Choux caterpillar

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A stunning centrepiece for any kids party, this choux caterpillar from Lisa Allen is sure to turn heads! Get super creative with your baking and combine savoury choux buns with a creamy avocado purée and some veg decorations for a fun, friendly caterpillar design. Once mastered, this choux pastry recipe is highly adaptable and could be filled with some creamy cheese, or even a salmon mousse for something a bit more refined.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Choux paste

Mushrooms

Avocado purée

To decorate

Equipment

  • Blender

Method

1
Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
2
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar, salt and paprika to the boil
3
Once boiling, add all the flour and reduce to a medium heat, stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon - the dough should come together very quickly
  • 70g of plain flour
4
Keep stirring vigorously for 2-3 minutes longer to dry out the dough. After this time it should be very soft and smooth
5
Transfer the dough to a large bowl. Add the eggs one by one, beating after each egg has been added to mix into the dough
6
The dough will separate but do not worry; by the time you have beaten in the third egg it should have come back together and will be thick and shiny
7
Fit a large piping bag with a 2cm nozzle. Fill with the choux pastry and pipe the dough onto the baking trays to around the size of a 10p coin, leaving a 4cm gap between each
8
Bake for 7 minutes or until the balls are lightly golden. Turn the oven off, but leave the pastry in the oven for a further 8 minutes. The balls should be puffed up and golden brown. Remove and allow to cool
9
Preheat the oven to 200˚C/gas mark 6. Lay the mushrooms out on an oven tray, top side down
10
Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with the thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden and sizzling. Remove and allow to cool
11
For the avocado purée, de-stone the avocado and scoop the flesh into a blender, adding the lemon juice, yoghurt, salt and pepper
12
Blend until smooth, then place into a piping bag and store in the fridge until required
13
To assemble the caterpillars, use a small-serrated knife to cut the top off the cooked dough balls. Pipe the avocado purée into each ball and set aside
14
On each plate, lay out 5 mushrooms in a row and top with the avocado filled balls. Place half a cherry tomato on each ball
15
Use the yellow pepper strips to make antennas and the coriander sprigs for the eyes. Repeat until all caterpillars are made then serve
First published in 2015

Lisa Goodwin-Allen's cooking is playful and twists the hallmarks of Lancastrian cuisine to invoke new tradition.

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