Well, it’s time for our next Sailor Moon Crystal dessert… this time for Sailor Chibi Moon!
When reworking my original recipe, I primarily chose to elevate the presentation a bit. I also made some slight tweaks to the chiboust recipe for a better balance of berry flavor. The more delicate wings are a bit more challenging, but I think it’s worth the payoff in appearance.
Strawberry Gâteau Saint Honoré for Chibiusa
Yield: 4 individual Gâteau Saint Honoré. They are big enough to share, if you’re feeling generous.
Timing notes: It is best to allow yourself 2 days to complete this recipe, as the cream must be thoroughly chilled and the puff pastry also requires chilling time. Your best bet is to make all the components except for the spun sugar on day one and assemble (including making the spun sugar as your last task) on day 2.
COMPONENTS
Strawberry Chiboust [Recipe Below]
Pâte à Choux [Recipe Below]
Blitz Puff Pastry Rounds [Recipe Below]
Cotton Candy [Recipe Below]
White Chocolate Glaze [Recipe Below]
6 large strawberries
285g (10 oz) white chocolate or white candy melts, melted
1. On a sheet of paper, draw out a template for the wings. (I drew them by hand to get the best size match, but I am including a template for those who don’t want to hand-draw! Get it here.) Place a sheet of acetate or parchment (that you can see the template through) over the sheet of paper. Fill the tempered chocolate or white candy melts into a small piping bag with a tiny bit of the end snipped off. Test to see that you can pipe thin (but solid) strands of chocolate. Now, pipe out the wings with the template as a guide. Pipe two sets of wings for each dessert in case of breakage. Allow the wings to set completely, then carefully flip them over and peel off the parchment/acetate to release them. Set aside.
2. Warm the white chocolate glaze so that it’s slightly runny. Carefully pick up the puff pastry rounds and dip the choux sides into the glaze. Let the excess drip off, then place them onto the plate you intend to serve the desserts on.
3. Using a chopstick or skewer, poke a hole into the bottom of each cream puff. Snip the very end from the bag of chiboust not fitted with a tip and use it to squeeze strawberry chiboust into the cream puffs through the hole. Once you’ve filled the puffs, dip the tops of each one into the glaze. Allow the excess to drip off, then set them on a piece of parchment to allow the glaze to firm up.
4. Pipe some strawberry chiboust into the center of each pastry round to be roughly level to the choux rim. Now place three cream puffs on the choux edge of each pastry round, spaced equally apart. Using the chiboust bag fitted with a large star tip, pipe a swirl of chiboust in the center.
5. Trim the leaves from the berries and cut them in half. Arrange the berry halves in the spaces between each choux, tilting them inward a bit at the top.
6. Take another cream puff and carefully cut a slit on either side to hold the white chocolate wings. Gently dip the pointed tip of a chocolate wing into some melted white chocolate and immediately insert the wing into the cream cut. Once both wings are on, place the cream puff on top of the chiboust swirl. Repeat for all the desserts. At this point you can refrigerate the desserts until it’s time to serve.
7. Right before serving, arrange pulled sugar threads all around the base. Place a small amount of gold leaf on the top cream puff using tweezers, if desired.
RECIPES
Pâte à Choux | Cream Puffs
2 tbsp + 2 tsp (40ml) water
2 tbsp + 2 tsp (40ml) milk
2 tbsp. (30g) butter
1/2 cup (60g) bread flour
1 tsp (5g) sugar
One TINY pinch of salt
2 eggs, mixed
1. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C and line a sheet pan with parchment or a silicone mat. In a saucepan combine the water, milk, sugar, salt and butter. Bring to a rolling boil, then dump in the flour all at once and mix vigorously. Once the dough forms a ball and begins to form a film on the bottom of the pan, transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and mix it until it has cooled.
2. Begin beating the eggs into the dough, half an egg at a time. Your goal is NOT to use all of the egg, but to achieve the proper consistency. Depending on how dry your dough is, you may use more or less than the recipe calls for. The dough is at the proper consistency when it’s just stretchy enough for you to take a pinch of it between your fingers and stretch it to 1″ long, or when a mixing paddle pulled up from it forms a V shape.
3. Fill the dough into a piping bag with a medium-sized round tip (I recommend Ateco #804). Pipe about 15 small cream puff rounds (2/3″ or 1.5cm at most) onto the parchment. (Reserve the remaining choux dough for the puff pastry rounds.) The puffs will expand, so keep at least 1″ of distance between each one. If the puffs have peaks after piping, dip your finger in water and pat them down.https://i.imgur.com/um0VeUh.gif
4. Bake for 8 minutes, then reduce to temperature to 325°F/160°C. Continue to bake until nicely browned and dried out (25-40 minutes), then remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Store puffs in an air-tight container until time to use.
Blitz Puff Pastry
4 oz (115g) bread flour
4 oz (115g) pastry flour
1/2 lb (225g) cold butter, cut into large cubes
1/2 cup (120ml) cold water
1 tsp salt
Flour, for dusting
1. Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C) and line and grease a large cookie sheet. Have a second, smaller cookie sheet handy as well, as well as a heavy baking pan of some sort. Dissolve the salt in the water and set aside. In a food processor, combine the flours and butter and pulse briefly. You want huge chunks of butter to be left, up to about 1″ wide. Transfer the mix into a bowl.
