It’s not often that I get the pull to create something with many elements or patisserie worthy but every now & again, it comes along. Most recently it was when I was wondering what I could do with a small collection of beautifully ripe peaches. I wanted something a little different that usual, not necessarily something fancy but after churning out several cakes lately, I needed a change. I sought my answer in pastry, but not just any pastry, choux pastry! Notorious for being the most temperamental & needy of all pastries, it’s worth mastering a good choux as it really is a simple one to throw together & can form a perfect, plan base for many different flavours & fillings, perfect for my peaches.
Originally, these were going to be a simple choux bun but I was worried that the beautiful blushing colour of the peaches would be lost amongst the beige of pastry so instead, I figured Paris brest was a pretty alternative. Named after a 1200 kilometer bicycle race in France that runs from Paris to Brest & back again, it’s thought that a pastry chef along the route decided to make a celebration cake in honour of the race, shaped into a round to resemble a bicycle wheel. Crisp choux pastry, decadently filled with praline cream, it’s not hard to see why we know find Paris-Brest in patisseries all year round now. For my own pastries, there were two flavour that I really wanted to pair with my peaches, firstly, caramel, a match made in heaven with anything but in particular with peaches & secondly, almond, mostly because it’s much more subtle in flavour than other nuts so it wouldn’t overpower my peaches. The result are these wonderful peach & caramel Paris-Brest that aren’t as difficult to make as they look, great for sharing or a special occasion.
PEACH & CARAMEL PARIS-BREST
(makes 4 large pastries)
Ingredients:
For choux pastry:
- 175ml water
- 75g butter
- 200g plain flour
- 2 eggs, beaten (you may not need all of it)
- Pinch of salt
- 25g flaked almonds
For the filling:
- 200ml double cream
- 200g caster sugar
- 100g blanched almonds
- 2 large peaches
- 3-4 tbsp salted caramel
For the topping:
- A little salted caramel
- 1 tbsp icing sugar
Method:
- To make the pastry, begin by placing the water & butter into a large saucepan & setting over a medium – high heat to melt
- Once melted, add the flour & salt to the pan & use a spoon to beat together until the mixture begins to form a ball
- Next, add in half of the egg & eat vigorously to combine
- Now, adding a little at a time, add in the remaining beaten egg but only enough to create a smooth, shiny dough but still thick enough to have a pipeable consistency (the amount of egg needed will be different with every batch)
- Spoon the pastry dough into a piping bag fitted with a wide smooth of star nozzle
- Line a baking tray with a piece of baking parchment & use a pencil to draw out 4 large circles approximately 10cm in diameter (I use a circle pastry cutter for this)
- Now, carefully pipe out 4 thick rings, using the markings as a guide
- Sprinkle the flaked almonds over the rings before baking in the oven at 180C for 25 minutes, until they are golden & well risen
- Remove from the oven & immediately use a sharp knife to pierce 4-5 holes on the underside of each ring before placing back in the turned off oven for a further 5 minutes
- Remove from the oven & place on a cooling rack to completely cool
- To make the filling, begin by making the praline, add the caster sugar to a medium saucepan & melt over a high heat until it turns amber in colour, don’t be tempted to stir it at any point
- Once amber, immediately remove from the heat & add in the almonds before pouring the whole lot out onto a parchment lined baking sheet until cooled & hardened
- Once hardend, place the praline into the bowl of a food processor & blitz into a fine powder
- Next place the double cream into a large bowl & use a whisk or a hand mixer to whip the cream until it begins to hold it’s shape
- Add the almond praline to the cream & beat this through
- Once cooled, carefully slice the Paris-Brest in half horizontally
- Spoon or pipe the whipped cream onto the bottom half of each pastry
- Next, slice the peaches & arrange on top of the cream
- Add a drizzle of caramel on top of the peaches before placing the top half of the pastries on each
- Drizzle a little more caramel on top of the pastries before sprinkling over any leftover/loosened flaked almonds & finishing the peach & caramel Paris-Brest with a little flourish of icing sugar
