Cranberry Cream Puffs

With spring around the corner I thought I'd post one of my most requested dessert recipes - cranberry cream puffs. I know most people associate cranberries with the winter holiday season, but these little puffs will show you that cranberries can provide joy throughout the year.

Cranberry Cream Puffs

Makes about 40 cream puffs

 

Ingredients:

 

for the cranberry sauce:

 

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2  cups cranberries

 

for the cream puffs:

 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup water

pinch of salt

1 cup flour

4 eggs (+1 for egg wash)

 

for the filling:

 

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 teaspoon vanilla
1 recipe cranberry sauce

Instructions:

For the cranberry sauce

Note: Make the cranberry sauce the day before so it has time to solidify. You can use canned cranberry sauce but it won't taste as good as the fresh stuff.

In a medium saucepan combine the water and sugar and bring them to a boil. Add the cranberries and return the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and boil the sauce for 10 more minutes. 

Remove the sauce from the heat and push it through a stainless-steel strainer. You’ll end up with about 1-1/2 cups of sauce and a small amount of solid matter, you can toss out the solid matter, but it tastes great with chicken! Cool the sauce at room temperature, then refrigerate until you are ready to make your cream puffs.

For the cream puff

Preheat the oven to 425F (220C)

In a medium saucepan add the butter, coconut milk, water, and salt over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and bring the mixture to a boil.

As soon as the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and add in the flour. Using a wooden spoon, mix thoroughly to incorporate the flour. Continue stirring until the dough starts to pull away from the sides and a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan (approx 3 mins).

Remove the mixture from heat and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Let the dough cool slightly, then add in the eggs 1 at a time, being sure each egg is thoroughly mixed in before adding the next.

Once the dough comes together, scoop the dough with a spoon to make 1 1/2-inch mounds onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. No need to for them to be perfectly round but make sure to smooth out any peaks.

Brush the dough with egg wash and place in preheated oven. Bake for 15 mins at 425F. Then, without opening the oven, reduce the heat to 350F and bake for an additional 15 mins. Remove the puffs from the oven and let them cool.

For the filling

Just before you are ready to assemble your cream puffs, whip the cream using a mixer until it is thick, add the sugar and vanilla toward the end of the process. Use a spoon to break up the cranberry sauce before gently folding it into the whipped cream.

Transfer the whipped cream into a piping bag. Cut a small x into the bottom of each cream puff and pipe in the whipped cream. Then decorate as desired.

New Year's Resolutions Refined

Since it's January I thought I'd share my thoughts on New Year's resolutions.

Every year millions of people around the world decide that they are going to change one or perhaps a few things about themselves. Things like:

• Eating healthier
• Going to the gym
• Volunteering
• Saving for retirement

Or maybe your goals are a bit more ambitious

• Becoming a vegetarian
• Running a marathon
• Starting your own business
• Getting out of debt

For the most part I hit the ground running but by mid-March I decide life just gets in the way. Things like birthdays are a good excuse for me not to continue with my goal. I'll be having cocktails and going out for dinners, then there's the occasional gift. Then summer arrives. 

Why should I be at the gym? I should be in the sun socializing and having patio drinks. Then comes autumn (too rainy), winter (too cold) and we're back at square one.

I think for the most part we can agree that this is a circle of failure. Now what? Abandon the idea altogether? Not necessarily. When we think of New Year's resolutions we think of them as being one big change. Why is that? Why are we so hard on ourselves, why are we determined to set unrealistic goals? 

Instead of thinking BIG we need to start thinking small.

Let's look at a few of the examples above. Eating healthier, that's a pretty broad statement. Let's try to think small because what we're actually trying to achieve is breaking a bad habit. What we want is a baby step in the right direction that we can maintain over time. 

Eating healthier could mean:

• You don't always have to order fries 
• Maybe two times a week you opt for a salad
• Perhaps on nights out you don't have that last glass of wine
• Maybe you opt out on that last slice of pizza 

These are tiny changes you can make over time.

Let's look at one more example, going to the gym. Now that's still a broad statement. Do you want to go to the gym three times a week? Two times a week? Do you even like the gym? Is your goal to go to the gym or is your goal to become more fit?

Many people think that going to the gym is the only way to get in shape, however, there are plenty of things you can do to fit exercise in your day to day life. 

First you need to decide your motivation level, your true motivation level.

 

• Can you and will you do things on your own? 
• Are you better working out with a friend?
• Do you prefer a class environment?

These are all things you need to think about. Personally I have really low motivation when it comes to the gym but I have found what works for me, which happens to be taking classes with a friend.

Essentially, when it comes to New Year's resolutions we need to go easy on ourselves. Bad habits don't break overnight, and if you need any more motivation here's this adorable little girl calling it as she sees it.

 

 

 

Who am I?

A new year has begun and as the snow begins to melt and the Christmas decorations are stored away friends ask one another about their New Years resolutions. That gets me thinking, what am I going to do this year? What do I need to work on? What do I actually want to work on? What are my goals? Who am I?

Well my name is Sylvia and I work and live in a fast paced, multicultural city known as Vancouver. My goal is to be a healthier stronger version of myself and find like-minded people along the way. Follow me as I discover amazing food and fitness hot spots at home and abroad.