Paris-Brest
Paris–Brest is a choux ring filled with nut cream. This home version uses prepared hazelnut praline mixed into a pastry-cream buttercream. Slice the ring only after it has cooled completely.
Additional 3 h — cooling and chilling
How to make it
Completed 0 of 8 steps
Cook the custard base
Heat 500 ml milk with vanilla. Mix yolks with 80 g sugar and starch, then gradually add hot milk. Return to heat and cook for 1 minute after the first bubbles, stirring continuously.
Chill the custard
Add 40 g butter to the hot custard, transfer to a wide bowl and cover film-to-surface. Cool quickly over a water bath and refrigerate for 2 hours. Soften remaining 120 g butter for the cream in advance.
Make the choux paste
Boil remaining 125 ml milk with water, 90 g butter, 20 g sugar and salt. Add flour, stir quickly and dry the ball over low heat for 2–3 minutes. Cool in a bowl for 5 minutes.
Add the eggs
Add lightly mixed eggs in portions to make shiny, smooth paste that falls slowly from a spatula. Add the last portion carefully. Heat the oven to 200 °C and draw a 22 cm circle on the reverse of parchment.
Pipe the ring
Pipe two touching rings along the template, then a third over the join. Scatter with flaked almonds. Bake for 15 minutes at 200 °C, then 25–30 minutes at 180 °C. Keep the door closed for the first 30 minutes.
Dry and cool
The ring should be firm, golden and dry at the sides. Pierce the side to release steam, leave in the switched-off oven with the door ajar for 5 minutes, then cool completely on a rack.
Whip the nut cream
Stir chilled pastry cream smooth and let warm to cool room temperature. Beat 120 g soft butter, then add custard and praline in portions. Keep ingredients at similar temperatures to avoid splitting.
Assemble the dessert
Split the ring horizontally with a sharp serrated knife. Pipe cream onto the bottom, replace the top and chill for 1 hour. Lightly dust with the listed icing sugar before serving. No berries or chocolate glaze are used.
Little hint
Do not slice a hot ring: the shell crushes and filling melts. A stable pastry-cream buttercream depends on matching the butter and custard temperatures as well as beating correctly.
Frequently asked questions
What should I watch out for when cooking?
Do not slice a hot ring: the shell crushes and filling melts. A stable pastry-cream buttercream depends on matching the butter and custard temperatures as well as beating correctly.
How should I prepare the ingredients?
Heat 500 ml milk with vanilla. Mix yolks with 80 g sugar and starch, then gradually add hot milk. Return to heat and cook for 1 minute after the first bubbles, stirring continuously.
