Vietnamese Iced Coffee California Cheesecake Puffs

To prepare the Choux:

1. Bring water, milk, butter, salt and sugar to a boil. Add sifted flours at once.

2. Gelatinize starches. Add to mixer.

3. Emulsify eggs and add in 4 batches. Pipe into 2 oz molds and freeze.

4. Top with large round of craquelin (see below) and bake from frozen at 325°F until done, approximately 30-40 minutes.

To prepare the Craquelin:

1. Paddle butter until soft.

2. Add sugar and flour, do not incorporate air.

3. Add white food color (fat-based or titanium dioxide). Sheet to #3 between parchment or silpat.

4. Cut so that the craquelin will cover the entire choux bun. Freeze before applying to frozen unmolded choux.

5. Center precisely, check from all angles.

To prepare the Filling:

1. Bloom gelatin.

2. Scald #1 cream with powdered coffee, vanilla, sugar and glucose.

3. Add bloomed gelatin.

4. Strain over white chocolate, emulsify with a stick blender. Add cream #2 and emulsify.

5. Chill overnight.

6. Whip cream cheese until fluffy. Add filling and whip until light.

7. Fold in cream #3 that has been whipped.

To prepare the Chocolate Sauce:

1. Bring the cream to a simmer.

2. Make a sauce by pouring the hot cream over the dark chocolate and stirring gently until melted. Keep warm until serving. Leftover sauce can be refrigerated and rewarmed.

Assembly:

1. Pipe Cream Filling into the Choux buns. Decorate with a little of the filling, and serve on a pool of the chocolate sauce.

Per order/serving size: 20 tasting size portions

Recipe developed by Chef Barbara Alexander