Paris Brest is a classic French pastry enjoyed for over a century. It is a light, airy choux pastry filled with a creamy custard centre and topped with caramelized sugar. This delicious treat has become popular worldwide, but its origin remains in the city of its namesake: Paris, France.
Brief History and Origin
The origin of Paris Brest can be traced back to the 1890s when Louis Durand, a pastry chef from Maisons-Laffitte in France, created it. The original recipe for this delicious dessert was inspired by the wheel of a bicycle, which was popular then. The name “Paris Brest” was derived from two famous cycling events—the Paris-Roubaix race and the Tour de France—which were held in honour of the French capital city.
Paris Brest – The Recipe
- Preparation Time: 2 hr
- Cooking Time: 37 mins
- Total time: 2 hr 37 mins
- Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 120g plain flour
- 5 eggs
- 60ml milk
- 175ml water
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter softened
- 25g sliced almonds
- 625ml pastry cream
- 250ml chilled heavy cream
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the oven and preheat it to 220 degrees C and place a pan filled with 3 cups of water in the bottom of the oven to produce steam.
- Also, prepare a baking sheet by lightly greasing it with shortening and then dust with flour; draw a 10″ diameter circle using a toothpick and set it aside.
- Crack 4 eggs in a small bowl and whisk using a fork; set aside.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add salt, butter, water and milk; when about to boil, add flour and mix until a paste. Continue stirring cooking for 40 seconds; remove heat and transfer the paste to a bowl; leave to cool for 4 minutes.
- Start whisking the paste with an electric mixer at low speed and gradually add beaten eggs until all the eggs are fully incorporated; transfer to a piping bag fixed with ½” round tip.
- Pipe the batter along the 10” diameter ring drawn earlier on the baking sheet. Pipe another ring in the inside of 10” diameter ring, then pipe the third ring on top of two rings. Lightly apply the remaining 1 beaten egg on the rings and gently press the almonds into the paste.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 190 degrees C and bake for another 12 minutes or until brown. Remove from the oven and cut the top half of the puff using a long serrated knife; take off any raw bits of dough.
- Then replace the top and place in the oven again; bake for 5 minutes until crisp; take off from oven and place on the wire rack until cool.
- In a bowl, add pastry cream and whip until consistent. Add vanilla and heavy cream in another bowl, and whisk using an electric mixer until soft peaks appear. Add confectioners’ sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves.
- Add the pastry cream and gently fold until combined; transfer to the piping bag fixed with a star tip. Remove the top of the pastry, pipe the cream mixture and replace the top. Sprinkle additional sugar on top and serve.
Popular variations
Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:
- Pistachio Paris Brest: Understanding the traditional flavours, this recipe is made with pistachio paste and many chopped pistachios. The Choux pastry has delicious pistachio paste with softness within the dough.
- Paris Brest with chocolate mousseline and orange: It has vanilla base choux pastry decorated with chopped almonds and praline cream. Chocolate Mousseline has a chocolate bliss, and the bittersweet orange jam on top makes it even more delicious.
- Chocolate praline Paris Brest: This delicacies dish has 6 elements and is so beautiful as well. It has choux pastry with cocoa powder, Crème praline, hazelnut caramel, Chocolate cremeux, croustillant and praline crunch. All these elements make a complex yet delicious dessert.
- Vegan Paris Brest: The Paris Brest is not restricted to us only; now, you can make it vegan. This Paris-Brest recipe has a praliné pastry cream recipe and uses Silk heavy whipping cream made with coconut.
- Strawberry Pistachio Paris Brest: It has nuttiness from the pistachio cream and fresh tartness with strawberries on the top. It was savoury, soft, and delicious.
