Hi everyone! I’m very happy to show you how to realize this amazing and greedy recipe of puff filled with a whipped chocolate ganache. I’ve searched so many choux pastry recipe and finally found the infaillible one, I’ve tried this recipe several times and it had always worked. For the ganache I’ve used dark and milk chocolate to have a perfectly balanced flavor. For even more sensational taste I’ve added roasted hazelnut inside the puff!
You can prepare this recipe over several days, like this:
D-2: Prepare the cracker.
D-1: Prepare the puff and the ganache
D-Day: Whip the ganache and finish the puff.
You can also realize everything the same day, however the cracker has to rest 30min in the fridge and the ganache should rest 4 hours in the fridge.
With these quantities you will have 20 puff of 5cm.
Choux pastry:
- 125mL of water*
- 5g of sugar
- 60g of butter
- 80g of flour
- 125g of eggs (= 2 eggs and a half)
- 2g of salt
*You can do half water and half milk for more softness but I find that even with only water the puffs are soft enough.
Cracker: (this will give you 28 crackers, freeze the extra for a next time)
- 50g of flour
- 50g of brown sugar
- 40g of softened butter
- 1 pinch of salt
Ganache:
- 750mL of liquid full cream
- 150g of milk chocolate
- 125g of dark chocolate
Let’s get started!
We’ll begin with the ganache:
- Melt the two chocolates in a bain-marie.
2. Bring to boil half of the liquid cream and keep the other half in the freezer, it must be very cold. Once the cream has boiled, pour it, in three time, over the melted chocolate. Stir vigourously between each addition.
3. Add the other half of very cold cream. Wrap with cling film and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. ( the best is to make it the day before). The cling film must touch the ganache.
For the cracker.
1. Cream the softened butter with the sugar.
2. Add the flour and the salt. Stir until it forms a nice ball.
3. Roll out the ball between two parchment papers to a 2mm maximum thickness. (careful not to roll out too thin because it will burn in the oven before the puffs are cooked).
4. Cut circles of 4cm diameter. Take the scraps and roll out again. If the cracker is too soft to work with, refrigerate a few minutes. When you’ve cut all your circles, refrigerate until use or freeze them if you make them in advance.
For the choux pastry.
1. In a saucepan, put the water, the butter cut into pieces, the sugar and the salt. Bring to boil over medium heat. The butter should have melted before it boils.
2. Remove from the heat and add the sifted flour in one time. Stir until it is incorporated.
3. Put it back on low heat and stir for a few minutes to eliminate the moisture of the dough. It is ready when the dough is smooth and forms a ball that doesn’t separate into chunks.
4. Put the dough in another container and let it cool for a few minutes. Add the eggs, previously beaten, little by little. You can use a spatula or the flat beater of a stand mixer. To know if you’ve added enough eggs, take a bit of paste with your spatula and it should form a smooth and shiny collar. You can also trace a line in the dough with the back of your spatula, if it closes slowly, it is perfect. If it doesn’t close you must add a bit more eggs.
5. Put your paste in a pastry bag with a plain nozzle and poach circles of 4 cm diameter. Add the cracker on top of it.
6. Cook for 20-25 minutes in a preheated oven at 180°C (fan-assissted if possible, otherwise, normal). During the first 20 minutes, don’t open the oven door, because it will make fall down your choux. After 20 minutes, you can check if your choux are cooked, the choux and the crackers should have a nice golden color without any white spots. If you have time, reduce the oven temparature to 140°C and let the choux inside for 15 to 20 minutes. This will dry your choux and they will stay crunchy even after filling them with cream.
It’s time to assemble.
1. Take the ganache out of the fridge and begin to whip it on low speed. Gradually increase the speed. Once your ganache is firm, stop whipping. It has almost the same consistency as a whipped cream.
2. Cut the top of the choux and fill with the ganache. Add a roasted hazelnut; if you want, you can even caramelize it! With a fluted nozzle, poach a nice rosette of ganache on the top.
3. Cover with the top of the choux and sprinkle with icing sugar. You can also add caramelized hazelnuts on the edges.
Keep refrigirate until tasting. Bon appétit!
Don’t forget to write an email to partage@justonemorecake.com to share your pictures of the recipe and your opinions! I will add them at the bottom of this article.
