So, I decided to whip up some chocolate glaze for the cream puffs I made earlier. They just look kinda sad without that shiny topping, you know? Felt like the right thing to do.
First thing, I went digging in my cupboard. Found a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, the regular kind, nothing fancy. Grabbed some butter too, just a small chunk. And I needed something to make it smooth, so I pulled out the heavy cream. Sometimes I use milk, but cream just feels richer.
Getting Started with the Glaze
Okay, so I chucked the chocolate chips and the butter into a glass bowl. Didn’t feel like using a double boiler today, so the microwave it was. I zapped it for like 30 seconds, took it out, gave it a good stir. Then another 20 seconds. Kept doing that, short bursts, stirring each time. You really don’t want burnt chocolate, smells awful and tastes worse.
Once it was pretty much melted and smooth, I poured in a little bit of the heavy cream. Didn’t measure exactly, just eyeballed it. Started stirring it in. It looked okay, but maybe a touch too thick? Yeah, definitely too thick. So I added another small splash of cream. Stirred again. Better.
Then I thought, maybe a tiny bit of sweetness? The chips are semi-sweet, but sometimes a little extra helps. I got the powdered sugar, sifted maybe a tablespoon in. Didn’t want it too sweet, just enough to balance things. Mixed it all together until it looked smooth and had a nice shine to it.
Checking and Using the Glaze
The consistency looked good. I dipped a spoon in and let it run off. It coated the spoon nicely and dripped off in a steady stream, not too fast, not too slow. That’s usually how I know it’s about right for dipping.
My cream puffs were already cool on the rack. So, I took one puff at a time, held the bottom, and just dipped the top straight into the warm glaze. Gave it a little swirl to make sure the top was covered. Lifted it out, let the extra glaze drip back into the bowl for a second or two. Then carefully placed it back on the cooling rack.
- Dipped each puff carefully.
- Let excess drip off.
- Placed on rack to set.
Repeated that until all the puffs had their chocolate hats. They looked way better immediately. Had to let them sit for a bit for the glaze to firm up. Didn’t take too long.
And yeah, that was it. Simple chocolate glaze done. They looked pretty decent, tasted good too. Made the cream puffs feel complete. Another baking task ticked off the list.
