classics/ Cream/ dessert/ enriched dough/ French/ pastry

Paris-Brest | 12 Days of Holiday Baking

This is the last post of the 12 days of holiday baking series, ending what seems like a long marathon race. Some of the recipes are quite easy, e.g. the baked brie. Some are more complicated. The series takes on the character and the feel of a food journey, with its ups and downs, as well as a study of contrast in holiday traditions. In the end, I can’t think of anything more iconic than the Paris-Brest to remember the trip for. There is nothing complicated about making the Paris-Brest. (Choux dough and pastry cream are basics for bakers.) However, there are a lot of steps to get through which require endurance and stamina.

Paris-Brest is invented in 1910 by the pastry chef Louis Durand. It was named for a bike race that runs between Paris and the port city of Brest, in northwest France. The pastry has the shape of bike wheel, with a ring of pâte à choux, split horizontally and filled with pastry cream.

Baking the Paris-Brest is problematic from the start since I’m not baking from my home kitchen. Adjusting to a different set of equipment (or the lack of it), and working with unfamiliar ovens and at higher altitude are challenging. All in all, I come away with a list of helpful tips and reminder to review before baking the Paris-Brest. That includes making and shaping the choux dough, baking the pâtisserie, and shortcuts for the creme fillings.

Pâte à Choux dough — Since the Paris-Brest dough is piped onto sheet pans, it needs extra body to hold up a big wheel. Beware that most cream puff recipes may not be stiff enough. I use Thomas Keller’s recipe for “Pâte à Choux for eclairs” in his book Bouchon Bakery. It uses all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, water, unsalted butter, salt and eggs. Just to be on the safe side, I put in one less egg last minute (4 instead of 5 eggs). The idea is to err on side of a stiffer dough. The pitfall for not doing so is that the dough spreads sideway, instead of upward, and you don’t get the intended wheel shape. To ensure that the dough puffs up and hollows out, having the right amount of eggs is important.

How can you tell that the dough is ready?

The way to test for the right hydration level: the final dough should be thick enough to hold its shape but loose enough that it leaves a thin V-shaped trails as it falls off the end of the paddle or spoon.

If you have to, another quick fix may be to pipe smaller rounds in the shape of a traditional cream puff.

Shape the ring — Scape the batter into a large pastry bag. Twist or seal the bag to close, squeeze out as much air as possible. The goal is to pipe a thick and even ring no bigger than a 9-inch diameter. You may find Claire Saffitz’s youtube video helpful to familiarize with the whole process and each of the steps in making the Paris-Brest.

If piping is not your thing, consider using a doughnut pan if you have one of those.

Bake the ring — The higher initial temperature enhances the oven spring necessary for the ring to take shape. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Transfer the baking sheet to the upper and lower racks and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Bake until the ring turns golden brown. Also, allow the ring to cool inside the oven with the heat turned off and the door ajar for an hour.

Variations on the pastry cream — Pastry cream is very thick. A quick way to lighten it is to add whipped cream. Test for consistency by using a small plastic sandwich bag with one of the corners cut off and start piping a mound of cream on a plate. The cream should be able to hold its form when piped.

I’ve also added Nutella, tahini, citrus curd or jam to the pastry cream to great effect. It’s a simple way to impart flavor and add richness without extra work.

What’s my New Year’s Resolution for 2023?

I observe athletes and marathon runners moving with patience and perseverance, and I see something very powerful. Their patience empowers their perseverance, strengthened their resolve and kept them focused on the journey ahead. Patient people don’t get distracted, and they don’t get discouraged. More than anything, I want to practice patience with mindfulness.

Print Recipe

Paris Brest & Pâte à Choux for Eclairs | New York Times & Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery

Ingredients

FOR THE PASTRY CREAM:
1½ cups/ 360 milliliters whole milk
Seeds scraped from ½ vanilla bean or 1½ teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1/4 cup/ 50 grams granulated sugar
¼ cup/ 30 grams cornstarch
5 large egg yolks
6 tablespoons/ 85 grams unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled
FOR THE PÂTE À CHOUX:
1 1/4 cups/ 175 grams all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons/ 33 grams granulated sugar
240 grams/ 1 cup water
8 tablespoons/ 120 grams unsalted butter/ 4.2 ounces, cut into pieces, at room temperature
3/4 + 1/8 teaspoons kosher salt/ 2.5 grams (such as Diamond Crystal)
4 to 5 large eggs, slightly beaten
hazelnuts or almond slices, for sprinkling over the ring, optional
confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling

Instructions

MAKE THE PASTRY CREAM: Have a clean medium bowl ready. Combine the milk, vanilla seeds or paste, and salt in a small, heavy saucepan (if using vanilla extract, you’ll add it later). Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking once or twice, then remove from the heat.

Combine the cornstarch and ¼ cup granulated sugar in a separate medium bowl and whisk to combine, then add the yolks and whisk vigorously until the mixture is very pale, light in texture and thick, about 2 minutes. (It will be very thick at first but will thin out as you work it.)

