Serves 6
Preparation time: 1h 20
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Cooling time: 1h 30
Ingredients
Crumble pastry
40g butter, taken out the fridge 30 minutes before use
50g brown sugar
50g T45 flour
A pinch of salt
Choux pastry
125g water
125g semi-skimmed milk
110g cold butter, chopped
5 eggs
140g flour
1tsp, rounded caster sugar
1tsp, flat fine salt
Praline cream
155g semi-skimmed milk
15g cornstarch
30g caster sugar
2 egg yolks
1 sheet of gelatin, dipped in water and pressed
80g praline spread
70g cold butter, chopped
Method
Crumble pastry
Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and add the butter, beating until fully incorporated. Spread the paste between two sheets of paper, until approximately 2mm think. Place in the fridge. Cut eight discs out of the pastry, each 3cm in diameter.
Choux pastry
In a saucepan, mix the water, milk and butter. Bring to a simmer and add the sifted flour, salt and sugar in one go. Stir slowly and a loose pastry should form. Continue stirring on a medium heat for 1 minute in order to dry the pastry out. Put the pastry into a bowl and continue mixing while adding the eggs, one by one. You should have a pastry that is smooth and elastic. To ensure it is the correct consistency, make a mark of a few centimeters in the pastry and it should close up on itself. If the choux pastry is not wet enough, add a beaten egg in bit by bit until it has reached the correct consistency.
Using a soupspoon, on a greaseproof paper-lined oven tray make 8 balls of choux pastry, 4cm in diameter that make a circle of 16cm in diameter. The aim is for the balls to make a crown.
Place the eight crumble pastry discs previously made on top of the choux pastry balls. Put the crown in the oven at 170°C for 45 minutes. Once done, leave them to cool.
Praline cream
In a saucepan, bring the milk to a simmer and take it off immediately. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, until the mixture is white and then add the cornstarch. Mix until fully incorporated and then add half the warm milk from the saucepan. With the other half, simmer for a minute without ceasing to whisk. When the cream is thick, remove it from the heat and add the sheet of gelatin, the praline spread and the cold butter. Mix thoroughly, until fully incorporated. Spread the mixture on a tray so that it can cool and cover with a piece of Clingfilm, making sure it is in contact with the cream. Place in the fridge for an hour. When it is cold, put the cream back in a bowl and beat for 3 minutes.
To serve
Once the crown of choux pastry is cool, slice it horizontally and put some praline cream in the center of each ball. Complete by putting its top back on the cream and sprinkling with icing sugar.
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