When I was growing up, one of my favorite treats was tvorozhnie kolechki – choux pastry shaped like rings and filled with cream made from tvorog, also known as farmers cheese, either with butter or whipped cream. Light and only a touch sweet, beautiful and elegant, I kept craving them over the years since I left Russia. I tried them at European bakeries but was not satisfied with the taste, never what I remembered.
The only solution I found was making them myself; and getting the process down turned out to be much easier than I expected. Einkorn flour is not only the best option nutritionally, being the easiest digestible type of wheat, but also the prettiest because of its golden color due to its high lutein content. Using fresh raspberries makes it taste very bright, and in my opinion raspberry is the most perfect flavor to go with farmers cheese. I use homemade farmers cheese that has live probiotics, another small benefit that makes me feel good about eating dessert 🙂 .
HOW TO MAKE EINKORN RASPBERRY CREAM PUFFS
EINKORN PUFFS
Ingredients
7 Tbsp (100g) butter
3/4 cup (180g) water
1/8 tsp salt
1.5 cups (200g) all-purpose einkorn flour
5 large eggs (about 300g)
Raspberry Tvorog Cream – recipe below
Instructions
Combine butter, water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to slow boil, then reduce to simmer.
Add sifted einkorn flour; mix it with the butter liquid while simmering until uniform thick paste forms. Remove from heat, and bring to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs (I use an electric hand mixer). Add eggs to the flour paste and mix well, until combined.
Put the paste into a pastry bag with a star attachment (I use 2D).
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Pipe the paste onto the baking sheets, shaping as desired into donuts or circles.
Bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350ºF, and bake for 20 more minutes.
Once the puffs cool down (which doesn’t take long), slice them in half and fill with cream. Transfer to refrigerator and allow to cool for a few hours – they are best eaten cold after the cream sets.
RASPBERRY TVOROG CREAM
Ingredients
1 Tbsp (10g) grassfed gelatin
1/4 cup (50g) water
2 cups (350g) fresh raspberries
1 cup (235g) heavy cream (avoid ultra-pasteurized cream; Kalona is a good option, and raw cream is best)
1 1/4 cup (250g) farmers cheese (how to make farmers cheese)
1 cup (125g) powdered sugar
Instructions
Process fresh raspberries in a mini food processor, strain through a sieve to remove seeds. You will have about a cup of liquid.
Mix gelatin and water in a small sauce pan, heat without boiling until all gelatin is dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a stand mixer, whip cream.
In a mini food processor, mix farmers cheese and powdered sugar until it becomes very smooth. Add gelatin and pulse to combine.
Add raspberry liquid, and process again until the color is uniform.
Gently fold whipped cream into the raspberry/tvorog mixture.
Scoop the cream into the puffs right away, and allow to set in refrigerator for a few hours.
Einkorn Raspberry Cream Puffs {Choux}
Ingredients
- 7 Tbsp (100g) butter
- 3/4 cup (180g) water
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1.5 cups (200g) all-purpose einkorn flour
- 5 large eggs about 300g
- Raspberry Tvorog Cream - recipe below
Instructions
- Combine butter, water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to slow boil, then reduce to simmer.
- Add sifted einkorn flour; mix it with the butter liquid while simmering until uniform thick paste forms. Remove from heat, and bring to room temperature.
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs (I use an electric hand mixer). Add eggs to the flour paste and mix well, until combined.
- Put the paste into a pastry bag with a star attachment (I use 2D).
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
- Pipe the paste onto the baking sheets, shaping as desired into donuts or circles.
- Bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350ºF, and bake for 20 more minutes.
- Once the puffs cool down (which doesn't take long), slice them in half and fill with cream. Transfer to refrigerator and allow to cool for a few hours - they are best eaten cold after the cream sets.
Notes
- Have all the shells baked and cut before making the cream; you want to work fairly quickly after the cream is made since it contains gelatin.
- If you don't want to pipe using a pastry bag, you can just scoop the paste with a teaspoon.
Raspberry Cream
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp (10g) grassfed gelatin
- 1/4 cup (50g) water
- 2 cups (350g) fresh raspberries
- 1 cup (235g) heavy cream
- 1 1/4 cup (250g) farmers cheese (how to make farmers cheese)
- 1 cup (125g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- Process fresh raspberries in a mini food processor, strain through a sieve to remove seeds. You will have about a cup of liquid.
- Mix gelatin and water in a small sauce pan, heat without boiling until all gelatin is dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In a stand mixer, whip cream.
- In a mini food processor, mix farmers cheese and powdered sugar until it becomes very smooth. Add gelatin and pulse to combine.
- Add raspberry liquid, and process again until the color is uniform.
- Gently fold whipped cream into the raspberry/tvorog mixture.
- Scoop the cream into the puffs right away, and allow to set in refrigerator for a few hours.
These einkorn raspberry cream puffs can be made with any filling, I also really like them with vanilla butter cream:
