A classic of French pastry making, Paris Brest is nothing more than a ring of puff pastry filled with excellent custards and cream. There are many different versions (the original includes an elaborate praline cream) and here we propose a version with Chantilly cream and cream and some berries. Happy Paris Brest for everyone!
Ingredients
Cream puff dough
- 250ml of water
- 50 g of butter
- 120g low protein flour
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 egg and a little milk for brushing
- almond flakes
Stuffing
Chantilly cream
- 6 egg yolks
- 300 g of sugar
- 90 g of flour
- Lemon peel
- 500 ml of milk
- 250 ml fresh whipped cream
Cream and Raspberries
- 250 ml of fresh whipped cream
- 2-3 tablespoons of icing sugar
- 125 g of raspberries
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
Put the water, the butter in pieces, the spoonful of sugar, the salt in a non-stick saucepan with a thick bottom. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat and pour in the sifted flour all together. Mix quickly, put back on the heat and let the mixture dry (the paste is not sticky and a film appears on the bottom of the saucepan).
Pour into a bowl and wait until it cools down and no more steam rises (you can also do this in the planetary mixer by turning it at low speed with the leaf hook).
Beat the eggs quickly with a fork (or add the eggs one by one) and add them – LITTLE AT A TIME – to the mixture and mix very well (you must obtain a homogeneous mixture each time) before adding more egg mixture.
If you have a stand mixer, use it for this step to mix the eggs and dough very well. When you have almost reached the end, add the remaining eggs by the spoonful (if the dough is very compact it may be necessary to add an extra egg). The dough is ready when pulling up the spoon creates a heavy ribbon that flows slowly (but it flows).
Place the mixture in a large piping bag, with a smooth or ribbed nozzle 1.5-2 cm in diameter (if you don’t have one you can use a spoon)
Cover a large baking tray with baking paper, place a 20-22 cm circle of tart and draw the diameter with a pen. Turn the baking paper over onto the baking tray with the “drawn” side facing down. With the piping bag, create a strip of dough inside the drawn circle (following the drawing), make a second circle inside the first and finally place a circle above the first two.
Brush with the eggs beaten with milk and sprinkle with slices of almonds and leave to air dry for 20 minutes.
Heat the oven to 200°C. Bake at 200°C for about 30 minutes (you will see that the ring will swell), then lower the temperature to 180°C and cook for another 40-45 minutes with the oven closed, without ever opening it. Only when you see that the ring is well colored and crunchy (remember, this point is fundamental) turn off the oven and leave the ring inside for another 1 hour with the door ajar (insert a wooden ladle into the opening). Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool and dry (you can also fill it the next day).
In the meantime, prepare the Chantilly cream: prepare the cream with 6 eggs, using the recipe found in another of our recipes:
Cover the cream with cling film, making it adhere well to the surface, let the cream cool well and place it in the refrigerator to rest for 3 hours. Whip 250g of cream and, when the custard is very cold, add it delicately, mixing from top to bottom. Place in the fridge to rest.
Whip the other 250 ml of cream and add 2-3 tablespoons of icing sugar, place in a piping bag with a ribbed nozzle and keep in the refrigerator. Wash the raspberries and dry them well and delicately, pass them in granulated sugar.
Cut the ring with a serrated bread knife by removing the top cap.
Fill with Chantilly cream and add here and there a few raspberries dipped in sugar. Finally decorate with tufts of slightly sweetened cream.
Cover with the hat and dust with icing sugar. Store in a cool place but not in the fridge.
And here’s your beautiful and delicious Paris Brest!