Whisking the yolk mixture constantly, slowly stream about half of the hot milk mixture into the bowl. Then, whisking constantly, stream the yolk mixture back into the remaining milk mixture in the saucepan. Set the saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the foam has subsided and the pastry cream is thick like pudding and holds the marks of the whisk, about 2 minutes. Stop whisking for several seconds and check for slow bubbling beneath the surface, an indication that the pastry cream is at a boil. When you see bubbling, immediately remove the saucepan from the heat and scrape into the reserved bowl. (If you don’t see bubbling, continue whisking vigorously and pause to check every 20 seconds or so.) Whisk the chilled butter into the hot pastry cream a few pieces at a time until smooth. (If using vanilla extract, whisk it in.) Press a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the pastry cream and refrigerate until it’s cold, at least 4 hours.

COOK THE DOUGH FOR THE PÂTE À CHOUX: In a small saucepan, combine the water, butter, granulated sugar, salt and bring the mixture to a lively simmer over medium-low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon to melt the butter. Once you see active bubbling across the surface, add the flour all at once, off the heat, and stir slowly to incorporate. Then stir more vigorously to bring together a soft dough back on the stovetop. (A film will also form along the sides and bottom of the saucepan.) Continue to cook the dough over medium-low heat, using the spoon to smack it aggressively against the sides of the saucepan, until it’s shiny and holds together in a firm ball, 3 to 4 minutes. You want to make sure the dough has a chance to dry out and the flour loses its raw taste.

BEAT IN THE EGGS: Scrape the dough into a medium bowl and set aside for about a minute to cool, stirring once or twice to help release steam. Add a couple of tablespoons of beaten eggs to the bowl with the dough and mix with the wooden spoon until the dough absorbs the egg and the mixture is thick but smooth. (The dough will lose its cohesiveness when you add the egg but will come back together with a bit of mixing.) Beat in the remaining eggs a couple of tablespoons at a time, waiting until the dough smooths out before adding more, until you’ve added all but about 1 egg. Set aside the remaining egg for brushing over the choux. The dough will become glossier and looser after each addition. Take a look at the consistency — it should be thick, smooth and glossy, and when you let it fall off the spoon it should leave a v-shaped trail. (If it seems very thick, dribble in a little more beaten egg and stir, but make sure to leave about 2 tablespoons egg for brushing the choux.) Scrape the dough into a large pastry bag or resealable plastic bag. Twist or seal the bag to close, squeezing out as much air as possible, then set aside at room temperature to allow the dough to set up for 15 to 20 minutes. Snip a 1-inch-wide opening in the tip of the bag.

PIPE THE PÂTE À CHOUX: Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Turn over a sheet pan and line the turned-up side with a piece of parchment paper. Trace a 9-inch circle (a smaller ring will puff more, while a larger one will lay flatter; use a dinner plate or cake pan as your guide) onto the parchment paper with a permanent marker, then turn the parchment over (dab a bit of the pâte à choux in the four corners of the pan underneath the parchment so it doesn’t slide around). Applying even pressure to the bag, pipe a ring of choux around the inside of the traced circle, overlapping the dough slightly where the ends meet. Pipe a second ring of dough inside the first so the two are touching, but starting and ending at a different point. Using all of the remaining dough, pipe a third ring over top of the first two, nestling it in between them and starting and ending at a third point. If you have any remaining pâte à choux, pipe it along the circle to fill in any thinner spots. Using a gentle scraping motion, drag the tines of a fork all along the dough to lightly score the surface and help blend the rings together (this will help it puff more evenly). Brush the entire surface of the dough with the reserved beaten egg, Then sprinkle the hazelnuts or almond evenly over top, optional.

BAKE AND COOL: Place the baking sheet with the Paris-Brest in the oven Bake the ring and reduce the oven temperature to 375*F. Continue to bake until it’s puffed and deep golden brown, about 45 to 55 minutes. Avoid the temptation to open the door at this point: It’s important that the dough thoroughly dry out in the oven, or it will collapse, making it hard to fill. Turn off the oven, then open the door and use the tip of a paring knife to poke several holes in the top and side of the ring to allow steam to escape. Prop the door open with a wooden spoon and let the ring cool inside the oven for 1 hour, then remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.

ASSEMBLE THE PARIS-BREST: Use a serrated knife to slice evenly through the ring of pâte à choux horizontally, separating the taller portion of the ring from the base. Gently slide the upper ring off the base and onto a cutting board, then transfer the base to a serving platter. Spoon the pastry cream inside the base and spread it in an even layer, or pipe the pastry cream in large rosettes inside the base, using it all and distributing evenly. Use a serrated knife to cut the upper ring into eighths, then use a fine-mesh strainer to dust the pieces with confectioners’ sugar. Place the hazelnuts or almond pieces, if using, over the filling, reassembling them into a ring.

TO SERVE THE PARIS-BREST: Slice between the pieces of the upper ring and down through the filling and base. Transfer slices to plates and serve immediately.