The cake Paris Brest is an institution of French pastry and beyond. Two layers of fragrant wheel-shaped choux pastry enclosing a soft hazelnut mousseline cream and embellished with almond flakes on the surface. And the shape is certainly not accidental, given the history of its conception, which sees it inspired by the historic ‘Paris-Brest-Paris’ cycling race. The mousseline filling (custard whipped with butter) can be replaced with other delicious creations, such as Chantilly cream or the Camy cream. The result is always a success. Here is our Paris brest recipe with hazelnut cream.

Choux pastry preparation

1

To prepare the choux pastry, start by pouring the water, butter and salt into a saucepan. Bring to the boil.

2

As soon as it reaches the boil, remove from the heat, pour in all the flour and mix vigorously and quickly with a wooden spoon, so that no lumps are formed.
Place the pot back on the stove and, over low heat, continue stirring until the dough easily comes off the edges and bottom of the pan.

3

Pour the mixture into a bowl and let it cool for a few minutes. Then add the first egg and mix well with an electric mixer.

4

Gradually insert the other eggs one at a time, mixing and waiting for the previous egg to be well absorbed before adding the next.

5

Once you have added all the eggs, you will get a smooth, homogeneous and fairly dense mixture (the consistency must be similar to that of a custard).

6

Take a pastry bag with a 10 mm round spout and fill it with the choux pastry.

7

Take a pan and lightly butter it. With the sac à poche, form a circle of dough, surmounting the layers (but without exaggerating, otherwise it will swell too much during cooking).
Sprinkle the surface with the flaked almonds.

8

Cook the choux pastry in a preheated static oven at 200 ° C for the first 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 180 ° C and continue cooking for about another 20 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Preparation of hazelnut mousseline cream

1

To prepare the mousseline cream, start by taking the seeds from the vanilla pod, using a small knife, and set them aside. Separately, place a saucepan with the milk on the stove and add the emptied vanilla pod. Bring to a boil over low heat.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, pour the egg yolks, the seeds of the vanilla bean and the sugar. Beat the ingredients with a whisk (by hand or electric) until you get a smooth and light cream.

2

Add the cornstarch and continue mixing. Once absorbed, pour the hot vanilla milk into the mixture obtained (remove the vanilla pod).

3

Stir quickly with a whisk and then pour it all back into the saucepan on the stove. Cook over low heat, continuing to stir to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom.

4

In about 2 minutes you will obtain a thick and homogeneous custard. At this point, remove from the heat and pour the cream into a bowl.

5

First add the soft butter and mix until it melts and mix everything. Then add the hazelnut paste and mix.

6

Allow the hazelnut mousseline cream to cool to room temperature covered with a transparent film in contact. Once cooled, place it in the refrigerator to firm for at least 4 hours before using it to fill the cake.

Paris brest cake composition

1

To compose the Paris brest dessert, take the choux pastry base in the shape of a circle and cut it in half horizontally.

2

Take the hazelnut mousseline cream and place it in a pastry bag with a star spout (or whatever you like) and form fairly large tufts on the cut out base of the cake.

3

Place the other upper half of the circle of dough on the tufts of cream, applying very light pressure.

4

Decorate the surface of the Paris brest with icing sugar and finally serve it.

Accessories

• A saucepan and a saucepan
• A hand and electric whisk
• A wooden spoon
• A sharp knife
• A silicone kitchen spatula
• A piping bag with: 1 round spout 10 mm, 1 star spout (or as you like)
• A baking sheet
• A sieve

Tips and tricks

• We have prepared the Paris brest stuffed with the hazelnut mousseline cream, but it is possible to replace it with other flavors and different types of creams. It is also perfect with classic or chocolate-flavored mousseline, or with custard, Chantilly cream and diplomatic cream. For a cooler, summery version, you could create one Paris brest light with tufts of whipped cream and strawberries cut into wedges (or other seasonal fruit to taste). They are all to try!
• The choux pastry must have a fairly dense and smooth consistency, easy to handle with a pastry bag.
• In forming the circle of choux pastry, we advise you not to exaggerate with the thickness of the inserted layers poured with the sac à poche; this is because this type of dough tends to increase a lot in volume, almost triple, during cooking.
• To enjoy the right fragrance of Paris Brest, we advise you to fill it only shortly before consuming it. The choux pastry tends to soften over time, being in direct contact with the cream. Furthermore, we advise you to let the mousseline cream cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour, so that it firmens up before using it for the filling. You can also prepare it the day before!
• The original recipe calls for the use of almonds to embellish the cake on the surface, but you could also replace them with other dried fruit in grains or in lozenges.
• If you have some choux pastry left over, why not prepare some delicious beignets? Nothing is thrown away!

storage

It is recommended to consume this dessert in the day to savor all their consistency and flavors at their best. However, it is possible to keep Paris Brest in the refrigerator in an airtight container and consume it within 3 days maximum.

The mousseline cream can be stored for 2 dayscovered with cling film, while the basic choux pastry can be preserved for 1 day in an airtight container before using it.

We do not recommend freezing this dessert.

History

The story that the Paris Brest cake brings with it is full of charm and curiosity. It is said that the creator was the pastry chef Louis Durandwhich was inspired by the famous cycling race ‘Paris-Brest-Paris’ born in 1891. It was a round trip between the capital Paris and the French city Brest, in Brittany: 1,200 km traveled, at the time, on often unpaved roads and certainly heavier vehicles than modern bicycles. In short, the success of the race was a real heroic undertaking for the cyclists.

Durand, at the request of the founder of the race Pierre Geffard, decided to pay homage to this peculiar race and in 1910 he created a dessert that wanted to recall the shape of the bicycle wheel. The Paris Brest cake soon became popular with cyclists, who also loved it for its high calorie and energy intake that helped them in the effort of running. Afterwards, the wheel-shaped cake soon caught up great fame throughout France and outside. Today it is one of the institutions of the French pastry and beyond.