I've been experimenting more with different choux shapes. It takes a lot of trial and error with the amount of choux paste needed for the shape you're trying to form as well as with the baking times. This particular cylinder took 2 hours to bake and only needs about 2 tablespoons of paste. It's crazy for me to think that that small amount of choux paste can puff up so much. I had to weigh it down with pie weights, rice and a marble mortar and pestle and the dough still would not be fully contained--lifting all of that weight up. But, as I mentioned previously through a lot of experimentation, I think I found the sweet spot so that the cake rings won't overflow while baking.
Since it's pumpkin spice season, and since I made my own pumpkin spice, I decide to fill them with a pumpkin spice pastry cream and then a simple chocolate glaze.
If you have the time and patience--and are interested in reimagined pastries--I think this would be a fun project. You can use just about any shape you want but the amount of choux paste and baking times will likely vary with each.
Happy Baking!
Recipe
For this form, I used a 2" diameter by 3" high stainless steel cake ring. The following recipe made 14 cylinders.
Choux Paste
8oz water
4oz unsalted butter
1/8tsp table salt
1T granulated sugar
4oz all-purpose flour
8oz eggs
In a 3 quart saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a simmer over medium-high heat. Then reduce the heat to low, add the flour all at once and stir rapidly. A paste will form and once that happens, cook for one more minute, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for about 3-5 minutes. You want the paste to be hot but not so hot it will cook the eggs. Start adding the eggs once at at time, stirring until fully incorporated. It will go from looking slimy and broken up, to looking like a paste again after each additional egg has been incorporated. Once all of the eggs have been incorporated, transfer the choux paste to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2 inch tip.
Preheat the oven to 335 F. Line the cake cylinders with silicon cake ring bands and place them on a parchment or silicon mat lined baking sheet. Pipe 40g of choux paste into each cylinder and with a small spoon that's been wetted with cold water, smooth the batter out as best you can. Cover the tops of the rings with a perforated silicon mat, then weigh that down with a pan or bowl of pie weights, rice or something heat resistant and heavy. Bake in the oven for 2 hours. After the 2 hours, remove the baking sheet from the oven and carefully remove the weights and peel of the perforated silicon mat covering the tops of the cylinders. Let the cylinders cool until you're able to pick them up without burning yourself and carefully push the formed choux up from the bottom and out of the mold. Carefully peel off the silicon bands and fill the choux cylinders as desired!
For the filling, I needed 4 cups of basic vanilla pastry cream--so use whatever recipe is your favorite. I added 2 teaspoons of pumpkin spice to it in order to give it that seasonal flavor.
For the glaze, I needed 1 cup--and still had some leftover. The glaze was a simple ganache so again, use whatever your favorite eclair or cream puff glaze you fancy--just make sure you have about 1 cup to use for this amount of choux.
