Tasty cream horns
A lovely treat for the holidays are home made cream horns with a chocolate chestnut or a pumpkin filling.
Yield: 8-10 cream horns (with either the chocolate chestnut or the pumpkin filling)
Ingredients:
for the chocolate chestnut filling:
- 1 cup chestnut puree *1
- 3/4 cup soy milk (or rice, oat, almond milk)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla, rum or brandy, (flavoring of choice)
- 1/4 cup vegan chocolate
for the pumpkin filling:
- 1 & 1/2 cups soy milk
- 1 ounce fine corn meal (very fine like flour, not coarse polenta)
- 1 tablespoon egg replacer (e.g. No Egg)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3/4 cup sugar or 1/3 cup date puree *2
- 1&1/2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1-2 teaspoons allspice (or 1/4 teaspoon cloves)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom (optional but nice)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
for the cream horns:
- 8 sheets frozen vegan puff pastry, thawed
- powdered sugar to dust
Directions:
to make the chocolate chestnut filling:
- Place the soy milk and sugar in a saucepan and simmer to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the chestnut puree, chocolate and flavoring.
- Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to mix and keep from scalding.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Place in the refrigerator to harden. The chocolate chestnut filling can also be used warm to fill German-style pancakes or crepes.
to make the pumpkin filling:
- Prepare the pumpkin puree in a bowl.
- Add the ginger, 1 teaspoon of the allspice, cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon salt and cardamom.
- Add the sugar or date mixture and mix well.
- Taste, and adjust the seasonings to taste, you may want more allspice or cinnamon.
- Pour the soy milk into a large pot.
- Mix in the corn meal, egg replacer, cornstarch and vanilla. Stir and mix well while the soy milk is still cold.
- Heat the soy milk mixture stirring constantly.
- As it begins to thicken and warm, mix in the pumpkin mixture.
- Keep stirring as the mixture heats and thickens.
- Be careful not to get splashed by the bubbles as they can burn.
- Stir the mixture vigorously, once it becomes very thick, remove from the heat and place in a bowl to cool down.
to make the cream horns:
- Thaw the puff pastry sheets.
- Pre-heat the oven according to the instructions on the package about 375 F / 190 C.
- Slice each square of puff pastry into 6 even strips.
- Carefully wrap the strips around the cream horn molds.
- Bake the horns for 15-18 minutes or until they are lightly golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, carefully remove the form from the pastry and allow to cool on a rack.
- Once the horns are cooled, you can fill them with the chocolate chestnut or pumpkin filling. I used a cookie dough syringe, but a small spoon would work also. Fill each horn and dust with powdered sugar.
Notes:
*1 about 20-24 chestnuts, an X cut on the skin, roast in the oven, cooled and peeled, place in a saucepan, simmered for about 30 minutes until very soft, then puree.
*2 If a “Middle-Eastern” Import grocery is available, you can find pre-made date puree sold inexpensively in long bars. Otherwise it would be about 24 dates, de-seeded and chopped, in a very small amount of boiling water then pureed with a staff mixer or in a food processor.