The Bignè and the Furious

First, we made the pastry cream. We whisked the yolks and sugar together until pale and creamy.

Then, we stirred in the cornstarch and transferred it to a saucepan over low heat. We added the milk, little by little, stirring between each addition, and added the vanilla. We stirred continuously with a whisk until smooth and thick, heating without letting it boil, which took about 10 minutes, then removed it from the heat.

We cooled the cream quickly by transferring it to a bowl over an ice water bath.

We covered it with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic was on the surface of the pastry so it didn’t develop a skin. Once the cream was a bit cooler, we moved it to chill in the refrigerator until it had cooled completely.

Next, we made the bignès. We combined water, butter, and sugar in a saucepan and brought it to a boil. Then, we turned the heat down to medium-low and added the flour, stirring continuously until the mixture became smooth and came away from the sides and bottom of the pan. We then removed it from the heat.

We stirred the eggs directly into the saucepan and whisked it by hand for several minutes, until the mixture became smooth and sticky. We let the dough rest, covered, for 30 minutes.

When the dough was ready, we used a deep fryer to fry it. First, we tested the temperature of the oil by dropping in a small bit of batter. We knew it was hot enough when the dough sizzled lightly around the edges.

Next, we scooped a heaped tablespoon of the batter and dropped it carefully into the hot oil.

The bignès cooked slowly over low heat, and we turned them occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until they were golden and very puffed. When they were done, we left them to drain on paper towels and cool completely.

Finally, we made a small incision at the bottom of the bignè. With a piping bag, we piped the chilled pastry cream into each bignè until full and dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

When we do this lab for real, we will make sure the water-sugar-butter mixture boils more before adding the flour to prevent lumpiness. We will also try adding the flour slower, and using a hand mixer when incorporating the eggs to make the dough smoother. When frying the bignès, we will make them smaller because they expand so much, and make sure they cook all the way through by having them at the lowest temperature.