morning/afternoon delights...

Mini Paris Brests

From: home beautiful'entertaining'

Recipe by Kerrie Worner



Makes 12

Choux pastry

50g butter

½ cup water

½ cup plain flour

3x50g eggs, lightly beaten

Pure icing sugar, for dusting

Coffee crème pâtissière - (Make ahead need to refrigerate for 3-4 hours/overnight)

2 cups milk

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp instant coffee granules

1.       Preheat oven to 200°C.  Line 2 oven trays with baking paper.  To make choux pastry, put butter and water in a saucepan over a medium heat and bring to boil.  Add flour and stir for 2-3 minutes until mixture begins to form a ball and leaves the sides of the pan.

2.       Transfer mixture to small bowl of an electric mixer.  Spread up the sides of bowl to cool slightly.  Add eggs gradually while beating until mixture becomes glossy.  Spoon into a large piping bag fitted with 1cm plain tube.  Pipe 5cm-diameter rings onto trays about 4cm apart and bake for 10 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 180°C and bake for a further 10-12 minutes until puffed and golden.  Allow to cool slightly.  Cut in half horizontally and return halves to oven tray, cut side down.  Bake for 5 minutes until slightly dry on the inside.  Cool completely. 

3.       To make crème, heat milk until simmering.  Whisk yolks and sugar until pale and creamy.  Whisk in flour and vanilla.  Add coffee to hot milk and stir until dissolved.  Gradually drizzle hot milk into yolk mixture and whisk until combined.  Return to a saucepan and stir over low-medium heat until thickened.  Give crème a whisk if it begins to show lumps.

4.       Transfer crème to a bowl, cover surface with plastic wrap and allow to cool.  Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight until thick enough to pipe.  Fit a piping bag with a 1cm plain pipe, fill bag with crème pâtissière and pipe onto bottom halves of choux pastries.  Replace tops and dust with icing sugar to serve.