FFWD ~ Paris Brest

FFWD ~ Paris Brest

This week, our recipe for French Fridays is Paris Brest (pronounced pa-ree-BREHST).  A delectable French dessert, created by a pastry chef, to celebrate a bicycle race between Paris and Brest. The race first took place in 1891, and is the oldest cycling event in France.  The dessert consists of a baked almond topped choux pastry ring, meant to resemble a bicycle tire. After it is baked, it is split and filled with a praline flavored pastry cream.

Utterly delectable

I have been making choux pastry for years.  Profiteroles, cream puffs, eclairs…I’ve made them all. They have graced my table for many special occasions including baby showers, bridal showers, ladies luncheons and Christmas.  However, baking a large ring is a bit different. You have to make sure the ring is dry and firm to the touch. If it is not, it could deflate. A trick I learned from a recipe at  Epicurious, was to poke small holes in the top, at the end of baking to let the steam escape, leaving the ring in the oven for a few more minutes. I used a wooden kebob skewer.
The pastry cream I used, was a traditional vanilla pastry cream from Dorie’s “Around My French Table”. Before assembling, crushed candied almonds are folded into the pastry cream.  I also added a few tablespoons of Amaretto. Yum!!  This ring can be assembled 8 hours before serving, and stored in the refrigerator until that time. My Bunco group is in for a mighty fine dessert table tonight! Happy Friday everyone!

*Some other tips I learned from Epicurious on storing and making the choux ahead of time:   
"Choux ring can be baked (but not halved) 8 hours ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then kept, loosely covered with foil (not plastic wrap), at room temperature. Cooled choux ring can also be frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, 1 week. Thaw completely in wrapping before recrisping in a preheated 350°F oven 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature before proceeding".

This recipe can be found in Dorie’s Cookbook - Around My French Table. The recipe can also be found on my friend Trevor’s wonderful blog -Sis.Boom. To see how the other Dorista’s did with this one, check it out here. 

And so impressive!

The pastry cream was heavenly