Paris-Brest with Hazelnut Praline Crème Mousseline

⏱ 180 min · Serves 8

The great wheel of French pâtisserie: a crisp ring of choux crowned with flaked almonds, split and piped full of silky hazelnut praline mousseline. Nutty, buttery, impossibly light — and worth every minute of the afternoon it takes.

Per serving: 742 kcal · 11.5g protein · 58.0g carbs · 52.0g fat

Ingredients

• For the praline paste: 150g blanched hazelnuts
• 150g caster sugar (for praline)
• 1 pinch flaky salt
• For the crème pâtissière: 500ml whole milk
• 1 vanilla pod, split
• 4 egg yolks
• 110g caster sugar
• 45g cornflour
• 250g unsalted butter, very soft, cubed
• For the choux: 125ml water
• 125ml whole milk
• 110g unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 140g plain flour, sifted
• 4 medium eggs, beaten (plus 1 for egg wash)
• 30g flaked almonds
• Icing sugar, to finish

Method

1. Make the praline: toast the hazelnuts at 170C/150C fan for 12 minutes until golden and fragrant. Melt the 150g sugar in a dry pan over medium heat, without stirring, until amber caramel. Stir in the warm nuts and salt, tip onto a lined tray and cool completely until hard.
2. Break up the praline and blitz in a food processor for 5–8 minutes, scraping down, until it becomes a loose glossy paste. Set aside.
3. Make the crème pâtissière: bring the milk and vanilla pod to a simmer. Whisk yolks, 110g sugar and cornflour to a pale paste, pour over the hot milk whisking constantly, then return to the pan and cook over medium heat, whisking hard, for 2 minutes until very thick. Beat in 50g of the soft butter, spread onto a tray, cover with cling film touching the surface and chill until cold.
4. Make the choux: heat oven to 200C/180C fan. Draw a 20cm circle on baking parchment, flip it over onto a tray. Bring water, milk, butter, sugar and salt to a rolling boil. Off the heat, beat in all the flour at once, then cook the paste over medium heat for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until it forms a smooth ball leaving a film on the pan.
5. Transfer to a bowl, cool for 5 minutes, then beat in the eggs a little at a time until the paste is glossy and falls from the spoon in a thick V. You may not need all the egg.
6. Pipe a 2cm-thick ring on your guideline using a 15mm plain nozzle, pipe a second ring just inside it, then a third ring balanced on top in the join. Brush with egg wash and scatter with flaked almonds.
7. Bake 20 minutes at 200C/180C fan, then reduce to 170C/150C fan for 25–30 minutes until deep golden and dry. Turn off the oven, prick the base with a skewer and leave inside, door ajar, for 15 minutes. Cool completely.
8. Finish the cream: beat the remaining 200g soft butter until pale and fluffy, then beat in the cold pastry cream a spoonful at a time until smooth and mousse-like. Beat in the praline paste. If it splits, warm the bowl briefly and re-whip.
9. Slice the choux ring in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Pipe the praline mousseline generously into the base using a star nozzle, in fat rosettes. Set the lid on top and dust with icing sugar.
10. Chill 30 minutes to set, then serve in thick wedges the same day.