Pistachio & Raspberry Choux Bun
Pistachio & Raspberry Choux Bun
Mastering choux pastry is an essential baking skill, and these pistachio & raspberry choux buns are the perfect way to put it into practice.
The choux are filled with a raspberry compote, a light pistachio crème diplomate and then topped with a white chocolate & mascarpone cream, raspberry powder and pistachio paste.
While there are a few different components, each can be made ahead of time and kept chilled until you’re ready to assemble. The baked choux shells can even be frozen and simply reheated in the oven to restore their crispness, making the final assembly much quicker!
Ingredients
Method
Into a medium saucepan, add the milk, water, butter, sugar & salt. Place this over a medium heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is at a very gentle boil.
Remove the pan from the heat, and sieve in the bread flour. Stir it together until there are no more dry ingredients, then place it back onto a medium heat.
Cook the mixture for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. A thin film should form on the bottom of the saucepan. Immediately remove it from the heat and transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment.
Mix on a low speed until the mixture cools to around 45C/113F on an instant read thermometer. Increase the speed slightly and slowly add in the eggs just a little at a time. Wait about 20-30 seconds in between each addition.
The amount of eggs you add will depend on how much moisture you cooked out in the pan and the absorption levels of your flour. Start with 160g of the eggs and then add the remaining egg in tiny increments until you have a smooth glossy choux that falls in a very slow ribbon from the beater. Be sure to scrape down the bowl as you are mixing to ensure none of the dough gets stuck to the bottom. With my current flour, 170g is the sweet spot for me.
If you are piping the mixture by hand and not freezing it, cover the surface with clingfilm and allow the choux to rest at room temperature for an hour. Alternatively, pipe it into a 50mm half sphere silicon mold. This will give you a much more consistent result. Place the entire mold into the freezer until the choux is frozen solid, about 2 hours. You should get around 9 choux.
Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until smooth, about 1 minute.
Scrape down the sides and add in the flour and ground almonds, mixing until it forms a cohesive dough.
Lift the dough onto a silicon mat (or use 2 pieces of parchment paper) and place a second silicon mat on top. Using a rollin pin, roll it into a thin oval shape (roughly). It needs to be around 2-3mm thick. Place it onto a tray and into the freezer to set firm.
Into a small dish, add the powdered gelatin and cold water. Stir together to combine and set it to one side for 10 minutes
Add the chocolate and mascarpone into a tall measuring jug at set this aside (you can also add some vanilla bean paste/fresh vanilla here too)
Pour the cream into a small saucepan and heat it until it is steaming, stirring occasionally.
Remove the cream from the heat and pour it over the chocolate mixture. Scoop the bloomed gelatin on top and allow it to sit for 2 minutes.
Use a hand blender to blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and cover the surface with clingfilm. Refrigerate overnight. If you need to speed this up, pour it onto a large baking tray and refrigerate it for 3-4 hours.
Add the sugar, salt, cornflour/cornstarch and egg yolks into a medium bowl. Whisk for 1-2 minutes by hand, until thicker.
Meanwhile, add the milk to a medium saucepan, and place it on a medium heat until it is steaming.
Slowly pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture, whisking to combine.
Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and whisk constantly until it comes to a boil. Then continue to cook for 1-2 minutes to ensure the cornflour is fully cooked out. It will be a nice thick texture.
Pass it through a sieve into a clean bowl, and pour the pistachio paste over the top. Use a hand blender to blend until smooth.
Cover the surface with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed. At least 2 hours.
Add the powdered gelatin and cold water to a small dish and stir them together to combine. Set it aside to bloom for 10 minutes.
Whisk together the sugar and pectin and set this aside.
Add the raspberries to a medium saucepan and place them over a medium heat. Stir until the raspberries have broken down and the mixture is gently bubbling.
Tip in the sugar mixture and whisk to combine. Allow it to boil for 1 minute.
Remove it from the heat and scoop in the bloomed gelatin. Whisk to ensure it has fully dissolved, then add in the lemon juice and whisk to combine.
Transfer the mixture to a measuring jug and cover the surface with clingfilm. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.
Pre-heat the oven to 165C/330F non-fan assisted (150C/300F fan assisted).
Remove the choux from the freezer and place them onto a perforated silicon mat, on a perforated tray, evenly spaced. If you don't have a perforated tray, just use a regular baking sheet lined with parchment/baking paper. If you didn't freeze them, add the rested choux pastry into piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle and pipe rounds of choux about 50mm in diamater (2").
Remove the frozen craquelin from the freezer and, working quickly, peel off both silicon mats (or sheets of parchment) and cut out 7cm (2.7") discs. Place a craquelin disc in the centre of each choux. If the choux are frozen, it can be a little tricky to balance the craquelin on top, so it can help to gently rub the top of each choux with your fingers to warm it slightly. The craquelin will then stick nicely and won't slide off.
Place the tray into the centre of the oven and bake for around 60-70 minutes or until a deep golden colour. Don't open the oven too early or they will deflate. Not before 50 minutes is up at the earliest! To check they are ready, gently squeeze the choux, they should feel firm. Remove them from the oven and lift them onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled they can also be stored, tightly wrapped in the fridge (or frozen!). The next day, just pop them back in the oven at 165C/330F non-fan assisted (150C/300F fan assisted) for about 8 minutes then remove them and they should crisp back up.
Remove the pistachio pastry cream from the fridge and weigh it – it should be around 360g. Weigh out an equal amount of double/heavy cream to match the exact weight of the pastry cream. Whisk the cream to soft peaks with an electric hand whisk or with a stand mixer.
Firmly whisk the pistachio pastry cream in a medium bowl to soften it.
Pour the first half of the softly whipped cream in and whisk until evenly combined.
Add the remaining soft cream and fold this through with a spatula until the diplomat cream is smooth. Add this into a piping bag with a medium round tip nozzle.
Remove the chilled raspberry compote from the fridge and using a hand blender, blend it until it forms a smooth, jam like consistency. I prefer to then pass the mixture through a sieve to remove the seeds but that is optional. Add the mixture into a piping bag and snip a small hole off the end.
Cut a hole out of the bottom of each choux and pipe in a small amount of raspberry compote followed by the pistachio crème diplomate. Place the lid of the choux back on. Repeat this for all the choux.
Add the mascarpone white chocolate cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and whisk just until it reaches a medium soft peak.
Add it into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip nozzle, and pipe a bulb of the cream on the top of each choux.
Using a warm spoon, press it into the cream to create an indent.
Dust some raspberry powder around the edge of the cream, followed by a drizzle of pure pistachio paste in the indent.
Add a slice of fresh raspberry and serve.
