Paris Brest. Photos by Steve Shanahan |
It’s that time of year when glazed-eyed cycling fans are
glued to late night telly watching sweaty fellas on two wheels toughing it out
through the impossibly picturesque and
often steep French countryside,
competing in the Tour de France.
For those of us who are non-cyclists,
don’t despair. You can get into the quintessentially French spirit
of this event by providing tempting sustenance to those devotees of the be-spoked
wheel, in the form a Paris Brest.
The traditional Paris-Brest is a bicycle wheel shaped choux
pastry creation, filled with patisserie cream and
topped with almonds and icing sugar. It was originally created in 1891 in honour
of the Paris to Brest bicycle race, by a
pastry cook whose shop was situated along the route. This spare wheel was
filled with high calorie cream to provide sustenance to the race participants.
The patisserie cream filling can be substituted with fresh
whipped cream and strawberries, which is a lot less work and much more
economical. It also gives a lighter and fresher result.
You will need a large pastry bag, with a wide nozzle about
18mm wide and strong arms to mix in the eggs. Alternatively, you could use an
electric mixer with a dough beater, to mix in the flour and eggs, being careful
not to over-mix the paste. I still prefer to do the mixing with a wooden spoon,
this little bit of exercise eases my guilt before indulging.
For flavour variations, add a few drops of liqueur to the
cream, such as, Frangelico or Kahlua. If chocolate is more your thing, you
could drizzle the top with melted chocolate, then decorate with toasted
almonds.
This popular dessert is found in good patisseries all over
the world, but is an easy and impressive one to make at home. It’s a standout
sweet that will provide calorific encouragement while watching the famous race
and guaranteed to cheer on celebrations at your Tour de France parties.
The quantity makes a 23cm round pastry that can be sliced
into six to eight portions.
225g plain flour, sifted twice
pinch of salt
7 free range eggs, medium size
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 extra egg, lightly beaten
30g flaked almonds
600ml pure cream
scraped vanilla bean or ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp caster sugar
punnet of strawberries, hulled and sliced
icing sugar for decoration
Preheat the oven to 200C. Draw a 20 centimetre circle on the
back of a piece of baking paper in a dark pen so that the circle shows through
onto the other side. Using a baking tray that will take the size of the paper. Spray
a few dots of oil onto a baking tray to help the paper stay in place. Place the
paper on the baking tray, pen side down.
Melt the butter with 375ml of water in a saucepan, then
bring it to a rolling boil. Transfer the saucepan to a heat-proof work surface,
such as a silicone mat. This will provide a non-slip surface for mixing the
paste.
Add the flour all at once to the butter and water mixture in
the saucepan. Add the pinch of salt. Return to the heat and beat continuously
with a wooden spoon to make a smooth shiny paste that comes away from the sides
of the pan. Once it does this, remove from the heat and cool for a few moments.
Beat in the eggs one at a time until shiny and smooth, the
mixture should drop off the spoon, but not be too runny. Beat in the sugar.
Standing the pastry bag in a tall jug, open the top up and
fold it back, filling the pastry bag with the paste. Pipe a pastry ring over
the circle guide you have drawn. Now pipe another ring of pastry directly
inside this one so that you have one thick ring. Pipe another two circles on
top of the first tow and continue until all the choux pastry has been used.
Brush the choux ring with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the flaked almonds.
Bake the choux ring for20 minutes, then reduce the oven to
180C and bake for a further fifteen to twenty minutes. Remove from the baking
tray and place on a wire rack. Immediately slice the ring in half horizontally,
using a serrated bread knife. Make the base twice as deep as the top. Lift off
the top and scoop out any uncooked pastry from the base. Leave to cool
completely.
Whip the cream, vanilla and sugar until very stiff. Fill the
pastry base with the cream and top with sliced strawberries. Cover with the
pastry top and dust with icing sugar.
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