Paris - Brest Dessert

According to Wikipedia, Paris–Brest is a French dessert, made of choux pastry and a praline flavoured cream. The pastry was created in 1910 to cmmemorate the Paris–Brest–Paris bicycle race begun in 1891. Its circular shape is representative of a wheel. 

Here is another bake for Christmas, fruit puffs. It's been in my to-do-list for quite sometimes. My last bake of this dessert was long time ago since 2007. It's unforgettable as I made a lot to feed 100 congregation for a pastor retirement party. 

I miss this dessert a lot and now with this festive season I have so much excuses to make again. 

This fruit puffs has win over many taste buds as it taste light and refreshing. 

Recipe for 28 puffs:

For the Puff: 

140g plain flour

5 large beaten eggs

200g water

1200g unsalted butter

Pinch of sugar and salt

For the puff, boil the water, butter and pinch of sugar and salt in a cooking pan until its bubbling. Turn off the heat, add in all the plain flour and mix with a wooden spoon until well combine and become a smooth dough.

Add half of the beaten eggs and mix (this stage is a bit hard work but please patient and keep stirring until the egg mix into the dough. Once the eggs completely mix with the dough, you will find it quite dry and hardly to mix. Add the beaten eggs little by little into the dough and continue mixing. You might not finish using the beaten eggs. You will need to have a smooth and silky consistency of the mixture. When you spoon up the mixture, it should drop back to the pan very slowly. The mixture should not too dry or too wet.

Once you get the right consistency of mixture, transfer it into a piping bag and pipe out about 28 spiral shapes of mixture on a baking tray with baking paper.

Spray some water on the mixture. This is to prevent it over burning while it's baking in the oven. 

Bake at 200'C preheated oven for 15 minutes until it puff up then turn the temperature to 170'C and bake for another 15 minutes. Transfer the puff on a wire rack to cool down.

For the cream:

Beat 250g cream cheese and 80 gram caster sugar until smooth batter then add in eight tablespoon of lemon juice and 4 tablespoons of coicointreau then mix well to combine. 

Chill the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes until cold enough to whip with the whipping cream. Add 400ml whipping cream into the cream cheese mixture and whip until thicken. Transfer to a piping bag and keep in the fridge until ready to use.

To assassemble:

Cut the choux pastry 1/3 from the top. Pipe some cream on the bottom part of the choux pastry then arrange some fruits on top. 

Pipe some cream on the top of the fruits then place the lid back on the top. Chill in the fridge and sprinkle with some dusting icing powder.before serve.