and cream puff. So when first looking at the challenge I was a little bummed because I knew that it would not be what my mouth wanted it to be. While the recipe looked complicated, I realized while making it, that it was one of the easiest recipes I've made. I made the pastry cream first so it would have time to cool before I made the éclair. I did alter the recipe a smidge by not adding chocolate and adding cinnamon to the cornstarch mixture. After all, cinnamon makes everything taste good. (well that's what my palate tells me…) I then moved on the pate choux. I was nervous as the method was pretty specific and seemed to need to move quickly. I however, was totally amazing and did it pretty seamlessly. When I put the piped éclairs into the oven I did nothing but watch the timer. I usually rough guesstimate the timer, but I did not want to mess these up. When the final timer dinged I pulled out the most perfect pastries you have ever seen. And then to my horror they went flat. I knew that this happened with some of the other bakers, so I wasn't totally surprised, but still…..their beauty had diminished. And I totally used a timer. So I really needed a chance to step away from them and refocus. I figured I would come back to them later in the day. Well fate then dealt me a nasty hand….I ended up slicing my finger open. Of course it was my right hand and my middle finger. Who knew I was dependent on it so much? Anyway, I ended up having to wait a couple of days to assemble as I tried to heal enough to be able to hold things in my right hand. Unfortunately the wait made my pastry cream loosen up. So when I assembled I had flat éclairs with cream that could hold no shape. They look pretty sad….but they taste FANTASTIC! Now I don't have to walk down to the bakery to get one. I can make them myself and to be honest….they were fairly easy. Once I figure out the flat issue I'll be able to make them whenever I want them. I love that Daring Baker's makes me feel like I can make anything. I'm learning it doesn't have to be perfect to be good.

-Amber