Edd Kimber's Tahini Milk Chocolate Paris-Brest
The first "Great British Bake Off" winner shares a recipe from his latest cookbook, "Chocolate Baking"
Traditionally made with a hazelnut praline filling, my modern take on this French classic is filled with a tahini crème mousseline and a milk chocolate ganache. For additional texture, I like to add a sesame craquelin to the choux pastry, giving the finished pastry a fun and delicious black and white decoration.
—Edd Kimber
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Ingredients
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Choux Pastry
1x Choux Pastry (recipe below)
Sesame Craquelin
60 grams (½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
60 grams (¼ cup + 1 tablespoon) caster (superfine) sugar
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
Large pinch fine sea salt
60 grams (¼ cup) unsalted butter, diced
Tahini Crème Mousseline
250 milliliters (1 generous cup) whole milk
1 vanilla pod
75 grams (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) caster (superfine) sugar
75 grams (⅓ cup, packed) light brown sugar
2 large egg yolks
25 grams (3 tablespoons) cornflour (cornstarch)
75 grams (generous ¼ cup) tahini
200 grams (1 3⁄4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
Milk Chocolate Filling
100 grams (3½ ounces) milk chocolate (preferably 40% cocoa solids), finely chopped
120 milliliters (½ cup) whipping (heavy) cream
To Finish
A little icing (confectioner’s) sugar
A few sesame seeds
Tip: Both the butter and tahini crème should be at room temperature when combined. If either are too cold the mousseline may split.
Catch Edd talking about this recipe on our baking pod!
Method
To make the craquelin, put the flour, sugar, sesame seeds, and salt in a bowl and combine. Add the butter and rub together until a crumbly dough is formed. Gently press together to form a uniform dough with no lumps of butter. Place the dough between two sheets of baking parchment and roll out to a thickness of 2 millimeters (⅛ inch). Freeze until needed.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan (375˚F). Line a large baking tray (pan) with baking parchment and, on the back, draw a circle with a diameter of 20 centimeters (8 inches).
Scrape the pastry into a piping bag fitted with a small, 1 centimeter (½ inch), round piping tip and pipe two rings of pastry, one just inside the circle template and one just outside, ensuring both are touching all the way around. Pipe a third ring on top of the first two, along the seam. Remove the craquelin from the freezer and cut out a ring the same size as the choux and place atop the pastry.
Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Briefly open the oven door to allow any steam to escape, then turn off the oven and allow the choux pastry to cool down slowly inside for about 30 minutes.
For the mousseline filling, pour the milk to a large saucepan. Cut the vanilla pod open along its length and scrape out the seeds. Add both the seeds and the pod itself to the milk, place over a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and cover, setting aside for 30 to 60 minutes to infuse.
Place the pan back on the heat, add the caster sugar and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, put the brown sugar, egg yolks and cornflour in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour over the hot milk, whisking as you pour to prevent the yolks from scrambling. Remove the vanilla pod. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture has thickened and is bubbling. Cook for a further minute, then scrape into a bowl and whisk through the tahini. Cover and set aside for about an hour, to cool to room temperature. Ideally, the tahini crème will have a temperature of about 20°C (68˚F). If you want to make this ahead of time, you can refrigerate it for up to 3 days, but you must ensure it is brought up to temperature before using.
Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and, with the paddle attachment, beat for 5 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the tahini custard, a little at a time, beating until fully combined before adding more. Once all the tahini custard has been added, switch to the whisk attachment and mix for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
For the chocolate filling, put the chocolate in a small bowl and melt, using either a bain-marie or microwave. Pour the cream into a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, then pour a third over the chocolate, stirring to combine. Add the remaining cream in two additions, stirring well to form a smooth and silky ganache. Leave at room temperature until a pipeable consistency. Scrape the two fillings into separate piping bags, fitted with a 2 centimeter (1 inch) star-shaped tip for the mousseline and a small round piping tip for the chocolate ganache. Use a serrated knife to slice the choux ring in half, horizontally. Pipe most of the chocolate filling into the base, then pipe all of the mousseline on top, in any style you prefer. Place the other half of choux back on top of the filling and dust with a little icing sugar. Pipe the remaining chocolate on top of the choux pastry and sprinkle with a few extra sesame seeds.
Once assembled the Paris-Brest is best consumed on the same day.
Choux Pastry
This pastry is synonymous with French baking, being used in many traditional recipes, such as éclairs and Paris-Brest. Whilst never strictly necessary, when making choux I often add a layer of craquelin to the pastry before baking. This thin dough is made like a crumble or streusel but rolled out until thin. As the pastry bakes the craquelin melts onto the choux, ensuring it rises to its maximum potential. The craquelin then sets and creates a crisp outer layer, adding even more texture to the pastry.
Makes 15 choux buns or 10 éclairs
70 grams (½ cup + 1 tablespoon) plain (all-purpose) flour
100 milliliters (⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon) water
40 milliliters (2½ tablespoons) whole milk
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
70 grams (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter
Method
Sift the flour onto a piece of baking parchment or into a small bowl. Put the water, milk, salt, sugar, and butter in a saucepan, place over a low heat until the butter is melted, then increase the heat and bring to a rolling boil. Add the flour, and cocoa, if using, all at once, stirring vigorously with a spatula to form a dough. Continue to stir on the heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until a thin film has formed on the bottom of the pan. If using a non-stick pan, this film may not develop but what actually matters is that the temperature of the dough is raised.
Tip the dough into a bowl and beat for a few minutes to cool slightly. Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating until fully combined before adding more. You want to add enough egg so that the finished dough is smooth, a little glossy and, when lifted from the bowl, falls from the spatula in a V-shaped ribbon. If too little is added the choux won’t rise, if too much is added it will rise but then collapse. Scrape the pastry into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip and use as per your recipe.
Choux pastry can be made up to 24 hours in advance, stored in the refrigerator until needed. Make sure it is covered well with a layer of cling film (plastic wrap) so that it doesn’t develop a skin. If you find piping tricky, chilling the pastry also thickens it up slightly, making it a little easier to handle.
From Chocolate Baking: The Ultimate Guide to Cakes, Cookies, Desserts & Pastries by Edd Kimber. Reprinted by permission of Quadrille Publishing.
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