Save the Ta-Tas!

The other day as I was stopped at a traffic light, the bumper sticker on the car in front of me caught my attention. "Save the Ta-Tas!" It made me laugh out loud but also made me realise how lucky I am that my family has not been touched by this particular strain of an awful disease. For those of you who don't know, (and how could you not?), October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So in honour of this incredible cause, Marye at Apron Strings & Simmering Things has thought up a very worthy blog event - the Boobie Bake Off! With a name as fun as that, how could you not join in? More importantly, it's a party with a purpose. Events like this help to shed light on a disease that effects millions of people across the globe each day.

The best part is, you can vote for your favourite entry and make a difference. Marye will be collecting $1 per vote and donating the proceeds to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. So be sure to check out the round-up on her blog on November 2nd to cast your vote!

Strawberry Cheesecake Glazed Eclairs

The only stipulation we were given for this event is that the entry had to be pink. For some reason, the first thought that entered my mind was to make eclairs with a pink glaze. Where this came from still puzzles me. I have never made eclairs before, nor do I eat them! But I decided to roll with it and see what magic I could work. I decided on a choux pastry recipe from Gourmet Magazine and whipped it up in a breeze. Now that I know how easy it is to work with, I'm sure I'll be concocting all sorts of airy delights from profiteroles to gougeres! For the glaze, I knew I wanted to work with strawberries and cream cheese, so I messed around for a bit and came up with a delightfully pink topping for my eclairs - no food coloring needed! The filling was simply a lightly sweetened whipped cream. The result was a light as air dessert with hint of strawberry cheesecake.

Strawberry Cheesecake Glazed Eclairs

For the choux pastry: (recipe from Gourmet Magazine, July 2007)

• 6 tbs unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in upper third. Butter a large baking sheet.

Bring butter, water, and salt to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring until butter is melted. Reduce heat to medium. Add flour all at once and cook, beating with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from side of pan and forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well with an electric mixer at high speed after each addition.

Transfer mixture to pastry bag and pipe 4-inch-long strips (about 1 inch wide) onto baking sheet, spacing them at least 1 inch apart. Bake éclairs 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 400°F and continue to bake until golden, puffed, and crisp, about 7 minutes more (leave oven on). Immediately pierce side of each éclair with tip of a paring knife and return to oven to dry, propping door slightly ajar, 5 minutes. Cool éclairs completely on a rack, about 25 minutes.

For the Strawberry Cheesecake glaze:

• 4 plump strawberries
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup icing sugar

Puree the strawberries in a blender. Beat the cream cheese together with the icing sugar until smooth. Add the strawberry puree and mix until combined.

To assemble:

Fit a pastry bag with a round tip and fill the bag with slightly sweetened, freshly whipped cream. Insert the tip into one end of the eclair and pipe the cream until you feel a slight pressure back. Dip the top of the eclair into the glaze and allow to set for a few minutes.

Pair with a pink purse and you've got yourself a pink party!