Halloween is just around the corner and this recipe is perfect!

I have made petits choux before but not this traditional one, it was an updated one with AcousticChef stamped all over it. A combination of hot and cold filling with a crunchy casing.

BUT of course this traditional recipe is a right of passage and to be honest, it tasted equally great as my experiment.

Tip 1: Practice makes perfect, once you find the right piping tip and the right size of piping, it'll be so easy the next time around.
Tip 2: You can use your hand mixer and bowl if stand alone is not available. If that's not available too, a wooden spoon will also do the trick though for sure you'll have bigger biceps after :)
Tip 3: If you have no piping bag and tip, use a ziploc bag and cut the tip or plop a heap of batter using a teaspoon.
Tip 4: You can make your puffs as small or as big as you want but the bigger the size, the longer it will take to bake.
Tip 5: Don't go greedy and eat all the pastry before it's filled!

Pastry Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 large eggs

Kiwi Cream Filling Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 pureed Zespiri Kiwi
4 egg yolks
1 greed Wilton food colouring (no taste)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla or in my case, pinch of vanilla powder

Makes 72 decent sized petits choux

Preheat the oven to 400F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.

To make the creme:
Combine pureed kiwi and milk. Set aside.

In a decent size saucepan, over medium heat, combine sugar, flour and salt. Pour milk mixture in a slow stream while continuously stirring the flour. Mixture will become thick.

Turn the heat down, stir for another 3 minutes then remove from heat. In a mixing bowl, place the egg yolks and slowly pour a slightly hot milk mixture while whisking continuously so that the egg doesn't scramble. Once fully combined, return the mixture to the pan.

Gently bring to a boil and let it bubble for 2 minutes. Add a tiny teeny drop of your green food colouring. Finish it off with butter and vanilla. 

Transfer the mixture to a shallow bowl to cool. To prevent a skin from forming, position your cling film or plastic wrap right on top of the cream. Refrigerate until cold.

To make pàte à choux or puffs
In a small bowl, combine flour and salt.

In a medium size saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add butter and let it melt. Add flour mixture and stir vigorously. Continue stirring until mixture forms a ball and no longer separate. Cool pan slightly off the heat.

Transfer the dough to your stand alone mixer's bowl (like KitchenAid). Using the paddle attachment, mix at slow speed. Add eggs one at a time, making sure it's blended well before adding another one. 

Transfer batter to pastry bag fitted with a medium size star tip. Pipe circles on the parchment papers, about 2-3 inches. Pipe outside in.

Leave good enough space in between piped doughs. You need that for even baking and proper air circulation. 

Bake for 20 minutes then cool them on cooling racks.

Cut a small slit through the puff using the tip of your knife ala samurai... hi-ya!

Using piping bag and star tip, or ziploc bag, transfer enough cream to the bag Squeeze enough creme inside the puffs opening until it overflows and looks like a gooey green blob is coming out of puff's mouth. 

Cut mini marshmallows in two, stick choco chip on it and position it on top of the puff. You then have an alien-looking puff drooling green blob... Dust the whole plate with icing sugar to finish it off.

Happy yummy Halloween!!!

For Yummy Creepy Crawlies Spider Cupcakes Recipe, click here.


-AcousticChef, cookin' one tune at a time!

Meatballs are great on its own or as a complement to sauce but even meatballs need a little innovation from time to time.

In this dish, you can use the usual meatball recipe of ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, cheese (the same recipe as my Burger Queen) or you can do it my funky way.

Tip 1: Make sure the balls are bite size. This way, it's perfect size for salad or skewer it with kiwi ala summer kebab
Tip 2: Annatto powder is an organic red orange colouring. It doesn't affect the taste of any dish.
Tip 3: IF YOU ARE ANYTHING LIKE ME? double the glaze and serve your meatballs with a little sauceon the side.
Tip 4: Imagine how yum this glaze will taste on roasted whole chicken leg?
Tip 5: You need to balance your glaze's taste,,, it has to be sweet and sour. Kiwi doesn't come in 100% identical taste and so you need to train your taste buds to achieve that sweet and sour balance.

After making this dish again just for good measure, IT IS MY PERSONAL OPINION THAT THIS GLAZE WILL WORK BEST ON A LESS STRONG CHARACTERED MEAT LIKE A BLAND HAM OR THE USUAL MEATBALLS. Spam seemed a bit too seasoned for the glaze. When I tried it with just the glaze, it screamed for more, when I made it swim in a sauce, well, it drowned.  

So if you do make this dish, just serve it with an extra sauce on the side.

Meatball Ingredients:
1 Lite Spam (it's less sodium and less fat)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup bread crumbs
dash of pepper

Glaze Ingredients:
4 Zespiri Kiwifruit, pureed
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon annatto powder dissolved in 2 tablespoon warm water
2 teaspoons cornstarch diluted in 4 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons water

Salad Ingredients:
1 Cucumber, sliced
2 cups mixed green salad
1/2 cup rocket leaves
1/2 cup to 1 cup roasted walnuts (depending on how much or how less you want it)

Glazed Direction:
Heat kiwi, sugar, lemon juice and annatto powder and water in a saucepan. Add cornstarch mixture, simmer until thick. Set aside.

Meatballs Direction:
Preheat oven to 350F.

Run spam through a food processor to resemble ground meat.

In a mixing bowl, combine spam, eggs, bread crumbs and pepper.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Form a ball by scooping 1 tablespoon of ground spam and rolling it gently through you hands. Place it on the baking sheet, giving enough space for air to move around.

Bake meatballs for 10 minutes, glaze. Do this process twice. Baking time a total of 30 minutes.

Assembling Direction:
Mix salad ingredients on a separate bowl. Place a cup of mix salad on the serving plate. Place Zespiri Kiwifruit slices on plate, top it with glaze meatballs. Brush plate with more glaze to up the ante or for additional sauce in case you want more than just a smudgeon. Serve immediately. 

You can be as creative as you want to be with this dish. Serve meatballs with the glaze as a side sauce and steam rice on the side. Serve meatballs with kiwi like a kebab, it's basically a dish that you can definitely play around.

*My kids preferred meatballs with an extra sauce on the side.

BeTcHa DiDn'T kNoW!
:) Zespiri Kiwifruit is an extremely rich source of Vitamin C. One Zespiri Kiwifruit a day can provide you with your daily dose of Vitamin C. It has two times the amount that oranges offer and five times nutrition than apples.
:) Zespiri Kiwifruit contains high level of Actinidin, an enzyme that helps with protein digestion
:) Zespri Kiwifruit is not just for garnishing, it is also a very good meat tenderizer so next time you  prepare beef? think kiwi.

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