Paris-Brest

Prepare the praline

• 1 Line a baking tray with baking paper.
• 2 Dry-toast 40 g almonds and 40 g hazelnuts in a frying pan; remove when the skins are lightly browned and the nuts smell toasted.

Coat the nuts in caramel

• 1 Put 75 g granulated sugar in the same pan and heat over medium heat without stirring.
• 2 When it is uniformly dark amber, turn off the heat, add the toasted nuts and quickly coat them.

Cool and set the praline

• 1 Spread the coated nuts on the baking paper and cool without overlapping.

Let the praline set completely

• 1 Leave for 20 minutes until completely cool and hard.

Make praline paste

• 1 Continue processing, scraping down the sides as needed.

Prepare the oven and tray

• 1 Begin preheating the oven to 200°C.
• 2 Line a baking tray with baking paper and draw a circle about 18 cm in diameter on its reverse.

Bring the choux base to the boil

• 1 Put 125 ml water, 125 ml milk, 110 g butter for the choux, 3 g salt for the choux and 5 g granulated sugar for the choux in a saucepan over medium heat.
• 2 When the butter is fully melted and the liquid boils, turn off the heat.

Add flour and form the dough

• 1 Add all 140 g cake flour for the choux at once and mix quickly with a wooden spoon.
• 2 Return to low heat and work for 1–2 minutes until the dough comes away from the base as a single mass and a thin film forms on the bottom.

Add eggs to finish the choux

• 1 Transfer the dough to a bowl and stir for 2–3 minutes to cool slightly.
• 2 Add 4 beaten eggs for the choux in 4–5 additions, mixing thoroughly each time.

Pipe a choux ring

• 1 Put the dough in a piping bag fitted with a 15 mm round nozzle and pipe a ring along the drawn circle.
• 2 Pipe 1 more circle inside and 1 outside to create a thick ring.
• 3 Scatter 30 g sliced almonds over the surface.

Bake the choux ring

• 1 Bake at 200°C for 35 minutes.
• 2 Do not open the oven during baking.
• 3 Doing so makes it collapse.

Cool the choux ring

• 1 Place the tray on a rack and cool completely.

Infuse the milk with vanilla

• 1 MeanwhileWhile the choux cools, split 1/2 vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
• 2 Put 300 ml milk for the pastry cream and the vanilla seeds and pod in a saucepan over medium heat; heat to just below boiling and turn off the heat.

Whisk the yolks and sugar

• 1 Whisk 4 egg yolks with 70 g granulated sugar for the pastry cream in a bowl until pale and thick.
• 2 Sift in 30 g cornstarch and mix.

Cook the pastry cream

• 1 Gradually strain in the warm milk while mixing.
• 2 Return to the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly.
• 3 Once thickened and bubbling, stir for about 1 minute more; turn off the heat when it forms a thick cream.

Chill the pastry cream

• 1 Spread in a shallow tray, press plastic wrap against the surface and refrigerate for 1 hour 30 minutes.

Make the mousseline cream

• 1 Put 200 g room-temperature butter for the mousseline in a bowl and beat with a whisk until creamy.
• 2 Add the chilled pastry cream and mix thoroughly until smooth.
• 3 Add all the praline and mix further; it is ready when evenly light brown.

Pipe cream into the choux

• 1 Cut the cooled choux ring in half horizontally.
• 2 With a round nozzle, pipe crème mousseline (custard enriched with butter) onto the bottom half, then replace the top.

Finish with powdered sugar

• 1 Sift 10 g powdered sugar over the whole pastry through a tea strainer to finish.