Paris Brest with Vanilla Cream and Strawberries

A popular French dessert created in honor of the cyclists in the legendary Paris Brest race. Its round shape symbolizes a wheel, and with its rich filling and high-calorie content, it is meant to restore the cyclists energy after a demanding and strenuous challenge. We offer you a recipe for a spring version with fresh strawberries, which perfectly complement the crispy base and rich vanilla cream.

Details

Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Difficulty: 3
Spiciness: 0
Number of Servings: 8

Ingredients

Burnt dough

225 ml Water
110 g Butter, unsalted
1 spoon Sugar, white
1 pinch Salt, table
130 g Wheat flour, white, multi-purpose
4 pieces Egg, fresh

Cream

500 ml Milk, whole milk
2 piece Egg, egg yolk, fresh
1 piece Egg, fresh
40 g Koruzni škrob
80 g Sugar, white
0.5 piece Vanilla, extract, natural
25 g Butter, unsalted
100 ml Sweet cream

Decoration

300 g Strawberries
pieces Powdered sugar

Steps

First, prepare the custard. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, egg, sugar, and cornstarch until frothy. Split the vanilla bean in half and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife, then mix them into the egg mixture.
Pour the milk into a saucepan. Add the vanilla bean, place it over medium heat, and let the milk come to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and take out the vanilla bean.
Slowly and gradually pour the hot milk into the egg mixture. Continuously whisk with a hand whisk to prevent the eggs from curdling. You should get a smooth and uniform mixture without lumps.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook it over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens like pudding and starts to bubble slightly.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and mix in the butter. Transfer the custard to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface. Let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate the custard for 2-3 hours.
Prepare the choux pastry. In a saucepan, add water, butter, sugar, and a pinch of salt. Place it over heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat slightly and add the sifted flour to the boiling liquid. Stir well with a wooden spoon until you get a smooth and uniform mixture without lumps. Continue cooking and stirring until you get a large ball of dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan and spoon.
Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool for a few minutes. Then gradually mix in the eggs, one at a time. It is important to mix well after each addition to ensure the ingredients are well combined and you get a soft and shiny dough. Once all the eggs are incorporated, transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper, then pipe circles of dough, about 8 to 9 centimeters in diameter, onto the tray. Leave some space between the circles as they will expand slightly during baking.
Place the baking tray in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 160°C and let the pastry circles bake for another 10 minutes. Transfer the baked circles to a wire rack and let them cool.
Whip the sweet cream and fold it into the cooled vanilla custard. Transfer the cream to a piping bag. Clean and slice the strawberries.
Using a serrated knife, cut the cooled pastry circles in half. Pipe mounds of cream onto the bottom halves. Top the cream with the sliced strawberries. Carefully cover with the top halves of the pastry circles and dust the prepared dessert with powdered sugar.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

Calories: 244.77 kcal
Fat: 13.62 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.46 g
Carbohydrates: 22.65 g
- Sugars: 9.39 g
Protein: 5.43 g
Fiber: 0.74 g

Advice

To enhance the dessert, you can drizzle some caramel or melted chocolate (dark or white) over the strawberries and cream. Before placing the pastry rings in the preheated oven, you can sprinkle them with almond flakes.