Best Pastry/Bag/Tube for Making Croquembouche
October 29, 2015 8:55 AM Subscribe
I'm planning to make this croquembouche recipe. It calls for a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch wide tip and a pastry tube with a 1/4 inch wide tip. I need to purchase the supplies for making this and I'd love your help!
Questions:
1) Can I use the same implement for both purposes? It seems like I should be able to but let me know if not. I am a reasonably experienced baker but I have not made any sort of cream puffs before. I'm also having a lot more trouble finding easily purchasable pastry tubes than pastry bags and less information on them in general. Do I really need one?
2) MOST IMPORTANT: What should I get that will work for this? I am willing to buy two things (pastry bag and pastry tube) if necessary but would prefer not to if I don't have to because it seems silly. Requests and requirements:
Questions:
1) Can I use the same implement for both purposes? It seems like I should be able to but let me know if not. I am a reasonably experienced baker but I have not made any sort of cream puffs before. I'm also having a lot more trouble finding easily purchasable pastry tubes than pastry bags and less information on them in general. Do I really need one?
2) MOST IMPORTANT: What should I get that will work for this? I am willing to buy two things (pastry bag and pastry tube) if necessary but would prefer not to if I don't have to because it seems silly. Requests and requirements:
a) MUST work with this recipe -- it has to work with a 1/2 inch wide tip (I have a relatively inexpensive pastry bag thing but the coupler won't fit a tip that big)Bottom Line: Help me find a pastry tube/bag that will accommodate at least a 1/2 inch tip that I can buy online. Thank you so much for any help/suggestions you can provide! I very much appreciate your assistance!
b) I have to be able to order it off the internet, preferably Amazon (sending it to my mom's house) -- links to products will be very, very much appreciated!
c) I'd prefer to be able to buy a set with the bag and the tips and everything but if it's worth it I'm willing to buy them separately if necessary but again, please, if you are able to provide purchasing links with your suggestions (especially if you are suggesting I buy bag and tips separately) I would love it so much!
d) Please please please make it easy to use! I don't want to waste my time fidgeting with weird couplers and stuff.
e) I don't think I really care about disposable or non-disposable bags, I'd just really like a good pastry bag that will handle this kind of task.
f) I'm likely to use this for other projects in the future I'd be okay with getting something a little nicer but I'm not really in a position to spend $300 or anything.
I've never met a pastry bag that I couldn't snip the opening a little wider to fit whatever tip I wanted.
Most sets are focused more toward cake decorating and the like; for plain round big tips you'll be better off buying them and the bag separately.
Honestly if this is not something you'll be doing a lot, I'd buy several of the plastic disposable ones. Washing out pastry bags kind of sucks.
The big tip is the more important one, since that's what you'll be piping the cream puffs with; the tip for filling them could honestly be any big-enough tip. Make sure your pastry cream doesn't have lumps!
I like the Wilton bags, if you want non-disposable. Get a big one, not a small one -- less having to fill it. Actually, get two, and you won't have to wash one bag in between piping the puffs and filling them.
Good luck! I fucking love anything that involves pate a choux, and especially croquembouche.
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:08 AM on October 29, 2015
Most sets are focused more toward cake decorating and the like; for plain round big tips you'll be better off buying them and the bag separately.
Honestly if this is not something you'll be doing a lot, I'd buy several of the plastic disposable ones. Washing out pastry bags kind of sucks.
The big tip is the more important one, since that's what you'll be piping the cream puffs with; the tip for filling them could honestly be any big-enough tip. Make sure your pastry cream doesn't have lumps!
I like the Wilton bags, if you want non-disposable. Get a big one, not a small one -- less having to fill it. Actually, get two, and you won't have to wash one bag in between piping the puffs and filling them.
Good luck! I fucking love anything that involves pate a choux, and especially croquembouche.
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:08 AM on October 29, 2015
You have to wait for them to bake and then cool before filling them so I'm not sure that the hour or so there is going to cause problems with washing out a bag.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:17 AM on October 29, 2015
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:17 AM on October 29, 2015
I can see you are less lazy than I am, FFFM ;]
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:27 AM on October 29, 2015
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:27 AM on October 29, 2015
You probably want #231 or 232 pastry-fill tip. etsy, amazon. Wilton's 230 size seems to be the closest thing they have but #230 is a bit narrow at the tip, meaning squeezing really hard for a thick cream filling. Also doesn't fit a coupler (harder to use). Also there's the benefit of the tube style in that it makes a smaller hole in the crust of your pastry, vs cone-shaped tips. So I'd consider a separate online order instead of just looking at your local craft store. But #232 seems to have a 5mm=1/4" diameter, though it's hard to tell if all brands are equivalent.
posted by aimedwander at 9:32 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by aimedwander at 9:32 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
You'll want a
large bag like this
That's a 14" bag, the size I use for my meringue cookies, which are about 2" across.
