Since I’m… 10-ish weeks away from delivering our baby, my nights have been particularly more interrupted by the baby kicking/moving around in my stomach (feels like the bug in the Matrix tbh). Last week, this was followed by my calves shooting in pain in the morning…and this week my right butt cheek aching everyday until today (sciatica perhaps?). With the pandemic so much worse around here, I’ve been particularly more anxious and emotional about everything. How am I going to be prepared for this insane baby to come out of me and my career to continue to grow? Which is why I’ve been hopping back onto Lunchclub + I met the wonderful Dailymini who heavily inspired me to work on a mini recipe, which will first be: Mini Pomegranate Profiteroles! Please don’t get intimidated by all of the steps, I promise they’re worth it.

Mini Profiteroles (inspired by Flavor Bender)

Ingredients

Preparation Time

15 min

Cooking Time

45 min

Ready In

1 hr

• 8 oz filtered water
• 4 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 4.7 oz all purpose flour
• 4 lg eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Step 1.

Preheat the oven to 375F and prepare a baking tray with parchment paper.

Step 2.

Place water, sugar, salt, and butter in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Step 3.

Once the water begins to boil, remove the pot from the pan and mix the all purpose flour in so that it’s fully absorbed and forms a dough. Return the pan to the stove under medium heat.

Step 4.

Cook the dough for 1-3 minutes and let it cool down slightly for a few minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract and eggs one at a time (I recommend adding one at a time and checking the texture by the 4th egg) Mix until the batter passes the V test (Refer to Fig1)

Step 5.

Pipe the desired shape onto the baking sheet without letting go. (I used a Wilton 6 tip and piped about 1/2″ in diameter) By dipping your finger into a small bowl of water, flatten the tips and any points.

Step 6.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until the pastry shells are golden brown on the top. During the last minute, prick each shell with a toothpick so that they cook properly.

Step 7.

Remove from the oven and let the pastry cool completely for about 20-30 minutes at least before filling.

Now, I know the world of mini is insane. I’ve seen so many miniature foods, miniature books, miniature toys and models in Tokyo. But I can’t help it, they’re so cute and they’re perfect finger food, aren’t they?

When thinking of all things mini and edible, I didn’t want to spend money on a tiny cookie cutter, or spend too much time figuring out how I could purchase mini ingredients like hot dog buns or mini cutlery/kitchen tools. I thought about how Valentines day is just a month away and that instead of cramming for something, I could play with tiny desserts – which I quickly thought of: Profiteroles. The first time I’ve ever had profiteroles was back in NY at one of my favorite restaurants: Boucherie (sister restaurant to Petit Boucherie)- It was one of the only desserts offered and I was  curious but also blown away and in love. My maid of honor challenged me since I couldn’t even say it last year for my birthday and managed to order it, and wouldn’t take any home until I could properly pronounce it.

Strawberry Cream

Ingredients

Preparation Time

5 min

Ready In

5 min

• 1 C chilled heavy whipping cream
• 3 C frozen strawberries
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 4 tbsp powdered sugar

Directions

Step 1.

Chill your mixing bowl and heavy cream in the fridge for at least 15-30 minutes.

Step 2.

Meanwhile, blend the frozen strawberries with powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice until smooth.

Step 3.

Pour the heavy whipping cream into the chilled mixing bowl and mix with the whisk attachment for 5 minutes or until soft peaks form.

Step 4.

Gradually add 5-6 tbsp of the strawberry puree, mixing in between until desired flavor.

Step 5.

Using your desired piping method, fill a pastry bag or zip lock bag with a small slit or cake tip. Fill the pastry bag.

Mini Pomegranate Profiteroles

Ingredients

Preparation Time

10 min

• 24 Mini profiteroles
• 1 1/2 C Strawberry pomegranate cream

Directions

Step 1.

Carefully slit the profiteroles in half. Fill each profiterole with 2-4 pomegranate seeds, depending on how large each one is.

Step 2.

Pipe in the strawberry cream and serve immediately.

This recipe was honestly one of the most delightful recipes I’ve made. Rather than just build a simple strawberry cream puff, the pomegranates give even more added antioxidants, fiber, protein(ish), all these extensive benefits and add a burst of surprise while maintaining that typical “red” theme that we can all blame Valentine’s Day for.

Profiteroles are actually a lot easier than I thought in making, especially after researching through threads/recipes + watching videos like this one from one of my heroes: Gordon Ramsay. In every recipe, it’s timing; making sure you dab the tops of profiteroles with a bit of water before returning into the oven and poking holes so that they could cool down properly (oh, and cooling them down completely before filling them with cream!) This is certainly one to not get impatient with, but is so delightful for how basic it is.