Ingredients
For dough*
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
For Filling
2 1/4 cups ricotta
Finely grated zest of 1 small orange
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
For decoration
Icing sugar
Equipment needed
Muffin pan, greased
*Makes a dozen sfinge
Directions
o Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
o Mix flour and salt together.
o Mix the orange and lemon zest with the sugar.
o Beat eggs.
o Meanwhile, in a deep saucepan heat up water. Add butter.
o When the butter is melted, slowly add flour and salt, stirring continuously until a ball is formed in the center, and all the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.
o Remove the saucepan off the heat, and cool the melted butter and flour mixture(about 5 minutes).
o Add the beaten eggs slowly and incorporate into the flour mixture (One can use a Kitchen Aid to do this).
o Add the sugar (mixed with the zest) to the flour mixture.
o Spoon about 2 tablespoons of dough into each tin of the greased muffin pan.
o Bake for 10 minutes in a 400 F degree pan. Reduce heat to 350 F degrees and bake until golden brown -- about 30 minutes (The cream puffs should have tripled in size).
o Cut each sfinge in half as soon as they are removed from the oven (to allow the steam to escape).
o Cool.
To make the ricotta stuffing
o Beat the ricotta, sugar, almond extract until it is creamy.
o Add the orange and lemon zest and mix well with a spatula.
To make the sfinge
o Stuff the bottom half of each sfinge with the ricotta filling and replace with its corresponding top half.
o Keep in fridge until needed.
o Before serving dust with icing sugar.
Notes
Photo: Mary Melfi |
