Choux au Craquelin filled with Creme Pat & Cream

Make the Creme Pat first (credit to Nancy Birtwhistle, for this quick recipe)

Ingredients 

  • 4 egg yolks
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 20g cornflour
  • 20g butter
  • 250ml Milk

Method

Mix together Egg yolks, Sugar, Cornflour and Vanilla in a small pan. Once the thick mix is smooth and without lumps, start to add the milk little by little. Add the butter, then stir over the gentlest of heat until the butter melts, then turn up the power and keep stirring all the time until the custard thickens. Once it coats the back of a spoon, this is thick enough, as it will thicken even more, as it cools. Transfer to a cold bowl and allow to cool. It will keep 3 – 4 days in the fridge

Craquelin

Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the plain flour and mix to a soft dough.

Add a few drops of food colouring (red) and mix until all combined.

Roll between 2 pieces of grease proof paper until 3mm thick and pop into the freezer for 10 mins.

Remove the chilled Craquelin from the freezer. Using the open end of a large piping nozzle, cut rounds out of the dough. (Tip, dip the end of the nozzle in flour, so the dough releases easier)

Pop these back into the freezer, while you make the Choux pastry.

Choux Pastry

Put 60ml milk and 60ml water into a saucepan 

Add the diced butter and salt 

Put onto a gentle heat and stir until the butter has melted. 

Fetch to a rolling boil and then tip in all of the sifted flour and remove from the heat.

Beat, to bring it all together (it may look messy at first) but it will come together

Pop the pan, back on a gentle heat and stir continuously (1 min), to cook out the flour a little. It will come together as one ball of dough. Tip this into a bowl and leave to cool for a while (good time for a cuppa)

Beat the eggs in a small jug and add to the cooled dough, a little at a time

You can use an electric hand mixer, or just use a spoon. Depending on the size of your eggs, you may not need to use all of the mix. You will end up with a glossy dough, when ready.

Put a plain 1.25cm piping nozzle into a piping bag and fill it with your Choux pastry.

Take your Craquelin rounds out of the freezer now.

Pipe small rounds onto a baking tray (it may be wise to line it with baking parchment) Once you’ve piped them all, carefully pop one of your Craquelin discs on top of the Choux.

Sprinkle the tray (not the Choux) with a few drops of water. 

Bake for 18-20 mins, then remove from the oven and pierce with a skewer and pop back into the oven, for approx 5 mins, then remove from the oven and put onto a cooling rack, to cool fully. 

Once cool, you can now fill the Choux buns.

Slice the Choux buns in half and add a little of the Creme Pat 

Then pipe whipped cream on top of this and put the tops back on.

You can decorate the tops with a drizzle of white chocolate, like this 

On this occasion the Craquelin was coloured red, but you can use whatever colour you choose.

Thank you so much to Rob Allen for this amazing Christmas recipe – to see more from Rob please visit him on Instagram!