PATE A CHOUX
- ½ cup (1 stick) Unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 tsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 1 ¼ cups All-purpose flour
- 4 large Eggs, plus 1 large egg white
- Bring butter, sugar, salt and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, quickly stir in flour. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture pulls away from sides and a film forms on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes.
- Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until slightly cooled, about 1 minute. Raise speed to medium; add whole eggs, 1 at a time, until a soft peak forms when batter is touched with your finger. If peak does not form, lightly beat remaining egg white, and mix it into batter a little at a time until it does.
- Pipe into two circles on a price of greased parchment. Bake at 350 until puffed and golden brown. Approximately 5 minutes.
HAZELNUT PRALINE
In a heavy bottomed sauté pan melt 2 cups of sugar and cook until a rich golden brown Add 1 cup of hazelnuts. Mix and allow to cool on a greased baking sheet. Once cool roughly chop it and set aside.
CREME PATISSERIE
- 1 cup Milk combined with 2T browned butter
- 3 large Egg yolks
- 3 T Sugar
- 3 T All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Cream whipped to stiff peaks
- In a small saucepan, bring the milk and brown butter to a boil over medium heat. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar together in a small bowl. Add flour, and mix until smooth.
- Thin egg-yolk mixture with approximately ¼ cup of warm milk. When remaining milk begins to boil, add it to egg-yolk mixture, and stir well. Return to saucepan, and place over high heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until pastry cream thickens and boils, about 1 minute.
- Reduce heat to medium, and cook, whisking constantly, until cream becomes shiny and easier to stir, about 2 minutes more. Pour into a bowl, and stir in vanilla and allow to cool.
- Once cool, fold into the whipped cream and chill. Once chilled, gently fold in 3/4 of the praline and put in a pastry bag.
TO ASSEMBLE
Cut the circle of pate a choux into two layers as you would cutting layers into a cake.
Pipe the patisserie around the circle in layers until it’s about 3 inches high. Place the top on and pipe more patisserie as desired, sprinkle with the remaining praline and dust with powdered sugar.
