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Nan-e khamei
Cream puffs
Persian cream puffs
PersianTehran's pastry shops, the qanadi on every busy street, sell nan-e khamei by the boxful: small golden choux puffs split and filled with softly whipped cream, dusted with icing sugar. Families buy a box to take when visiting relatives, for birthdays and above all for the Nowruz new-year table, and they are eaten with glasses of black tea. The shells are crisp and hollow, the cream barely sweet and sometimes lifted with a drop of rose water, and a few chopped pistachios on top add colour. Filling them too early is the usual mistake, as the cream softens the shells within hours, so fill them shortly before serving. Chef's tip: whip the cream in a chilled bowl and stop at soft peaks with a little hold; it pipes smoothly and doesn't turn grainy.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the choux
- 1 cup water
- 3 ⅞ oz butterdiced
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 5 oz plain floursifted
- 4 eggsbeaten
For the cream
- 1 ¾ cups double creamvery cold
- 1 ¾ oz icing sugarplus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp rose water (optional)
To finish
- 2 tbsp pistachios (optional)finely chopped
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Line two trays with baking paper.
Step 2: Bring 1 cup water, 3 ⅞ oz butter, ½ tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar to a full boil. Tip in 5 oz plain flour all at once and beat over low heat for 2 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the pan.
3 minStep 3: Cool for 5 minutes, then beat in 4 eggs a little at a time, until the dough is glossy and drops slowly from the spoon in a V.
Step 4: Pipe or spoon about 30 mounds, 4 cm wide, onto the trays, spaced well apart.
Step 5: Bake for 25–30 minutes without opening the door for the first 20, until puffed, deep golden and light when lifted. Pierce the side of each one and leave in the turned-off oven, door ajar, for 10 minutes to dry.
35 minStep 6: Whip 1 ¾ cups double cream with 1 ¾ oz icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract and ½ tsp rose water to soft peaks that just hold their shape.
Step 7: Close to serving time, split the puffs most of the way through and pipe in the cream. Dust with icing sugar and scatter 2 tbsp pistachios over the top.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 15 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does nan-e khamei take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 45 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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