Paris Cream Puff Pastry

Paris cream puff pastry is the home cook’s version of the iconic Paris-Brest, the French patisserie ring named for a turn-of-the-century bicycle race. Concentric circles of pâte à choux puff into a crown-shaped shell, then split and fill with pastry cream for a dessert that looks like it belongs under a glass dome in a Parisian window.

The technique is the soul of choux pastry. Boil water and butter, dump in all the flour at once, and beat hard until the dough peels away from the pot and forms a ball. That step gelatinizes the starch and dries the dough enough to absorb seven full eggs without going slack. Add the eggs off the heat, one or two at a time, beating each in completely before the next.

The piping makes the shape: two side-by-side rings on the sheet pan and a third stacked on top to create that signature Paris-Brest crown. A wash of melted butter and a shower of slivered almonds on top before baking. Once cool, slice horizontally, pipe pastry cream into the bottom half, replace the lid, and dust with powdered sugar. Pair with a strong coffee or after-dinner espresso.

Chef Tips

• Beat the dough on the stove until you see a film coating the bottom of the pan. That is your cue the starch has fully cooked.
• Let the hot dough cool five minutes before adding eggs. Too hot and the eggs scramble into yellow flecks.
• Do not open the oven door for the first 25 minutes. A blast of cool air collapses the puffs while they set.
• The ring should sound hollow when tapped on the underside. Soft and the inside is still doughy.

Variations

• Fill with hazelnut praline buttercream for an authentic Paris-Brest finish.
• Replace the pastry cream with whipped cream and macerated berries for a lighter summer version.
• Drizzle the top with melted dark chocolate instead of dusting with powdered sugar for a richer, glossier finish.