Traditional Paris-Brest Recipe

Preheat the oven to 180°C (convection). In a saucepan, heat the water, butter, and salt. At boiling point, remove from heat, add all the flour. Mix vigorously until a homogeneous ball forms.

Return to low heat for 1-2 min to dry the dough. Off the heat, incorporate the eggs one by one until you get a smooth and shiny paste.

Pipe a circle of dough (20 cm) onto a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush with diluted egg yolk, sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake for 30-35 min without opening the oven. Let cool.

For the cream: heat the milk with vanilla. Whisk the yolks with sugar, add the flour. Pour the hot milk while stirring, pour back into the saucepan. Thicken over medium heat, stirring, until a smooth pastry cream forms.

Off the heat, let cool slightly, incorporate 100g of butter. Let cool completely. Whip the remaining 100g of butter with the praline paste. Gradually incorporate into the cooled mixture for a smooth mousseline cream. Refrigerate.

Cut the choux in half horizontally. Fill the base with mousseline cream using a piping bag with a star tip. Replace the top. Dust with icing sugar before serving.