Mini Rose and Raspberry Paris-Brest

Pastry and glamour?  It can only be Paris Fashion Week!  While watching and reading about all the trends making their way down the Parisian catwalks I will be indulging in one of my all-time favourite pastries- the iconic Paris-Brest.  It’s terribly impressive and easy to make (yes, easy!) so celebrate the end of the fashion season in classic French style.  Enjoy, Katie x

 

 

Mini Rose and Raspberry Paris-Brest

Cooking time: 1 hour

Makes: 8 small pastries or 12 mini pastries

Ingredients

Choux Pastry

70 g plain flour

3 eggs

55 g butter

150 g water

Pinch of salt

70-50 g flaked almonds

1-2 tbsp. icing sugar

Cream Filling

300 ml Whipping cream

1 ½ tsp. Icing sugar

150 g raspberries

¾ tsp. rose essence

½ tsp. French vanilla bean paste

• Pop your butter and water into a saucepan and place over a medium heat.
• Once butter has completely melted, bring mix to a rolling boil.
• While waiting, sift flour and salt three times.
• When mix is at a rolling boil pour all your flour into the saucepan at once, and rapidly stir continuously until the mixture has formed lump-free dough.
• Preheat oven to 180°C
• Tip the dough onto a plate and smooth out, leave to cool.
• When dough has cooled to body temperature, pop back into saucepan, off the heat.
• Beat 2 eggs in a cup, and add little by little to the dough. Stir each addition into the dough completely before adding more.  This will thin the dough and make it glossy.
• Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and then pop mix into a piping bag.
• Pipe 2 small circles, one inside the other and a third on top. This will create a top of the pastry to cut when cooked. For small Paris-Brest, pipe the inner circle to around 6cm and for mini around 3 cm.
• Brush the pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle on almond flakes.
• Place into the oven for 25-30 minutes for small Paris-Brest and 15-20 for mini. Do not open oven before 15 minutes, this will collapse pastry!
• When your pastry has cooked thoroughly, golden brown and firm, remove from the oven and let cool.
• While the pastry is cooling, make your raspberry coulis by placing them into a blender. Once smooth, pour into a sieve to remove pips and add rose essence.
• Pour your cream and icing sugar into a large bowl and beat into soft peaks, then add vanilla bean paste and continue to beat until the cream has reached medium peaks.
• Pop into the fridge to firm up while waiting for the party to completely cool.
• To construct your Paris-Brest, fold around half the raspberry and rose mix into your whipped cream little by little, adding too much will separate the cream. Cut the top off the pastry and spoon in cream.  Place the top on and fill middle with a little raspberry and rose coulis and top with a raspberry.
• Enjoy with bubbles or a pot of tea!