2. Pour on the water and mix the dough until it’s ragged and barely coming together. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
3. Roll the dough out into a long, large rectangle. Fold the outer sides inward, then fold the dough in half. This should create four layers. Repeat this process three times, then re-chill the dough for 20 minutes.
4. Roll the dough out to about 1/8″ thickness. Cut out 4 large rounds, 4-5″ in diameter. Place them on the baking sheet upside down, about 4″ apart. Take the leftover choux dough from the last recipe and pipe a rim along the edge of the puff pastry rounds.
5. Bake the puff pastry until well-browned and cooked throughout. The bake time can vary quite a lot, but mine took about 25 minutes. If any of them come out of the oven unevenly puffed, you can gently press on the choux rim while the puffs are still warm to level them out.
NOTE: This will make more than you need, as making a smaller batch would be quite annoying. Keep the extra in the freezer for later use, I assure you it’s extremely handy to have around!
Strawberry Chiboust
400g fresh or thawed strawberries
1/2 cup (120ml) milk
1 oz (30g) sugar
3 large egg yolks
.75 oz (20g) corn starch
2 tbsp. butter
Pink gel food coloring
.3 oz (10g) gelatin
2 tbsp (30ml) water
8 oz (225g) sugar
3 large egg whites
1/4 cup (60ml) cold water
1 pinch cream of tartar
1. Stir the gelatin and cold water together and set aside. Using an immersion or regular blender, puree the berries into a sauce and strain them to remove the seeds. In a saucepan, cook the strawberry puree for 5-10 minutes or until it has reduced significantly (a good goal is 2/3 cup or approximately 150ml in volume).
2. Combine milk, sugar, egg yolks, and corn starch in another saucepan. Cook on medium-low, stirring constantly until thickened into a paste. Allow it to cook for a good minute to eliminate any starchy taste. Remove the cream from the heat and stir in the butter and strawberry puree. Add the gelatin and blend again to combine into a smooth cream. Cover immediately in saran wrap, making sure to touch the wrap to the top so a skin does not form. Allow to cool to room temperature, but not to chill.
2. In a clean saucepan, combine sugar and water. Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a bowl with a hand mixer ready), but do not beat them yet. Boil the sugar without stirring, until the mixture reads 240°F (115°C) on a candy thermometer. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, use the below video as a guide for determining temperature.
3. Remove the sugar from the heat. Immediately add the cream of tartar to the egg whites and begin whipping them on high speed. When they are at soft peaks, gradually drizzle the hot sugar into the whites while still beating. Try not to hit the beaters with the sugar drizzle. Continue to beat the meringue until stiff, glossy and cooled to lukewarm.
4. Whisk the pastry cream to loosen it. Fold 1/3 of the meringue into the cream to lighten it. Finally, carefully fold in the remaining 2/3 of the meringue. Be gentle so the chiboust cream does not deflate. Fill a little more than half of the cream into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip and the remainder into a pastry bag without a tip. Chill in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours or until set.
Spun Sugar
1 cup (200g) sugar
1/3 cup (80ml) corn syrup
1/4 cup (60ml) water
Pink gel food coloring
Special Material: whisk with snipped tines
1. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir together and set them on medium heat. Once you put the syrup on the heat, do not stir it! You may swivel the saucepan slightly if you need to mix it further.
2. Cook the sugar to 320°F (160°C), using a candy thermometer or a cold water test. (To do cold water test, drop a bit of sugar into a cup of cold water. If it forms brittle threads that snap and break when bent, the sugar is ready.)
3. Once the sugar reaches 320°F (160°), remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the sugar into a heat safe glass bowl to make sure it stops cooking, and then carefully stir in the food coloring. You can also add a drop of flavoring oil at this stage if you’d like. Once you’ve moved the sugar, you have about a 10-15 minute window to work in. Dip the whisk into the sugar and pull it up. You want to hold it for a moment, until the sugar begins falling down in long threads. Once it does, move the whisk back and forth over a lightly greased cooling rack. Once you have created a few layers of sugar thread, curl the threads into a loop/ball and set it aside. Repeat until you create 4 cotton candy balls. If the sugar becomes too hard to thread, gently warm it in the microwave in 20 second bursts. Try not to stir it too much, as it may sieze.
NOTES: Want some visuals to help you know what your sugar should look like? Check out my entry for Sailor Mars!
White Chocolate Glaze
6 oz (170) white chocolate
1.33 fluid oz (20ml) heavy cream
Pink food coloring
1. In a small bowl, pour heavy cream over white chocolate and microwave in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted, stirring between each heating. Once totally melted, add your food coloring a few drops at a time until you like the look of the color. Sometimes white chocolate is stubborn about melting those last bits, so strain if you have to. Set aside, rewarming slightly before use so it’s not hot but still pourable.
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