Mary Berry’s Paris Brest

Bereiding

1. 1

   Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/200°C/Gas 7. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment and draw 4 circles, about 10cm across, on the underside of the paper.

2. 2

   Sift the flour onto a sheet of baking parchment. Put the water, milk, salt, sugar and butter in a pan and bring slowly to the boil over a medium heat, until the butter has just melted.

3. 3

   When the water is bubbling, remove quickly from the heat, tip in the flour all at once and beat vigorously until it forms a dough that leaves the side of the pan clean.

4. 4

   Return to the heat and cook for at least five minutes.⏱ 5 min

5. 5

   Leave to cool slightly, then gradually beat in the lightly beaten eggs, beating well between each addition until the dough is smooth and glossy.

6. 6

   Spoon the dough into a piping bag and snip a generous hole.

7. 7

   Pipe 4 thick rings onto the lined baking sheet, using the circles as a guide and piping the rings in one motion.

8. 8

   Lightly brush the top of the choux with egg wash, then sprinkle over flaked almonds.

9. 9

   Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes then reduce the heat to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas 4 and bake the choux for a further 10 minutes until they are well risen and golden.⏱ 25 min

10. 10

    Once baked, remove from the oven and immediately slice the rings in half horizontally and return to the oven to dry out for approximately 3-4 minutes.⏱ 4 min

11. 11

    For the praline, melt the caster sugar in a pan over a medium heat until the sugar has melted to a caramel. Add the hazelnuts and swirl to coat the hazelnuts in the caramel. Pour out onto a silicon sheet and leave to cool and harden.

12. 12

    Once cool, blitz the praline to a fine dust in a mini food processor.

13. 13

    For the filling, pour the cream into a large mixing bowl. Slice the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds. Add the vanilla seeds to the cream and whip the cream to soft peaks. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

14. 14

    Sprinkle half the praline onto the bottom halves of the choux rings, then pipe a generous amount of cream in a circular motion over the praline.

15. 15

    Sprinkle the remaining praline over the cream and place the choux lids on top.

16. 16

    Dust with icing sugar and serve.