Links to larger bags are below on the page.
For tips, I'd get the
whole plain PASTRY (not decorating) tube set
If not the set,
the #6 is 1/2 inch
The
size #2 is 1/4 inch
You could get the couplers, if you know you'll be switching out between the 1/2" and 1/4" in tubes.
Drop the tube into the bag before filling the bag, and skip the coupler. If you need to switch tubes to pipe two sizes of pastry, maybe get two bags.
I put my bags inside out into the top rack of the dishwasher. The plastic liner shrinks a bit, the canvas outside wrinkles a bit, life goes on.
I think Ateco is better quality than Wilton these days, and this shouldn't set you back more than $30. The tips can be used for eclaires, profiteroles, meringue drops and kisses.
Good luck!
posted by JawnBigboote at 9:38 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
large bag like this
That's a 14" bag, the size I use for my meringue cookies, which are about 2" across.
Links to larger bags are below on the page.
For tips, I'd get the
whole plain PASTRY (not decorating) tube set
If not the set,
the #6 is 1/2 inch
The
size #2 is 1/4 inch
You could get the couplers, if you know you'll be switching out between the 1/2" and 1/4" in tubes.
Drop the tube into the bag before filling the bag, and skip the coupler. If you need to switch tubes to pipe two sizes of pastry, maybe get two bags.
I put my bags inside out into the top rack of the dishwasher. The plastic liner shrinks a bit, the canvas outside wrinkles a bit, life goes on.
I think Ateco is better quality than Wilton these days, and this shouldn't set you back more than $30. The tips can be used for eclaires, profiteroles, meringue drops and kisses.
Good luck!
posted by JawnBigboote at 9:38 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
So... Martha is being really specific. Which is great (and often critical for success in pastry). But in this particular case, you have some wiggle room. I have often piped choux straight from a bag without using a tip. Just shoot for having evenly sized mounds of dough so that the finished puffs are all the same size. You can then wash out the bag, insert the smaller tip and the filling rather than buy a separate pastry tube. The key is: if you are going to pipe a stiff filling/batter, then you put less of it the pastry bag at one time. Working with smaller amounts will give you better control & leverage. Here is a quick primer on filling a pastry bag neatly.
posted by jenquat at 9:46 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jenquat at 9:46 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Agree with fffm. I've also made a gazillion profiteroles and the bag/ tip size isn't all that important. I would personally just make a bag out of parchment and snip a hole that seemed about right.
I often am lazy and don't even use a bag but just drop them by spoon.
For this recipe you are just looking for a consistent size so the whole thing assembled looks good and consistent.
posted by littlewater at 9:49 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
I often am lazy and don't even use a bag but just drop them by spoon.
For this recipe you are just looking for a consistent size so the whole thing assembled looks good and consistent.
posted by littlewater at 9:49 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Awesome, thanks for the answers so far -- I will focus on just a bag and tips (thanks to JawnBigboote for the links!). Do I also need to get a coupler or anything or do I just like stick the tip down in the bag?
Not to be too lazy but if anyone has a suggestion for a single product I can purchase that will get me everything I need (bag, tips, any relevant accessories) that would be extra extra awesome. Thanks again!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:52 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Not to be too lazy but if anyone has a suggestion for a single product I can purchase that will get me everything I need (bag, tips, any relevant accessories) that would be extra extra awesome. Thanks again!
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 9:52 AM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you get the tips with the coupler, you can always make the poor-cook's pastry bag, which involves nipping the corner off any strong plastic bag (I grab a freezer-grade quart bag), adding the tip and coupler per the instructions, and pipe away. I have had a dough so thick that the bag broke, where your more substantial vinyl (?) bag would not break, but that's a rare thing.
Nip the corner slightly larger than you need (i.e. so the whole is greater than 1/2" for the larger of your needs) and let the tip and coupler do the texturing. A too small or ragged corner cut from the bag is going to muss the texture.
Without the coupler, cut the bag as small as you can while getting the tip halfway out. Maybe rubber-band the tip in place, since the bag will stretch with the pressure of the dough/batter (not sure which side of the line you'd place it on).
