Bacon Desserts

Bacon Desserts.  These have been taking over the dessert world for a little while.  So I tried to make some today.  I tried making a Bacon Bourbon Ice Cream and a Bacon Cream Puff.  The ice cream had a really subtle bacon flavoring in the background that was not lost on my boyfriend.  He loves bacon and everything made from the pig, so of course his palate will identify the little hint of bacon in anything.

The cream puff is an experiment with the left over pork fat from a time when I made some roasted pork belly.  But I think it will come out really great.  I just put them in the oven and so I don't really know if it will work but if they do they will be a great addition to a bacon party.

So, the recipe.

1 cup milk
4 ounces of pork fat
a pinch of salt
a pinch of cinnamon
1 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs

 As with the usual pate a choux recipe, scald the milk with the fat and spices.  Make sure all of the pork fat is melted.  Add all the flour at once.  Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together and starts to coat the bottom of the pan.  This should take a minute or two.  Then move to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until there is no steam dissipating from the dough.  If you do not have a stand mixer, a regular bowl, wooden spoon, and some old fashioned elbow grease will work as well, but remember to switch arms in between or one arm will get a great workout while the other does not.  ;)
Add the eggs one at a time making sure the egg is fully incorporated before adding the next.  Then you can either scoop the dough onto a sheet tray fitted with some parchment paper or a silicon baking pad and bake at 400 degrees(F) until golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.  When done, take thm out and let them cool on a wire rack.

As for the filling for these puffs, I thought I would do a simple vanilla pastry cream. 

5 yolks
1 ounce corn starch
4 ounces sugar
16 ounces milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whipping cream

mix the yolks, cornstarch, and sugar together.  Scald the milk, do not boil the milk.  Temper the milk into the yolk mixture.  Return to the pot and cook until thickened, add the vanilla extract and cool in the refrigerator.
Once the cream is cooled, whip the whipping cream to hard peaks and fold it into the mixture. 

Take the puffs and cut off the tops and fill with the pastry cream filling and cover with the top and serve.

I do hope this recipe comes out great.  I can just smell the puffs cooking in the oven and they smell delightful.  A little bacon fat goes a long way.

Happy chomps and nibbles.