St Joseph's Day Pastries

St Joseph is the patron saint of home and family in Italy. The pastries are traditionally served plain but Silvana's customers loved them with pure chocolate sauce

Pastry

Ingredients

200 ml water
75 grams butter
155 grams Self.Raising flour
pinch salt
4 eggs
10 grams grated orange and lemon rind

Method

Place water and butter in pan over low heat until the butter is melted.

Bring to boil and add the sifted flour and salt, stir until mixture forms a ball and comes away from edges of the pan.

Take off heat, let cool slightly

Put the mixture into the bowl of an electric beater, on low speed

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition

The mixture should be thick and glossy

Heat oven to 250 o and grease baking trays

Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto the trays, allow room for them to spread

Reduce oven heat and cook 40 minutes approx or until the pastries are golden and firm to touch

Take out of the oven and make a small slit in the side of each pastry to let the steam escape

Return to oven to dry a little

Pastry Cream

Ingredients

3 egg yolks
80 grams sugar
60 grams flour
1/2litre milk
a pinch of salt
lemon peel

Method

Beat the yolks and sugar together till white

Mix in the flour and milk, a little salt and the lemon peel

Put in a double boiler and cook over boiling water , stirring constantly till thick

(NOTE - this is a much thicker cream than that used in the strudel and other recipes)

Chill the pastry cream and put into a piping bag

When pastries are cool, make a hole in the side and pipe the pastry cream inside

Serve with the chocolate sauce

Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

125 grams dark chocolate
30 ml rum or preferred liqueur

Method

melt chocolate in a microwave or in a pan on the stove with a tiny bit of water Add the rum then pour over the pastries and serve.