Paris-Brest

Pretending I'm in Paris... or Brest. Either one would be fine.

Paris-Brest
adapted from here

For the Pastry:
250ml water
100g unsalted butter
Good pinch sea salt flakes
200g plain flour
4 whole eggs

For the Praline:
170g caster sugar
40g water
170g toasted hazelnuts
Good pinch of sea salt flakes
Vegetable oil, for greasing

For the Filling:
200ml full cream milk
2 egg yolks,
70g caster sugar
35g cornflour
150ml cream, whipped to soft peaks
80g toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1 egg yolk, for brushing

To Serve:
Icing sugar, for dusting

Make the Pastry:
Draw a 22cm circle onto a large piece of baking paper, turn the paper over so that the ink faces the tray (you should still be able to see the circle through the paper), and place the paper on a large baking tray. This will be your guide for piping. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Put the water, butter and salt into a saucepan, place it over high heat and bring it to a boil.

Remove from the heat and dump the flour in all in one go.

Stir with a wooden spoon until it comes together without any lumps.

Place it back on a low heat and stir until if forms a ball and leaves the side of the pan, a few minutes.

Spoon the dough into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then start mixing at medium-high speed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Spoon the batter into a piping bag and pipe a circle, following the drawn line on the paper as a guide. Pipe another circle on the outside, right next to the first circle. Next, pipe a circle on top of the two circles, overlapping them (see photos above.) Brush the with the egg yolk and sprinkle with some of the toasted hazelnuts from 80g you toasted for the filling.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes, until puffed and golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the Praline:
Lightly grease a baking tray and a fork with vegetable oil. Set aside.

Place the water and sugar into a saucepan and swirl the pan to wet all of the sugar. Place over high heat and bring to boil. Boil for about 5 minutes, swirling the pan now and then (do not stir). Once the sugar turns a dark caramel, remove from the heat and add the hazelnuts and salt, stirring with the oiled fork. Immediately, pour the mixture onto the greased tray and spread quickly with the fork. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes, until set.

Once, set, break the praline up into chunks. Put three-quarters of it in a processor. Blitz for about 5 minutes, scraping the sides down occasionally, until it resembles wet sand. Set aside.

Crush the rest of the chunks roughly (to a rubble) in a mortar and pestle and set aside.

Make the Filling:
Put the milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium-high heat.In a mixing bowl, whisk the yolks with the sugar for about 1 minutes, until pale and thick. Add the cornflour and whisk until combined. Whisk continuously while you gradually add the hot milk. Once incorporated and smooth, pour it back into the pan and put the pan back over a medium-low heat. Cook until thickened, about 1 - 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and add three-quarters of the blitzed praline and whisk. Pour into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic sits directly on top of the mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Once cold, beat with a wooden spoon until it loosens, then gently fold in the whipped cream. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a large plain nozzle. Set aside.

To Assemble:
Cut the pastry rounds in half horizontally. Place the bottom half onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the reserved blitzed praline. Pipe the praline cream over the top and sprinkle that with the crushed praline chunks. Sandwich with the top half of the pastry and dust with icing sugar.