Messina Lulù with whipped cream and chocolate
Traditional recipe and Thermomix.
These delicious “mushrooms” made from choux pastry are filled with whipped cream or chocolate pastry cream.
They are Messina’s answer to the Neapolitan baked zeppole. They are made in small baba cups, or alternatively in cupcake molds.
They are then dusted with powdered sugar for the white-filled ones, and with unsweetened cocoa powder for those with the chocolate filling.
I give the quantities to make 3 Lulù with cream and 3 Lulù with chocolate — if you want to double either, adjust accordingly.
We will bake our Lulù in the oven and also cook them in an air fryer.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air Frying
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 422.78 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 40.97 (g) of which sugars 27.79 (g)
- Proteins 8.55 (g)
- Fat 27.32 (g) of which saturated 7.56 (g)of which unsaturated 4.93 (g)
- Fibers 3.34 (g)
- Sodium 151.11 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 150 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
Messina Lulù with whipped cream and chocolate
- 1/2 cup water ((about 120 g))
- 4 tbsp butter ((about 60 g / ~2.1 oz))
- 1/2 + 1 tbsp cup all-purpose flour ((about 70 g / ~2.5 oz))
- 2 eggs (medium, at room temperature)
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 1/4 cups pastry cream ((chocolate — see recipe, about 300 g / ~10.6 oz))
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (35% fat) ((about 250 g / ~8.5 fl oz))
- 5/8 cup vanilla powdered sugar ((about 75 g / ~2.6 oz))
- to taste powdered sugar
- to taste unsweetened cocoa powder
Messina Lulù with whipped cream and chocolate
Tools
What we need to make them
- 2 Pots
- 2 Piping bags
- 6 Baba cups for baba
- 1 Hand mixer or Thermomix
- 2 Bowls
Steps
Messina Lulù with whipped cream and chocolate
Let’s start by preparing the choux pastry: put the water, butter and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil,
Add all the flour at once, reduce the heat and
stir vigorously
You will obtain a smooth, creamy dough. Let it cool.
At this point it’s important to add the eggs one at a time — do not add the next egg before the previous one is well mixed and incorporated. Mix well until you get a smooth cream.
Meanwhile, spray the inside of the baba cups or cupcake molds with cooking spray. Fill the molds with the prepared dough up to 3/4 of their capacity.
It is important not to overfill because during cooking the dough puffs up like a mushroom and if very full it could overflow and burn.
Place in a preheated oven at 392°F for 25 minutes, then lower to 356°F for another 5 minutes. Remove and let cool.
For air fryer cooking
Place the basket in the air fryer and cook in two stages: first at 356°F for 10 minutes, then at 392°F for another 10 minutes
Put the water, butter, salt and sugar into the Thermomix bowl, cook with the basket in place of the measuring cup: 5 min. / 212°F / speed 1.
Add the all-purpose flour and mix: 20 sec. / speed 4. Remove the bowl from its housing and let the contents cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 392°F and spray the molds you will use, then set aside.
Place the bowl on the unit and, with the blades running at speed 5, add the eggs one at a time through the lid opening.
After adding the last egg, mix again: 30 sec. / speed 5.
Put the resulting mixture into the baba cups or cupcake molds, filling them up to 3/4 of their capacity.
It is important not to overfill because during cooking the dough puffs up like a mushroom and if very full it could overflow and burn.
Place in a preheated oven at 392°F for 25 minutes then lower to 356°F for another 5 minutes. Remove and let cool
For air fryer cooking
Place the basket in the air fryer and cook in two stages: first at 356°F for 10 minutes, then at 392°F for another 10 minutes
For the whipped cream, place it in the freezer 20 minutes beforehand together with the bowl you’ll use to whip it.
Once it’s nice and cold, if whipping with a hand mixer combine the cream, sugar and vanilla powder and whip until stiff peaks form.
If using the Thermomix, insert the whisk and whip at speed 3, 5 checking through the lid opening until it is sufficiently whipped. Be careful not to overwhip or it will turn into butter.
Now that all preparations are ready, you need 2 piping bags with a wide smooth tip; put the whipped cream in one and the chocolate cream in the other.
Using a small knife, make a hole in the base of the Lulù and insert the piping bag tip, then fill the Lulù completely.
Now dust those filled with cream with powdered sugar and those filled with chocolate with cocoa.
Serve and enjoy.
Storage
Messina Lulù with whipped cream and chocolate can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. I do not recommend freezing because the shells would soften.
