These mango float cream puffs are an homage to the Filipino dessert known as mango royale, which is an icebox cake. This version was reimagined for individual servings.
I saw this cookbook at my local library and knew that I had to borrow it. This book contained all Filipino recipes, which I have zero experience making. I had a blast flipping through all the recipes and had a difficult time narrowing down which one(s) to try. I found several that looked promising but handed off the task to Addie and my husband (that’s called empowerment – haha!).
Both Addie and my husband agreed on their short list of 3 recipes and ultimately decided on this one. The other two recipes required ube, which I knew would require a special trip to the Asian grocery store. I have never bought ube, so I would not quite know where to find it. This recipe, however, had standard ingredients that I was familiar with and didn’t need help finding.
Sadly, I made one batch of these that failed quite miserably. I did not read the recipe all the way through and stopped when I took the choux pastries out of the oven. I failed to realize that I needed to cut a hole in the bottoms of the pastries and put them back in the oven. Unfortunately, my tall, beautiful choux pastries deflated to pancakes by the time they cooled. Therefore, I had to make a second batch.
Once I assembled the cream puffs, we were finally ready to eat them, and it was later in the evening. They were fine, but nothing so spectacular that would make them memorable. I’m glad I tried the recipe, but I don’t think it was worth the ingredients or the time. The craquelin was a bit too hard, and it made the slicing step really difficult. The firmness of the craquelin got in the way of my bread knife, and I wasn’t able to slice some of the choux pastries in half horizontally.
Perhaps I’ll look for ube the next time I’m in the Asian grocery store and try another recipe.
Husband’s rating: 3 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 3 out of 5
My rating: 3 out of 5
Mango float cream puffs
Ingredients
Craquelin
- 4 Tablespoons (1½ stick) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- pinch salt
Choux pastry
- ⅛ cup whole milk room temperature (note that I used 1% milk)
- 4 Tablespoons (1½ stick) unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ Tablespoons granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
Whipped cream
- 1 cup heavy cream cold
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Other ingredients
- 1 large mango peeled and diced small
Instructions
Make the craquelin
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, mix together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add in the flour and salt. Mix well. The dough will appear to be clumpy and dry (and will not look uniform).
- Transfer the dough onto a piece of large plastic wrap. Using the heel of your hands, press down on the dough so that it comes together. Shape it into an approximate 6" by 8" rectangle. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and place it into the freezer to chill for about 15 minutes.
- Lightly dust a flat working surface with flour. Take the dough out of the freezer and place it on the surface. Gently roll the dough until it is about ⅛ inch thick. Using a 2-inch cookie cutter or the top of a drinking glass (turned upside down), cut out circles. You can re-roll the scraps to cut out additional circles. Place these circles in the freezer again until ready to use.
Make the choux pastry
- Preheat your oven to 375℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and set aside.
- In a medium sized saucepan, mix together the milk with 3 ounces of water (a little more than ⅓ cup but under ½ cup), the butter, sugar, and salt. Cook on medium heat until the butter has completely melted and the mixture comes to a boil.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and add in the flour. Stir vigorously for about 20 seconds or until the flour has fully been incorporated. The mixture will start to pull away from the pan.
- Allow the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes. Then add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix vigorously. Your final batter will be smooth and glossy. Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a large round tip.
- Pipe the batter onto your prepared baking sheet so the batter is about 2 inches wide and 1 inch tall. Don't worry if the tops have a little tip.
- Remove the craquelin from the freezer and place one circle on top of each mound of dough.
- Bake in your preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the choux pastry has puffed up.
- Turn the oven off. Flip each choux pastry over and use a small paring knife to stab a hole on the bottom. Be careful not to pierce through to the craquelin layer. Repeat with the remaining pastry and leave the pastries upside down. Place the pan back in the oven (with it turned OFF) and leave the oven door slightly ajar for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven to cool completely.
Make the whipped cream
- In the bowl of a clean stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, whip the cream on high speed until you achieve medium peaks. Add the sugar and whisk until you achieve stiff peaks. Set in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
Assemble the cream puffs
- Take one choux pastry and slice it horizontally so that you have a "top" and a "bottom." Add about 1 Tablespoons of whipped cream on top of the "bottom" part and add mango on top. Add another Tablespoon of whipped cream on top. Place the "top" of the pastry on top of the final layer of whipped cream. Repeat with the remaining pastries.
- Note: The original recipe called for sheets of graham crackers (that were set right on top of the bottom layer of the choux pastry) but I opted to leave it out.
- Cream puffs are best eaten the day they are made.