Hi, I am Eugenie. Do you like Laduree pastries? Then this is for you. Today I’m making Religieuse, decorated cream puffs, choux pastry.

Religieuse Recipe – Decorated Cream Puffs

for 6-8 religieuses

Ingredients

Choux dough

• ¼ cup unsalted butter (1 half stick; 57 g)
• ½ cup water (120 ml)
• ½ teaspoon salt (2.5 g)
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (75 g)
• 2 eggs

Le craquelin

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (28g)
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons light brown sugar (34g)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (32g)

Buttercream

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (half stick; 56 g)
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar (94 g)
• 2 teaspoons whole milk (10 ml)
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, optional

Pastry cream

• 6 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (31g)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch (35g)
• 2 ½ cups whole milk (600ml)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or 1 gousse de vanille

For basic icing:

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, optional

Directions

First, make choux au craquelin. Last week I uploaded this crunchy cream puff video.
You will need two different sizes: small and large.

When the choux are completely cooled, make a hole with a small knife on the bottom. And pipe pastry cream in the choux buns. You can learn how to make pastry cream in the yesterday’s video.

Pipe until the cream starts to come out of the hole. Fill both small and large choux buns.
Then make icing with 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk. Just whisk until homogenous. And add a hint of food color of your choice. I’m using . This is simple icing without raw egg white. It’s okay now.

Now dip the choux buns in the icing. Make sure the top is smoothly covered. Before the icing gets dry, place the small buns on top of large choux. Then decorate with simple buttercream with a small pointed star pastry tip. Today I’m using a Wilton 14. I have buttercream frosting recipe in a separate video. This is buttercream without raw egg yolks. This is “religieuse”, religious in English because of these flames. It is like the beautiful *flamboyant style of late Gothic church architecture.

Then dip a small chocolate ball in the icing and place on top of the religieuse.

Voila! Religieuse. Beautiful, aren’t they? It takes time but definitely it is worth.

Bon appetit.

I love vanilla flavored pastry cream in it but remember pastry cream is the best with fresh strawberries. Yum.

Thank you for watching. Bye!

Note

* I love architecture and late Gothic Saint Severin church in Paris. So flamboyant style about this choux pastry was my original thought. But according to French culinary history, it’s religieuse simply because it looks like nuns’ dress.

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