Also, something you'd learn if I didn't tell you is this: don't think that because it's in a zipper bag, that you have to closer the zipper. That just traps air and makes things weird. Use your hand and maybe a fold in the bag, just as you would with a pastry bag, to make sure it all goes in the right direction. Us a bigger bag or smaller amounts if the bag is feeling too full to handle well.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:17 AM on October 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
Nip the corner slightly larger than you need (i.e. so the whole is greater than 1/2" for the larger of your needs) and let the tip and coupler do the texturing. A too small or ragged corner cut from the bag is going to muss the texture.
Without the coupler, cut the bag as small as you can while getting the tip halfway out. Maybe rubber-band the tip in place, since the bag will stretch with the pressure of the dough/batter (not sure which side of the line you'd place it on).
Also, something you'd learn if I didn't tell you is this: don't think that because it's in a zipper bag, that you have to closer the zipper. That just traps air and makes things weird. Use your hand and maybe a fold in the bag, just as you would with a pastry bag, to make sure it all goes in the right direction. Us a bigger bag or smaller amounts if the bag is feeling too full to handle well.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:17 AM on October 29, 2015 [3 favorites]
I just use a gallon freezer bag, or a cone of parchment, with the tip snipped enough to make the size I want. To inject the cream, I just stick a small tip (it's from my mother's spritz cookie press) into the bag, reinforcing with tape if needed, because I am cheap and hate washing out cloth pastry bags but also like profiteroles. You can get tips (and couplers and bags) at Michael's if you don't want to order online/need to make it right this minute.
Pro tip: strain your pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve before you pipe it. Making lumpless stovetop cream is something on the order of black magic.
posted by ananci at 12:01 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
Pro tip: strain your pastry cream through a fine-mesh sieve before you pipe it. Making lumpless stovetop cream is something on the order of black magic.
posted by ananci at 12:01 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
It looks like either of these kits will work for you... but since you might use the tips again, look at all the options and see if you want to splash out a little money for the Buttercream or even Deluxe set, which comes with a coupler.
You can just put the choux directly in a bag without any metal tip and then cut off the point of the bag (be conservative...you can always take a bit more off to make the opening bigger).
You can use either a small star tip or a plain tip for filling the cream puffs... whichever works best for you. You just want to use a smaller tip so the opening on the bottom of the puffs is smaller and less likely to leak.
Couplers are generally used when you using one bag of frosting but need to move from one style of decoration to another, such as making rosettes then wanting to pipe a message. That said, depending on the pastry cream's thickness and how it is working for you, I'd suggest using a coupler on the filling bag. That way, you can switch tips easily to see which one works best for you.
BTW, I suggest you keep a bowl of ice water handy when dipping the puffs in the caramel - a caramel burn is no joke. If *any* gets on you, say a fingertip, just plunge your hand in the ice water ASAP and the caramel will harden and come right off your skin. If you react quickly enough, there won't be any burn. Oh, and finally: consider laying down newspaper on the floor when you make the spun sugar... it tends to spatter everywhere. Or at least it does when I make it.
Finally, have fun!
posted by jenquat at 9:38 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
You can just put the choux directly in a bag without any metal tip and then cut off the point of the bag (be conservative...you can always take a bit more off to make the opening bigger).
You can use either a small star tip or a plain tip for filling the cream puffs... whichever works best for you. You just want to use a smaller tip so the opening on the bottom of the puffs is smaller and less likely to leak.
Couplers are generally used when you using one bag of frosting but need to move from one style of decoration to another, such as making rosettes then wanting to pipe a message. That said, depending on the pastry cream's thickness and how it is working for you, I'd suggest using a coupler on the filling bag. That way, you can switch tips easily to see which one works best for you.
BTW, I suggest you keep a bowl of ice water handy when dipping the puffs in the caramel - a caramel burn is no joke. If *any* gets on you, say a fingertip, just plunge your hand in the ice water ASAP and the caramel will harden and come right off your skin. If you react quickly enough, there won't be any burn. Oh, and finally: consider laying down newspaper on the floor when you make the spun sugar... it tends to spatter everywhere. Or at least it does when I make it.
Finally, have fun!
posted by jenquat at 9:38 PM on October 29, 2015 [1 favorite]
« Older Enhanced Ebook, Video: seeking excellent examples | Low-effort, bulk vegetarian recipes? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 9:02 AM on October 29, 2015 [3 favorites]