Recipe for Swans Made of Choux Pastry

Preheat the oven to 190°C, static heat.

Prepare the choux pastry. In a saucepan, bring water with milk, salt, powdered sugar, and butter cut into pieces to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the flour all at once. Mix well until a smooth texture is achieved.

Lower the heat to medium and place the pot back on the heat, stirring the dough continuously for a few minutes. The dough is ready when it forms a smooth, shiny ball that pulls away from the sides of the pot. Remove the pot from the heat and let the dough cool for 5 minutes, continuing to stir. Add the eggs one by one, mixing each time to incorporate them well. If your whole eggs do not weigh 250 g, make up the missing quantity with beaten egg.

Place 2 tablespoons of dough in a piping bag fitted with a smooth nozzle that has a diameter of 2 mm, and pipe the swan necks. I made 2 batches in total to have enough.

Bake for about 5-7 minutes or until golden. Keep an eye on your oven as each one cooks differently! Remove and let cool.

Place the remaining dough in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip (17 mm for me) and pipe the bodies of the swans in a fan shape. Dust with powdered sugar.

Bake for about 25 minutes. The pastries should be well puffed, golden, and dry. Do not open the oven door during baking! Let cool. I made two batches.

Prepare the cream. Whip the cold liquid cream into stiff peaks with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar, taken from the total amount. Separately, blend the cold cream cheese with the remaining powdered sugar until a creamy and smooth texture is achieved. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mixture using a spatula, in several additions.

Cut the pastries in half vertically, then cut each lid in half lengthwise to create the wings. Place the cream in a piping bag fitted with a star tip (14 mm in diameter for me) and fill the pastries. Add the necks and wings of the swans.