As mentioned elsewhere Frances and Daniel prefer savory to sweet. Not that they don’t like sweet but somehow they escaped our kitchens of sweets iniquity to be more sensible and healthier eaters than their parents. Not that we don’t like savory, but c’mon, we are talking sweets here.

Anyway, they are not fans of goat or brie cheeses (I am) but do like bleu cheese, so I decided to make some bleu cheese filled gougeres with a caramel glaze topped with a little sea salt. This combination of flavors balanced very nicely.

INGREDIENTS

• FOR THE GOUGERES
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Table salt
  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs, plus 1 large egg white if needed
  • Vegetable oil cooking spray
  • Coarse salt, for sprinkling
• FOR THE BLUE CHEESE FILLING (MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP)
  • 140g crumbled blue cheese
  • 283g mascarpone cheese
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • Freshly ground pepper
• FOR THE CARAMEL
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1½ cup water

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the gougeres: See and follow recipe for pate a choux
2. Make the blue cheese filling:
   1. Beat blue cheese and mascarpone in the clean bowl of a mixer on medium-low speed until well combined.
   2. Reduce speed to low, and beat in heavy cream and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
3. Transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/8-inch round tip. Insert tip into bottom of each gougere, and fill.
4. Make the caramel:
   1. Prepare an ice-water bath. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, swirling pan and brushing down sides with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystal from forming.
   2. Cook, without stirring, until caramel turns dark amber, about 10 minutes.
   3. Remove from heat, and set saucepan in ice-water bath to stop sugar from cooking.
   4. Immediately dip the top of each gougere into caramel, and sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt. (If the caramel hardens as you work, reheat over very low heat until it loosens.)