Slovak Veternik
For years I loved this delicate pastry, memories take me back to 1980’s on our way from school, nearly every day we’d stop at the pastry shop and I’d have Slovak Veternik. Today I’m going to try to recreate this traditional Slovak Pastry.
Base for this dessert is made using Pate a Choux pastry and then filled with traditional fillings vanilla pudding filling at the bottom and heavenly light caramel filling on the top. Top part of the shell is then glazed with either caramel or chocolate glaze.
Haniela’s Recipe for Pâte à Choux ( you can make about 15 – medium size shells, if you are making larger pastries you’ll have less)
300 ml water
180ml oil
180 grams flour
5 eggs
pinch of salt
Pastry Dough
In a medium size pot combine water, oil and salt.
Bring to boil. When water is boiling remove from the heat, add flour all at once and using a wooden spoon stir and stir. Put the pan back on the burner, mixture will thicken significantly.Keep stirring with your wooden spoon.Cook until the dough forms the ball and is separating from the wall of the pan. Remove from heat.
At this stage I let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Transfer the dough into a mixing bowl and let cool.
Once your dough is cooled
Preheat oven to 480F(250C)
Add room temperature eggs.One egg at a time.You can use your hand held mixer to incorporate eggs into the dough or use a wooden spoon. At first it will look like it is not going to work, dough will separate when you add the egg, just keep stirring, it will eventually come together,add another egg until you added all eggs.sSir well to combine well. You are looking for a thick but soft dough. Now you are ready to pipe the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Line the baking sheets with parchment paper.
You need:
Piping Bag, I use Ateco, plastic Coated one, I recommend a sturdy kind like this Ateco 3118 Plastic Coated Pastry Bag 18-in.
Large Star or Round tip.
Ateco Pastry Tube – Star – Size 9 OR Ateco Decorating Tip 12
Here is a sample of smaller version, but as I said before you can do any size you’d like. I prefer smaller pastry.
My temperature and time settings are testing when making medium to large size pastries.
Bake on the higher rack
480F(250C) – for 17 minutes
330F(165C) – 15 minutes
295F(146-150C) 15 minutes
Do not open the oven during baking.
Finished pastry shells are usually golden brown color.
Remove from oven, immediately using a sharp knife cut the pastry in half. Make sure you are not cutting too low to the foot of the pastry, you want to maintain the height, so your filling doesn’t leak out.
When you cut the pastries in half, remove the soft cooked dough from inside, just scrape it out with the spoon.
Reason we are cutting them as soon as they come out of the oven is to remove hot air from them so they don’t fall.
2tbl heavy cream
In a medium size sauce pan cook sugar until it becomes medium dark amber color, take care not to burn it or you’ll ruin the caramel filling.Once it reaches the desired color remove the pan from the heat and add all the heavy cream at once, mixture will sizzle and caramel will harden, return pan to heat and cook on low heat until caramel melts completely, bring to a boil and remove from the heat. Cool the mixture slightly and pour into an airtight container, refrigerate overnight.
Next day : I like to stabilize my caramel filling using gelatin.Let bloom1tsp gelatin in 2tbl heavy cream, let stand for 5 minutes. Microwave in 5 seconds intervals on 1/2 setting until gelatin is completely dissolved, take care not to overheat the gelatin. Cool the dissolved mixture to room temperature.
Beat the caramel heavy cream, once soft peaks are form, gradually add cooled dissolved gelatin and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Chill for 30 minutes.
Fill the pastry bag fitted with a star tip and fill the pastries.
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp gelatin(optional)
Combine cornstarch, egg yolk with 200 ml milk, pour the mixture into to a medium size pot, add remaining milk, and sugar. Cook on low to medium heat until mixture thickens and starts to boil, stirring constantly let it boil of 30-60 seconds. Remove from the heat and strain the mixture(to remove any cooked egg particles), into a clean bowl and place the bowl into a water bath, stir occasionally to prevent skin forming. Once the mixture is cooled bring it out of the water bath and cover with plastic food wrap.
Let bloom1tsp gelatin in 3tbl heavy cream, let stand for 5 minutes. Microwave in 5 seconds intervals on 1/2 setting until gelatin is completely dissolved, take care not to overheat the gelatin. Cool the dissolved mixture to room temperature.
Beat the remaining heavy cream, once soft peaks are form, gradually add cooled dissolved gelatin , add vanilla extract and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
Gradually add whipped heavy cream into the pudding mixture, do not stir, use the folding technique. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, preferably use the same day you are filling the pastries.
Filling the pastries
Fill the bottom with vanilla filling and then on the top of the vanilla fill the pastry with caramel filling.
Glazing the Pastries
As far as the glazing goes, you can leave it plain or use melted chocolate, or ganache or even caramel glaze.
Caramel Glaze (from my friend Danka)
Melt 3tbl granulated sugar, cook until caramel turns amber color, add 4TBL milk, stir well until combined and smooth, remove from heat, add 100grams sifted powdered sugar.If you find the glaze to be too thick, add 1tsp of water to make it thinner, if this doesn’t help and you still find the glaze to be too thick simply heat it up in 5 second intervals until it reaches desired consistency. Glaze the pastry tops separately.Let harden and assemble the Slovak Veternik.
Store in the fridge. Enjoy.
