Choux Buns with Craquelin and Cream

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

Making the craquelin:

1. The first thing you need to do is make the craquelin – that’s a thin layer of shortcrust pastry that will create those signature “cracks” on top of our pastries.

   In a separate bowl, mix together 33 grams of softened butter and 40 grams of sugar until smooth. Next, add 40 grams of flour and knead the mixture – you should end up with a soft dough, just like in the photo.

   

2. Take a sheet of baking paper and visually divide it into two halves. Place the dough onto one half of the sheet and spread it out evenly.

   

3. Fold the baking sheet in half and cover the dough with one half of the sheet. Then, fold the edges of the sheet to form a rectangle.

   

4. Now roll out the dough until it’s about 2–3 mm thick. Next, carefully transfer the parchment with the dough onto a board and pop it into the freezer for 15 minutes.

   

5. After 15 minutes, take out the dough and cut out small circles (about the size you want your buns to be). I made circles about 4 cm in diameter and used a regular shot glass for this. You can gather the leftover dough, roll it out again, and repeat the process.

   Once you’re done, pop the craquelin circles back into the freezer until you’re ready to use them.

   

Cooking the choux pastry:

6. Let’s move on to the choux pastry. Take 3 eggs at room temperature, crack them into a bowl, and beat them with a fork until smooth. Set them aside for now, but don’t put them in the fridge!

   

7. Pour 62 ml of water, 62 ml of milk, and add 60 grams of butter into a small saucepan with a thick bottom. Gently heat over low heat until the butter is completely melted.

   Next, turn the heat up to high, bring the mixture to a boil, let it boil for 10 seconds, and then remove from the heat.

   

8. Now sift 70 grams of high-protein flour into the saucepan (it’s important to use flour with a high protein content – the protein is essential for gluten development).

   Mix the dough using a spatula. Try to break up any lumps as you go, so the dough turns out nice and smooth.

   

9. When all the liquid has been absorbed by the flour and the mixture is smooth, return the saucepan to the stove and set the heat to just below medium.

   Cook the dough for 1–1.5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it becomes silky and smooth. Keep an eye on it and don’t let it burn!

   

10. Then transfer the dough to a bowl, spread it out, and let it cool slightly (for 1-2 minutes).

    

11. Here comes the most important part. Start adding the egg mixture to the dough in small portions (in 4–5 additions), mixing thoroughly each time. You’re aiming for a “thick, stretchy puree” consistency (keep in mind, you might not need to use all of the egg mixture you prepared).

    

12. When the dough starts to look like mashed potatoes, it’s time to check its consistency. It should flow off your spatula in a wide ribbon, forming a “V” shape (just like in the photo).

    

13. Transfer the prepared dough into a piping bag. At the same time, turn on your oven and start preheating it to 210°C (410°F).

    

Bake the buns:

14. Place the cookie cutter (the one you used to cut out the craquelin) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and trace around it with flour. Make these flour outlines all over the baking sheet, leaving about 4–5 cm (1.5–2 inches) of space between each one.

    

15. Cut off the tip of the piping bag and pipe the choux pastry onto the baking sheet, following the marked outlines.

    

16. Place a frozen craquelin disc on top of each choux mound and gently press it down (do this right before baking—the craquelin shouldn’t melt ahead of time).

    

17. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 210 °C, then reduce the temperature to 180 °C and bake for another 12–15 minutes, until golden brown. At the higher temperature, the pastries will rise, and at the lower one, they’ll bake through and develop a lovely golden crust.

    

18. Let the finished pastries cool completely. After baking, they should be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like in the photo.

    

Making the custard:

19. I’ll show you how to make a milk-based version of the cream, without any butter. In a bowl, combine 2 egg yolks, 40 grams of sugar, and 20 grams of flour. Mix everything together thoroughly until you get a pale yellow mixture.

    

20. In a saucepan, bring 200 ml of milk to a boil. Then, slowly pour the hot milk in a thin stream into the egg mixture, stirring constantly (this will keep the eggs from curdling).

    

21. Pour the resulting mixture into a saucepan and place it over medium heat. Stir constantly as you cook it until it thickens up. Be patient — when the cream starts to bubble with big blops, that means it’s ready!

    

22. Transfer the finished cream to a shallow bowl, cover it with plastic wrap so it touches the surface, and chill it in the freezer for 15 minutes.

    

23. While the cream is cooling, whip 170 ml of heavy cream and 15 grams of powdered sugar until soft peaks form.

    

24. Add the chilled pastry cream to the whipped cream and gently mix with a whisk. Then transfer the cream to a piping bag fitted with a metal tip (this will make it much easier to fill the buns).

    

Moving on to filling the buns:

25. Make a small hole in the bottom of each bun (I used a chopstick for this).

    

26. Fill the buns with cream through the hole (add the filling in a circular motion, slowly turning the bun as you go). I recommend adding the cream a couple of hours before serving, then letting the pastries chill in the fridge for 1–2 hours. This way, the cream will set nicely and the buns will become even softer.

    

27. Delicate “Choux” buns with creamy filling are ready! Enjoy your meal!