2022 Tour de France - Stage 21: Paris.
That’s a wrap! Today’s final stage closed out the 2022 Tour de France as the riders tore through the streets of Paris and around the iconic Champ Elysees and cobblestone path toward the finish line. This culinary ridealong was much like my first, as I had no time to prepare due to time constraints with work being so crazy the past couple of months. But, I made it across the finish line and give you one, last amazing French dish: Paris-Brest! This is a delicious ring of choux pastry, topped with chopped hazelnuts, and filled with a hazelnut cream filling. But, this adventure isn’t over yet…stay tuned for the Champion’s meal which I will unveil on Tuesday, after a much-needed final rest day. Bonne nuit, Paris, and vive le Tour!
Paris-Brest from Cook’s Illustrated
Praline
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup hazelnuts,+ 2 tbsp, toasted and skinned
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Pastry Dough
4 large eggs
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
½ cup whole milk
⅓ cup water
2 ¾ teaspoons sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons toasted, skinned, and chopped hazelnuts
Cream Filling
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
¼ cup water
1 ½ cups half-and-half
5 large egg yolks
⅓ cup (2 1/3 ounces) sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces and chilled
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
confectioners' sugar
For the praline: Place a sheet of parchment paper, coated with baking spray, on a baking tray. Meanwhile, bring the sugar, water and lemon juice to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring once or twice. Once the sugar is dissolved, let the syrup boil until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the hazelnuts, immediately transferring it to the prepared baking tray. Let cool, at least 30 minutes, and reserve.
Process the two tablespoons of hazelnuts in a food processor and set aside in a bowl.
Once the praline has cooled, break hardened caramel into 1- to 2-inch pieces; process pieces in food processor until finely ground, about 30 seconds. Add salt and vegetable oil and continue to process until uniform paste is formed, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and reserve.
For the pastry dough: Set the oven racks to the upper and lower thirds and heat to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, using an 8” outline, draw two circles on 2 sheets of parchment. Spray the baking sheets with baking spray and place the prepared parchment on the baking sheets (ink-side down).
Meanwhile, mix the eggs together in a bowl and reserve. Bring the butter, milk, water, sugar and salt to a boil over medium heat. REmove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour with a rubber spatula until combined. Return the pot to the heat and continue stirring and mashing for about 3 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to the food processor and mix for 30 seconds with the feed tube wide open. Then add in the eggs, with the motor running. Once all of the eggs have been poured in, scrape down the sides and then process for another 30 seconds.
Transfer about 1 cup to a pastry bag fitted with a ⅜” tip. Make one ring, about ½’ wide on one prepare baking sheet. Change out the tip to a star tip and, on the empty baking sheet, pipe a ½” thick pastry ring, inside the circle, followed by another ring outside the circle, and finally add a third ring on top of the 2 side-by-side rings. Sprinkle the reserved 2 tbsp hazelnuts on the three rings of pastry dough.
Place the single ring on the bottom rack, and the other on the top rack, baking for 20 minutes. Remove the single ring tray and place on a cooling rack. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees and continue baking the larger ring for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven, turn off the heat, and cut 4 equidistant small horizontal incisions in the middle of the pastry (think N, S, E, & West).
Place this large ring back in the oven on the top rack and prop open the oven door using the handle of a wooden spoon. Warm for 45 minutes, remove to a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Then, slice the ring open horizontally.
For the Cream Filling: While the rings bake, sprinkle the gelatin on the water in a small bowl. Meanwhile, heat the half-and-half in a medium saucepan, over medium heat, until it just comes to a simmer.
Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until combined, then add the flour and continue whisking until no dry flour is visible.
Take the simmering cream mixture and whisk about ½ cup into the prepared eggs. Transfer this back into the pot and return to the stove, over medium heat and whisk for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 8 minutes, whisking continuously. Turn the heat up to medium-high and whisk vigorously for 2 minutes until bubbles form at the surface.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter, vanilla, and softened gelatin until butter is fully melted. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Spray a piece of parchment and gently press down onto the custard surface and refrigerate for about 45 minutes, until mostly cooled.
After 45 minutes, whisk the cream in a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) on low, until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to high until medium peaks form.
Add the reserved praline, and half of the whipped cream, to the custard and whisk until combined. Fold in the remaining whipped cream until no streaks of cream are visible. Cover and set in the refrigerator for 3-24 hours.
To assemble: place the bottom ring half on a serving platter. Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a ½” star tip, with the chilled praline cream. In a zig-zag fashion, cover the bottom ring with a ½-inch wide strip of the praline cream. Place the single ring atop of the cream giving it a gentle press. Repeat the zig-zag pattern to completely cover the single pastry ring.
Cover with the top ring, dust with confectioner’s sugar, slice and serve!
______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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