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I want to make this recipe for a luncheon tomorrow: http://eatnorth.com/eat-north/karine-moulins-red-bean-cream-puffs I have three concerns. First, the local Asian grocery store was closed early yesterday, so I didn't get adzuki beans in time to soak. If I get them today is there a safe way to skip the soak? Second, to avoid the puffs getting soggy, what should my timing be like? Should I make the pastry and filling seperate tonight and fill them in the morning? How should I store everything? It's a work luncheon so I'd be able to fill them at 7 am at the latest, to be consumed at 12:30. Third, I have mung beans and wet Tamarind. If I'm unable to secure Adzuki, would a direct substitution of mung taste alright? Or a tamarind flavored cream? If I went either of those routes, should I skip on any white chocolate topping ?

Patrick Schomburg
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You do need to soak the beans unfortunately, you are not going to get good results without soaking them. There's really no substitute for adzuki beans which would work well in this recipe, I'd go for another type of filling.

Choux pastry (ie the puff) can be baked ahead of time but is best fresh as it gets soggy easily.You could make the pastry cream the night before, just remember to get it out of the fridge a good half hour or more before piping so it loosens up. If you absolutely have to make everything the night before don't pipe until the morning as your pastry will be very soggy by the time they are eaten.

GdD
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  • If I bake the pastry tonight, how should I store them? And how should I store them after they're filled? I'm assuming refrigerate them in an airtight? – Patrick Schomburg Oct 29 '15 at 14:07
  • If the grocer has canned beans, would you recommend using them? I've never had adzuki beans outside a restaurant so I don't know how different each is. – Patrick Schomburg Oct 29 '15 at 14:10
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    I've never seen canned adzuki beans, if they have them you could try them. The trouble is you don't know how much 3/4 of a cup of dry beans translates into cans of beans. I have no rule of thumb for that. – GdD Oct 29 '15 at 14:15
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    If you bake the pastry tonight let the shells cool completely and then store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Putting them in the fridge might make them stale. – GdD Oct 29 '15 at 14:18
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    Is the pre-made red bean paste worth anything, or would it be wiser at that point to move on and choose a different filling? – Patrick Schomburg Oct 29 '15 at 14:18
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    @PatrickSchomburg Pre-made red bean paste is fine, if sometimes a little oversweet for my tastes. – Cascabel Oct 29 '15 at 14:23
  • Just to follow up, I did get canned, I'll post here how it turns out. – Patrick Schomburg Oct 29 '15 at 16:20
  • Canned turned out okay, but the canned beans themselves were already boiled and had a strange metallic taste. I went light on them and it made a nice subtle red bean and vanilla combo. – Patrick Schomburg Oct 30 '15 at 12:08
  • Glad to hear it worked out, and thanks for posting your results – GdD Oct 30 '15 at 12:26
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There is a way of speeding up the soaking just a little, and that is the addition of bicarbonate of soda and potassium bicarbonate (baking soda & baking powder)... This will somewhat reduce the soaking time. However remember to clean your beans well after soaking.

Adrian Hum
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