INGREDIENTS
2 long English cucumbers
1 medium onion
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp sugar , (or coconut sugar or sweetener of choice)
1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS
Slice the cucumber in half and then in slices. Slice the onion in thin stripes. Mix cucumber and onions in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix white wine vinegar, water, sugar in a small bowl. Pour over the cucumbers and onions, and stir well.
Sprinkle some fresh chopped dill and stir.

NOTES
If you are not planning to eat the salad right away, or if you are planning to refrigerate it overnight, make sure you follow this step:
Before making the recipe above, season the sliced cucumbers with salt and place them in a colander sitting in a bowl in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Allow the salt to draw out the excess moisture. Once the cucumbers have drained, discard the liquid and continue with the recipe.

INGREDIENTS
250 ml boiling water
125 ml butter or margarine
250 ml cake flour
4 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS
Boil the water in a heavy-based saucepan.
Add the butter and stir until melted.
Add the cake flour, all together at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball in the middle of the pan and no longer sticks to the sides.
Remove from heat and add the eggs one by one. Beat well before adding the next. The mixture should be very stiff.
Drop blobs of dough with a spoon onto a greased baking sheet. Approximately the size of a large walnut. Alternatively, use a piping bag.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 190 °C, and then a further 20 minutes at 160 °C.
Allow to cool on a wire rack. Do not store, use immediately.

Makes 36.

Fill with CREME PATISSIERE

Cover with CHOCOLATE SYRUP

INGREDIENTS
480 ml milk
75 g sugar
salt
25 g cornstarch (cornflour) (3 tbsp / 30 g for a stiffer pastry cream)
3 tsp vanilla bean paste / extract / 1 vanilla bean pod
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg (please see notes)
43 g unsalted butter softened
US Customary – Metric

INSTRUCTIONS
If using vanilla bean pods, split the bean and scrape the vanilla seeds/caviar out of the beans.

Add the bean and caviar with the milk into a saucepan. Heat the milk over medium high heat and bring it to a simmer, almost to a boil.

While the milk is being heated, place the sugar, egg and yolks, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. Whisk until you have a thick, smooth mix. (If you are using vanilla bean paste or extract, add it to the egg mix too). Place the bowl with the egg mix on a towel or napkin (to prevent the bowl from slipping while whisking, in the next step), and set aside until the milk comes to a boil.

As soon as the milk starts to bubble, remove it from the heat. Slowly pour about a half of the hot milk in a thin stream, into the egg mix, WHILE WHISKING CONSTANTLY to temper the egg mix. When the eggs have been tempered, add the egg mix back into the hot milk in the saucepan.

Heat the custard base, over medium heat, while whisking vigorously until it starts to thicken – this should take about 1 – 2 minutes.
While whisking, let the custard come to a boil (the custard will release bubbles). Lower the heat and cook for a further 1-2 minutes after you see the first bubbles break the surface. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Whisk in the butter, until it’s completely mixed in.

Pour the custard into a bowl and immediately cover the surface with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap is touching the whole surface. This is to prevent a custard skin from forming on top.

Let the custard cool down to room temperature and then let it chill in the fridge for a few hours, until it’s completely chilled.
Use as needed after the pastry cream has been chilled.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup cold water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cocoa powder and sugar until blended. Add the water and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and whisk over medium heat until boiling, stirring constantly.
Continue boiling until mixture thickens, about 3 – 4 minutes. The mixture will still be fairly thin (it thickens to a syrup-like consistency once cool). Taste and stir in additional salt until dissolved, up to 1/4 teaspoon, if desired. Add butter and syrup and stir.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool.
Store syrup in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator. The syrup should keep, refrigerated, for at least a month.