Last year, ICC Professional Pastry Arts graduate and owner of Heritage Bakers, David Shalam took home the gold for his signature Heritage Bagel at the inaugural Tiptree World Bread Awards USA supported by American Bakers Association. This year, in addition to winning gold again for his Heritage Bagel, he also took home the top prize for his Little Scarlet Cream Filled Popovers.
David is known throughout Glen Cove, New York for the popovers at his bakery. Light and airy, his popovers are best described as a crossover between challah and brioche breads. At the World Bread Awards, the category of Tiptree Showstopper was created to highlight the award show’s partner, Tiptree. For this category, bakers are challenged to submit a bread that incorporates the best of Tiptree’s products. David immediately thought of one of their most popular jams, the Little Scarlet Strawberry Preserve, and a match was born! He knew that the tartness of the strawberry jam, combined with a sweet crème légère, would be the perfect filling for his signature popovers.
You can recreate David’s recipe that won bread gold using these ICC recipes below, combined with Tiptree’s Little Scarlet Strawberry Preserve! It’s a perfect addition to your holiday table, sure to impress your family and friends.
Ingredients
Crème Pâtissière
Yield: Approximately 750 g
475 mL milk
½ vanilla bean, split and scraped
125 g granulated sugar
50 g whole eggs
40 g egg yolks
50 g pastry cream powder
Popovers
Yield: 6 popovers
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
½ tsp salt
150 mL milk
85 g all-purpose flour
50 g sugar
25 g cinnamon
Crème Légère
Yield: Approximately 450g
300 g crème pâtissière
150 g heavy cream
Directions
Little Scarlet Cream
- Combine the milk, scraped vanilla bean, and half of the sugar (125 g) in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, and then remove it from the heat.
- Mix the whole eggs and egg yolks with the remaining sugar and pastry cream powder in a bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Whisking constantly, pour one-third of the milk mixture into the egg mixture to temper it.
- Next, add the tempered egg mixture to the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture over medium-high heat.
- Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is fully cooked and has thickened to the desired consistency. (Tip: If making a large batch of crème pâtissière, allow the milk in the saucepan to return to a boil before adding the egg mixture).
- Remove the crème pâtissière from the heat and transfer it to a plastic wrap-lined sheet pan. Remove the vanilla bean and discard or save for another use. Gently smooth out the mixture, then place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface. This will prevent a skin from forming on top of the pastry cream. Set aside to cool completely. Refrigerate the crème pâtissière once it has cooled to room temperature and use within 1 week.
Popovers
- Preheat an oven to 425°F. Mix the whole egg, egg yolk, salt, and approximately one-fourth of the milk.
- Whisk the flour into the egg mixture, making sure to whisk out all of the lumps before adding the remaining milk.
- Whisk in the remaining milk.
- Pour the batter into buttered muffin or popover pans, filling the molds only halfway; the popovers will triple in height.
- Place the pans in the hot oven and bake the popovers for approximately 25 minutes, or until puffed and well-browned.
- Allow popovers to completely cool. Combine sugar and cinnamon and roll popovers into mixture.
- Pipe Little Scarlet Cream into popovers and enjoy!
Special Instructions
- Using only one-fourth of the milk with the egg mixture makes it easier to break up any lumps when the flour is added.
- Buttering the top of the muffin pan as well as the insides prevents sticking.
- The popovers will get very dark during baking, but must be baked thoroughly or they will collapse.
- Unmold the popovers immediately after baking.
- Popovers must be made as close to service as possible.
Crème Légère
- Separate out 300 g of crème pâtissière and place into mixing bowl.
- In a bowl, whisk the crème pâtissière until smooth.
- Prepare a crème fouettée with the cream; whip to stiff-peak stage. Fold the crème pâtissière into the crème fouettée to make a crème légère.
- Fold 100 g of Little Scarlet Strawberry Preserve into the crème légère.
This blog post was originally published by the International Culinary Center (ICC), founded as The French Culinary Institute (FCI). In 2020, ICE and ICC came together on one strong and dynamic national platform at ICE's campuses in New York City and Los Angeles. Explore your pastry education where the legacy lives on.
