Paris-Brest praline
How to make homemade hazelnut praline?
- 125 g of water
- 50g butter
- 62.5 g flour
- 2 eggs
- pearl sugar
- slivered almonds
- 250g hazelnuts
- 150g granulated sugar
- 40 g water
- 500g whole milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 whole egg
- 2 vanilla pods
- 100g granulated sugar
- 60 g cornstarch
- 300g butter
- 200g praline or all praline
- 1 pinch fleur de sel
- To make hazelnut praline: Preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F). Place your whole hazelnuts, skins on, on a baking sheet. Once they are roasted, put them in a sieve or colander and rub them on the rack to remove their skins. Now we'll make the praline coating. To do this, bring 40g of water and 150g of granulated sugar to a boil. As soon as the syrup reaches 121°C (250°F), add your hazelnuts and remove the pan from the heat. Stir them until they have a sandy texture, then return everything to the heat and let it caramelize (not too dark, but still, while stirring continuously). Once the desired caramelization is achieved, pour the mixture onto a sheet of parchment paper and let it cool. Then, using a food processor, grind the hazelnuts until you obtain a paste. There you have it, your praline is ready.
- Choux Pastry: Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F). In a saucepan, combine the water, salt, and butter cut into small pieces. Once the butter has melted and is boiling, add the flour all at once and stir vigorously. Cook for a few moments; this is called drying out the dough. Then, transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and incorporate the eggs. Your choux pastry is now ready. We'll transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a fluted nozzle to pipe and bake. Using a circle or other round object drawn on a sheet of parchment paper, turn the paper over to avoid ink staining the choux pastry. Pipe a circle of choux pastry without stopping. Then, inside this circle, pipe another circle touching the first. Next, pipe a third circle of choux pastry, this time in the middle of the two adjacent circles. Sprinkle some flaked almonds and a little pearl sugar on top, then bake at 180°C (350°F) for at least 45 minutes, but keep an eye on it. Afterwards, don't open the oven; turn it off and let the choux pastry wreath dry.
- Here is the baked wreath!
- Hazelnut Praline Mousseline Cream: In a saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla to a boil. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and whole egg with the sugar until pale, then whisk in the cornstarch. Once the milk has boiled, pour it over the egg mixture, stir well, and return to the heat to cook and thicken, like a pastry cream. Pastry cream is cooked when it starts to swell and pop like a volcano… at which point it can be removed from the heat.
- Next, add half of your hot butter, mix well to incorporate it completely, then cover with cling film, pressing it directly onto the surface. We'll add the praline once it's completely cold!
- Assembling your Paris-Brest: Cut your crown with a bread knife and be very careful as it is fragile... Then have fun filling it with the piping tip of your choice!
- And since I had some choux pastry left over, I made two individual ones!
Roast the whole hazelnuts in the oven at 170°C (340°F), then rub them in a sieve to remove the skins. Prepare a syrup by heating the water and sugar to 121°C (250°F). Add the hazelnuts to the syrup and cook off the heat until they begin to coat them, then return the mixture to the heat to caramelize. Let it cool on parchment paper before grinding it in a food processor until you obtain a praline paste.
How to successfully make and shape a choux pastry crown?
Boil the water with the salt and butter, then add the flour all at once and stir vigorously to dry out the dough before incorporating the eggs. Using a piping bag fitted with a fluted nozzle, pipe a first circle of dough onto parchment paper, place a second circle inside it, then pipe a third circle in the middle of the first two. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and pearl sugar, then bake at 180°C (350°F) for 45 minutes before leaving the wreath to dry in the turned-off oven.
How to make mousseline cream and assemble the Paris-Brest?
Whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, and sugar until pale and creamy. Add the cornstarch, then gradually pour in the boiling vanilla-infused milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened like pastry cream. While still hot, whisk in half the butter. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and stir in the homemade praline once the cream is completely cool. Finally, slice the cooled cake in half horizontally using a bread knife and pipe the cream into the cake using a piping bag.
