Category

By Dave

I found this recipe in an old issue of Cuisine at Home. The look of it caught my eye so I thought I’d give it a shot. The recipe looked a little complicated, but it was easier than I thought.

Bavarian Chocolate Cream Horns

Ingredients for horns:
8 sugar cones
2 sheets frozen puff pastry (17.5 oz box)
1 egg
1 t water
1/2 C turbinado (raw) sugar

Ingredients for cream:
2 C whole milk
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C corn starch
1/4 t kosher salt
2 eggs
2 T unsalted butter
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
4 oz semisweet chocolate
1 C heavy cream
2 T powdered sugar

Recipe for horns:
Set out the puff pastry to defrost an hour or two before getting started. In the meantime, wrap the cones in foil and coat with nonstick spray. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Once the pastry sheets are thawed, cut them into 1/2″ strips and wrap them around the cone molds from the bottom up. Be sure to overlap the strips as you go. When you finish with one strip, overlap the ends by at least 1/2″ otherwise a gap will open up when the pastry cooks and expands. Whisk the egg and 1 t of water together and lightly brush the mixture onto the horns. Roll the horns in the raw sugar, coating well. Place the cones on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer the cones to a rack to cool. Let the cones cool completely before filling otherwise the cream will melt.

Recipe for cream:
With the method of your choice, melt the semisweet chocolate and set aside for later. If you want your cream to be vanilla rather than chocolate, just leave the chocolate out of the recipe. Heat the whole milk in a saucepan over medium heat until bubbles form around the edge. In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Then whisk in half the hot milk and then return this mixture back into the saucepan with the hot milk. Continue cooking over medium heat, whisking often until thickened. Boil 1 minute to eliminate the starchy taste and to thicken further. Keep whisking as it thicken further. Add the butter and 1/2 t vanilla, stirring until the butter is melted. Stir in the melted semisweet chocolate. Transfer to a bowl, then place the bowl in an ice bath to cool. Stir until the pastry cream reaches room temperature, about 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, whip the cream, powdered sugar, and 1 t vanilla until medium peaks form. Fold whipped cream into the cooled pastry cream just until incorporated. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes. Transfer the cream into a piping bag and pipe into the horns.

I did make a couple of mistakes along the way, but nothing catastrophic. The first was when I took the cones out to cool. When I took them out I left them on the baking sheet to cool. The problem that I came across was that the melted sugar that pooled around the cones solidified and stuck to the cones. Another mistake was iin making the milk mixture in the saucepan. You have to constantly whisk the mixture, otherwise it burns on the bottom and you end up with burnt bits in the cream.

For toppings, you can make a chocolate glaze and hazelnut topping to drizzle on the top of the cones. I didn’t try this part of the recipe, but I plan to in the future.

Chocolate Glaze

Melt 2 oz of semisweet chocolate in a small saucepan with 2 T sugar and 2 T water. Simmer over medium-low heat until it coats the back of a spatula, about 10 minutes. Off heat, whisk in 1 T unsalted butter. Drizzle onto cream horns while warm.

Hazelnut Topping

Toast 1/2 C skinned, chopped hazelnuts in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until golden. Add 2 T sugar and 1 T unsalted butter. Stir until butter is melted and sugar adheres to the nuts. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool.

Hollywood and Highland Shopping Center, 6801 Hollywood Blvd No. 1.5-153, Hollywood, CA 90028

http://www.muginohousa.com/

We were in the Hollywood and Highland shopping center checking out all the cool shops and eateries around the area. Right when we were about to leave we found ourselves at Beard Papa to get our parking ticket validated.

Beard Papa originated from Osaka Japan and claim to have the world’s best cream puffs. All the ingredients that go into their pastries are all natural and baked fresh. I’ll let Beard Papa tell you his story himself. They have many locations around the U.S.

They have everything from cream puffs, mochi ice cream, cheesecake sticks, fondant au chocolate, and eclairs. Their cheesecake stick look interesting and I was tempted to give it a try. I will tryt it next time I come back.

I wanted to try their green tea flavored cream puff, but all they had that day was vanilla and coffee. I decided on the vanilla, which was dusted with a little bit of powdered sugar. They don’t fill it with cream until you order it, so that it keeps the pastry from getting soggy.

The pastry itself had a nice crunchy and soft texture that I really liked. The cream itself was excellent as well. If you look close enough you can kind of see the vanilla beans inside the cream. That was a definite plus to know that they actually use all natural ingredients. Hopefully next time they will have their green tea flavored puff ready for me.

Taste: 9/10

4609 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111. (858) 268-0888

http://www.jasmineseafoodrestaurant.com

After I raved about the Chicken and Pineapple Buns at Jasmine, I went back with Dave, so he could try them and so I could have some more… But alas, sadly, I was informed that they did not offer them that day, instead they had plain Pineapple Buns. So beware, their menu may change daily.

Pineapple Bun - very sweet, definitely different from the Chicken and Pineapple Bun. It has a pineapple filling kind of like mung bean paste. Worth a try. Don’t let the picture fool you. It’s not oily. That plate and doily was from another dim sum.

Taste: 7/10

4600 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111

My dad is one of the chefs at Jasmine and he always brings us home new dim sum creations that they come up with. Sometimes the creations are bad (I’m sure those didn’t make it on the menu) and some are extraordinary. This time it was something unique and pretty tasty too!

They took the daan taat (egg custard… dan ta if you are mandarin, but daan tat for us Cantonese speakers) and put a twist on it. Instead of the normal flakey buttery crust, they changed it to a more crunchy chocolate crust. It was good, but I prefer the orginal version better.

My favorite would have to be the fried taro with a piece of scallop on top. It was a bit oily, but boy did that scallop hit the spot!

The little birdy was filled with a red bean paste and is a nice sweet little treat. I told my sister to break it in half for me (I didn’t want to be the one to kill it).

10789 Westview Parkway, San Diego, CA 92126. (858) 530-1130

http://www.ontheborder.com

Well, I think I was here about two years ago! Yes, two years! Anyway, I just wanted to mention that their Chocolate Turtle Empanadas were sinfully delicious! They’re flaky pastries filled with chocolate, caramel, and pecans… rolled in a cinnamon sugar and served warm with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauces =)

Oh and before I make anyone else angry by sharing some of my fav foods, this is purely subjective!!! Akuryou taisan!