It is a matter of cuisson. At Le Cordon Bleu, after every practical class chefs used to grade our work, food. And cuisson was the first thing they mentioned. Whenever a chef says “cuisson est parfait” (It is perfectly baked) I was so happy.
Pate-a-choux (choux pastry) is the base for this Paris-Brest cake. And pate-a-choux is all about cuisson.
Normally creme patisserie with praline is used for Paris-Brest but I used whipping cream in this recipe because I love lighter creme inside.
The name of this cake Paris-Brest came from the bicycle race in France. My Paris-Brest is for Valentine’s Day, so it’s heart shaped but the original version is round just like the tyre of a bike.
It’s an easy recipe. Let’s start!
Easy Valentine Paris-Brest Recipe
8 large hearts of Valentine Paris-Brest
Ingredients
For pate-a-choux (choux pastry):
- 1 cup all purpose flour (150 g)
- 2 teaspoon granulated white sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (85 g)
- 1 cup water (240 ml)
- 4 large eggs
- Sliced almonds
For whipping cream:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (240 ml)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- Coloring of your choice (I chose rose in this recipe)
To serve:
- Confectioners’ sugar
Directions
Make Choux
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Put butter, water, salt, sugar in the sauce pan. Put it on medium heat until it lightly boils. Off the heat and pour the flour in the sauce pan and mix quickly with wooden spatula until homogeneous. Back to the heat, keep stirring until the dough starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Pour the dough in a mixing bowl and add the eggs one by one and mix thoroughly until it becomes creamy.
2. Place the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round pastry tip. Pipe the batter out onto the parchment paper lined pan, making heart shapes. Pipe a second ring on top of the heart. Continue piping. Brush lightly with washed egg and sprinkle sliced almonds on the top.
3. Bake at 425 degrees F (or 220 degrees C) for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F (190 C) and bake about 10 minutes more until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Whipping Cream
For the filling, whisk the whipping cream until soft peaks. Add in sugar and beat for another 3 minutes.
Assembly
Put the cream into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Slice the heart-shaped choux horizontally and pipe the cream on top of bottom choux pastry and then cover the other half on it. Dust with icing sugar.
