Mini Pate a Choux Fillings

This is an hors d’oeuvre cheat sheet: three different fillings for miniature pate a choux puffs, so you can pipe an assortment of canapes from a single batch of baked puffs. Each filling plays a different note: rich and smoky from the salmon mousse, warm and spiced from the curried onions, fresh and coastal from the crab and cream cheese.

The salmon mousse is the simplest: cream cheese, smoked salmon, a squeeze of lemon, and a little cream pureed smooth in the processor. Chill to firm it up, soften before piping.

The curried onion filling goes further. Butter-sauteed onions meet a curry-powder cream sauce for something warm, fragrant, and unexpected.

The crab filling is the busiest work but the easiest assembly: just mix and spoon.

Three fillings, forty puffs, infinite flexibility.

Pro Tips

• Bring cream cheese to room temperature before processing. Cold cream cheese turns chunky in the food processor.
• Chill the salmon mousse long enough to firm up, but let it soften 10 minutes before piping or it’ll tear the pate a choux puffs.
• Pipe the mousse with a small round tip, or cut the puffs open and spoon in. Either works.
• Assemble the curry onion puffs just before serving. Warm filling softens the pastry if left to sit.

Variations

• Swap crab for chopped cooked shrimp or minced smoked trout.
• Add fresh dill to the salmon mousse for brighter herby notes.
• Top curry onion puffs with chopped chives or cilantro for a fresh garnish pop.