Paris Brest
Recipe by: Grace Stevens
See more of Grace’s creations: www.gracestevens.co.za
Choux Pastry
250ml water
130g butter
10ml castor sugar
250ml flour
2ml salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
egg wash (an egg beaten with a little milk)
flaked almonds
- Place the water, sugar, salt and butter in a medium saucepan. Heat over a medium heat until the butter melts. Do not boil.
- Remove from the heat and add the flour. Mix well until well combined.
- Return to the heat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture comes away from the sides of the saucepan.
- Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC
- Prepare two baking trays with baking paper or a silicone mat
- Beat the eggs, including the yolk.
- Beat a third of the egg into the flour mixture, it will separate, continue until well combined and smooth.
- Repeat with rest of egg, but only add enough to form a smooth, loose mixture that will hold its shape. You may not need to add all the egg.
- Place the pastry into a piping bag with a French star nozzle.
- Pipe rings of pastry onto a prepared baking tray.
- Brush with egg wash and sprinkle flaked almonds onto the top of each ring.
- Splash a little water on the baking tray before placing the tray in the oven, the steam will help to crisp up the pastries. I also put a small bowl of water on the lower shelf of the oven while I’m heating up the oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 200ºC and then turn down the oven to 180ºC for another 15 minutes. Turn off the oven.
- Remove the pastries from the oven, cut each in half like a bagel and return to the oven to cool.
Praline
100g castor sugar
50g blanched hazelnuts
50ml water
- Place water and sugar into a medium saucepan. Place over a medium heat.
- Stir until all the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear. You may have to remove the saucepan from the heat a few times until all the sugar is dissolved. You don’t want the sugar to boil until the liquid is clear.
- Add the hazelnuts and boil until the sugar turns a good amber colour. This may take 4 or 5 minutes.
- Immediately pour the sugar and hazelnuts onto a silicon mat or a greased baking tray.
- Allow to cool.
- Break up the sugar into smaller pieces and place in a food processor. Blitz until you get fine crumbs. Don’t do it too long, or you will get a paste.
- Set aside some crumbs
- Continue to blitz the remainder of the praline until a paste forms.
Hazelnut Mousseline
250ml milk
25g butter
32g castor sugar
2ml vanilla extract
10g corn starch
10g cake flour
32 g castor sugar
60g egg yolk
- In a saucepan, combine ¾ cup of the milk, the butter, vanilla and 32g castor sugar, place over a medium heat.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the corn starch, flour and 32g castor sugar with the eggs. Add remaining milk and stir well.
- When the milk comes to a boil, remove from heat. Whisk half of the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Strain the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
- Return the custard to medium heat and stir until it thickens.
- Place in a cling film lined dish and cover with another piece of cling film. Allow to cool in the freezer or the fridge.
- When your custard is very cold. Place it into a mixing bowl with a balloon whisk attachment.
- Whisk on high for 30secs.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whisk again for 30 seconds.
- Add 90g of soft butter and 80g of praline and whisk for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whisk on high for another minute until you get a light emulsion.
