Paris-Brest

Classic Paris-Brest with crisp choux, silky praline mousseline cream and almonds. This beautiful French pastry is easier than it looks.

Components can be made in advance and assembled on the day of serving. If doing this, make sure to re-crisp the choux ring in the oven and let it cool again before filling.

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Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 40

Resting and chilling time: 2

Total Time: 3 40

Servings: -8 serves

Calories: 1011kcal

Equipment

heavy based medium saucepan
Stand mixer or electric handheld mixer helpful but not essential
Large (1 ½cm) and small (1cm) French star piping tip
Piping bags
Large baking sheet
Silicone baking mat or baking paper

For best results, weigh ingredients with a kitchen scale.

Ingredients

CHOUX PASTRY SHELL

160 ml water (⅔ cup)
80 ml whole milk (⅓ cup)
115 g unsalted butter (4oz / 1 stick)
2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
130 g bread flour (1 cup, spooned and levelled/~4 ½oz)
200-230 g eggs (7-8oz / 4-5 large eggs, see notes)

TOPPING

2 tablespoons slivered almonds or flaked almonds
1 tablespoon Pearl sugar

PRALINE MOUSSELINE CREAM

500 whole milk room temp, (2 cups)
100 g white granulated sugar or caster sugar (½ cup)
55 g cornflour (US cornstarch)
4 egg yolks from large eggs room temp
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
pinch salt
300 g unsalted butter softened
210 g hazelnut praline paste (¾ cup)

Instructions

CHOUX PASTRY (can be made the day before): Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Line a large baking sheet with perforated baking mats (recommended) or Silpats, baking paper/parchment paper.
MAKE THE PANADE:
Combine the water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a saucepan and heat over medium, stirring to melt the butter, then allow it to bubble.
Once you see the first bubbles, turn off the heat. Sift in the flour, then stir it in with the spatula until fully combined.
Place the pan over low heat and cook for 2 minutes, moving constantly. Fold it over itself, then press it out across the pan and repeat for 2 minutes.
COOL THE PANADE:
If using a stand mixer, transfer the dough to the mixer with a paddle attachment and beat on low for 2 minutes.
If making by hand: Press the dough out flat over the base of the pan and leave it to cool for 5-10 minutes until it's no longer hot (warm is fine).
ADD EGGS:
Lightly beat 4 eggs together in a jug.
Add a quarter of the eggs to the panade with one of these 3 methods;
In the stand mixer with paddle attachment and mix on low.
Beat by hand, directly in the saucepan with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon.
Use a handheld mixer on low.
Continue by adding another quarter of the eggs, beating until fully incorporated. Repeat with the third quarter of eggs.
With the last quarter of the eggs, add them a little at a time until you have a smooth, shiny dough. It should reluctantly fall from the spoon, leaving a "V" shape hanging from it. It should be quite soft, not thick or dry-looking.
To prepare your piping bags, place a smaller (1cm) piping tip into one bag and a 1 ½cm / ~½inch tip in a second bag. Fill the bag with the larger tip with the choux pastry, then insert that bag into the piping bag with the smaller tip.
I recommend letting the dough rest for 30 minutes at this point. The dough will thicken slightly as it rests making it less likely to spread.
PIPE THE PARIS BREST (can be made the day before):
Place two 15cm/6inch bowls or plates upside down on your lined baking sheet and dust icing sugar over the top. Take the plates away to reveal your circular templates.
This recipe makes two choux rings but only enough filling for one. The second choux ring can be frozen ready for another time, or double up on the filling to serve up two.
Pipe a ring of dough around the inside of each sugar ring. Follow with a second ring around each of those, touching. You should have two circles, two rings thick now.
Remove the outer bag and tip so you are left with the bag full of choux pastry with the large tip. Pipe a third ring on top of each circle, centred between the first two thinner rings.
Sprinkle over the chopped almonds and pearl sugar then bake for 35-40 minutes until crisp and golden brown all over.
Do not open the oven before 25 minutes.
Once cool, your Paris Brest is ready to be filled, but is best filled within an hour or two of serving. If you made your pastry ring in advance, re-crisp it in an oven preheated to 180C/350F for 8-10 minutes, then let it cool again before filling.
MAKE THE PASTRY CREAM (can be made 1-2 days ahead and kept chilled):
In a heavy based, medium saucepan, over medium heat, heat 1 ¼ cups of the milk and all the sugar, stirring to dissolve until it starts steaming point.
Add the cornflour, eggs and remaining ¼ cup of milk to a medium mixing bowl. Whisk, using a balloon whisk until smooth and combined.
While gently whisking, very slowly drizzle the hot milk into the eggs. Don’t pour it too quickly or you’ll cook the eggs.
Return the custard mixture to the pan.
Cook over medium heat, gently stirring with a whisk the entire time until it starts to thicken and bubble.
As soon as you see the first bubbles appear, continue cooking and stirring for a full minute to activate the cornflour.
Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
Pour the pastry cream into a bowl or container, then press plastic wrap to the surface - this will stop it from forming a skin. Chill until completely cold.
TURN IT INTO PRALINE MOUSSELINE CREAM:
Once the pastry cream has set, remove it from the fridge and let it return to room temperature.
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the butter until it’s pale and creamy.
Add the pastry cream one spoonful at a time, beating just until each is combined.
Finally, add the praline paste and beat until just combined.
ASSEMBLY (as close to serving as you can manage):
Use a serrated knife, carefully cut the choux pastry ring in half horizontally (so you have two rings).
Drizzle an extra tablespoon of hazelnut praline paste, if you have it, around the inside of the base ring (optional).
Transfer your mousseline cream to a piping bag with a large open star tip and pipe swirls into the pastry ring all the way around, using up all the mousseline cream (it's supposed to be a thick layer of filling).
Sit the top piece over the cream then dust lightly with icing sugar.
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Notes

How many eggs? With eclairs, the texture is best judged by eye, not by quantity of eggs. Add the eggs until the dough is at the right texture. For me, it's just over 4 eggs but the amount you require will be determined by many variables - egg size, amount of moisture cooked out of panade, protein content of flour and even humidity in the air.
The Paris-Brest choux ring can be made 3-4 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container.
Re-crisp the choux ring before assembling, if required, in a 180C/350F oven for 10-15 minutes. They are only crispy straight from the oven and will begin to gradually soften. Don't fill until they're cool.
The pastry cream will soften the pastry so it's best filled as close to serving as possible.
This recipe makes two paris brest rings but only enough filling to fill one. One choux ring can be frozen for another time or make a double batch of filling.

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