Crackle choux buns with pistachio custard
MAKES ABOUT 20
In Paris, there are pâtisseries dedicated entirely to the choux bun, or profiterole. Don’t listen to anyone who says these are difficult to make. Just follow the recipe carefully, and you’ll be fine!
PISTACHIO PRALINE
60g (½ cup) pistachio nut kernels 50g caster sugar 1 tablespoon water
PISTACHIO CUSTARD
½ quantity chilled Crème Pâtissière (see recipe overleaf) A few drops of green food colouring 150ml cream, whisked to stiff peaks
CRACQUELIN
45g plain flour 45g (¼ cup) lightly packed soft brown sugar 35g unsalted butter, softened
CHOUX PASTRY
75g butter 185ml (¾ cup) water ⅛ teaspoon salt 110g (¾ cup) plain flour 3 eggs 1 To begin, make the pistachio praline. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced. Spread the pistachios on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Roast pistachios for 5 minutes or until lightly golden. Make sure nuts aren’t spaced too far apart. Combine the sugar and water in a small, heavy-based saucepan. Stir to combine, then leave it alone. Bring to the boil, then watch very carefully from the moment it turns golden. When it turns to a deep amber colour, immediately remove from the heat and pour over the nuts on the baking tray. When the praline has set and cooled, break chunks of it into a mortar. Use the pestle to pound the chunks until you have a fine powder. If you work the mixture a lot, the oils from the nuts might turn the powder into a paste, which is fine. 2 To make pistachio custard, follow the instructions for Crème Pâtissière (recipe overleaf), then fold in the food colouring and pistachio praline. Chill the custard completely, before whisking in cream. 3 To make craquelin, combine flour, sugar and butter in a small bowl, and mash with a rubber spatula until mixed into a thick paste. Roll between two pieces of baking paper until 1-2mm thick. Chill. 4 Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 5 To make the choux pastry, combine butter, water and salt in a medium nonstick saucepan over medium heat, and wait until butter has just melted – you don’t want the mixture to boil. Add flour, and keep cooking, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until the mixture leaves side of the saucepan and gathers into a ball. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth before adding the next. 6 Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle, and pipe 3-4cm dollops onto lined tray with a 3cm gap between them. Take the craquelin out of the refrigerator and, using a pastry cutter, cut enough 4cm circles to cover each choux bun. Gently peel them from the baking paper, and pop one on top of each bun. If the circles start to wilt, pop the sheet of cracquelin into the freezer for 2 minutes before continuing. 7 Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. As soon as the choux buns come out of the oven, pierce the bottoms with the tip of a piping nozzle to release the steam, and cool them on a wire rack. 8 To fill the choux buns, pipe the pistachio custard into the holes in the bottom of each bun until you can feel they are filled enough. I find slightly under-filling with the custard makes for a better eating experience. Too much custard can be difficult to eat and too rich on the palate. Serve immediately.