After a short month’s summer break and 2 weeks of holiday in Normandy that really recharged our batteries, here’s a new recipe that’s both indulgent and full of freshness, just the way I love it: little mango passion fruit choux buns with vanilla chantilly cream. And to make them even prettier, I topped them with a little mango passion fruit confit.
As a bit of background, last month I wanted to make choux buns for a meal with friends, large choux buns. I had my dessert clearly in mind, based on mango, passion fruit but also pineapple (I’d bought a lovely Victoria pineapple, the best there is!). At the bottom of each choux bun, I’d planned to put a mango passion fruit pineapple crémeux and a brunoise of caramelised pineapple, and to cover the whole thing with a vanilla mascarpone chantilly.
In the end, it didn’t go as planned since I made my crémeux with a homemade pineapple purée. The problem is that pineapple contains an enzyme that cancels out the effects of pectin, silly isn’t it? But at the time, I didn’t think of it. It was only afterwards, when I saw that my crémeux had stayed a bit runny (whereas MD’Rekreation‘s recipe, already tested, is perfect) that I thought about the problem. So, bear in mind: if you want to work with pineapple (and you’re using pectin in your recipe), you’ll need to use a pasteurised fruit purée.
Anyway… in the end, my big choux buns really weren’t presentable (which only bothered me, evidently :D). Luckily, as I had a bit of everything left over, I also made little choux buns which turned out to be much prettier. I filled them with the exotic crémeux (a bit too runny, then, but in this recipe I’ve removed the pineapple so you won’t have that problem) and chantilly cream. They were frankly delicious and overshadowed the big choux buns. Just goes to show!
And speaking of little cream puffs…My own second little “chou” is on its way, snug and warm in my tummy <3 It’s not an easy pregnancy because of my back problems, which have got worse with lockdown. So the next recipes to come will be recipes I was keeping in reserve just in case, as you’ll have gathered ????
Ingredients & method
7 components · Full recipe
Craquelin (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 40 g (1.4 oz) unsalted butter
- 50 g (1.8 oz) brown sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) flour
- 1 pinch of salt
Method
1
In a bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar and salt, add the softened butter and knead for a few minutes until a smooth dough forms.
2
Roll out the dough to 3 mm thickness between 2 sheets of baking paper and place in the freezer for about ten minutes.
3
Cut out discs of 2–3 cm (1.2 in) in diameter (depending on whether you like the craquelin to cover the whole chou or not) using a piping tip for example. Set the craquelin discs aside, reshape the remaining craquelin into a ball and repeat until all the dough is used.
Choux pastry (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 62 g (2.2 oz) water
- 62 g (2.2 oz) milk
- 2 g (0.1 oz) salt
- 2 g (0.1 oz) caster sugar
- 60 g (2.1 oz) butter
- 80 g (2.8 oz) plain flour (T45)
- 125 g (4.4 oz) whole eggs
Method
1
In a saucepan, combine the water, milk, salt, sugar and butter and bring gently to a boil.
2
Off the heat, add the sifted flour all at once. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
3
Return to the heat for 30 seconds to dry out the dough (until it starts to catch on the bottom of the saucepan).
4
Remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Run the mixer for a few minutes to cool the panade (the name for choux pastry at this stage).
5
Beat the whole eggs together (this makes it easier to add them gradually). Add the eggs progressively. The dough should be neither too thick nor too runny; it should form a ribbon. A groove drawn with a finger through the dough should close back slowly. You now have 2 options: either pipe the choux pastry straight away using a piping bag fitted with a 10 mm tip, or fill a half-sphere mould to freeze it. I use the second method, which is handy for organising ahead and also for having choux that are all the same size. Fill a piping bag without a tip and fill a 3 cm (1.2 in) diameter half-sphere mould. Smooth with a spatula, place cling film on top and freeze until the domes are completely firm and easy to unmould (you can even do this several days ahead).
Mango passion jelly (make the day before)
Ingredients
- 90 g (3.2 oz) mango purée
- 90 g (3.2 oz) passion fruit purée
- 4 g (0.1 oz) gelatin (or 2 leaves)
- 24 g (0.8 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatin)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatin in the water.
2
In a small saucepan, heat the fruit purées until just boiling.
3
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatin and stir. Pour the confit into a 24 cm (9.4 in) diameter silicone mould. The ideal is to obtain a fairly thin layer of confit, about 2 to 3 mm thick. I deliberately use a mould that is quite large relative to the quantity of confit, which I spread evenly by rotating it. To check the thickness of the confit, I habitually stick in a cocktail stick to see how far the confit reaches. Refrigerate overnight.
Mango passion cream (recipe by MD’Rekreation)
Ingredients
- 65 g (2.3 oz) mango purée
- 50 g (1.8 oz) passion fruit purée
- 75 g (2.6 oz) caster sugar 1
- 190 g (6.7 oz) whole eggs
- 75 g (2.6 oz) caster sugar 2
- 90 g (3.2 oz) cold butter
- 2.25 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatin
- 13.5 g (0.5 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatin)
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatin in the water.
2
In a saucepan, heat sugar 1 with the fruit purées just long enough to completely dissolve the sugar (be careful not to let the contents of the saucepan boil).
3
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar 2 and the whole eggs, then add the still-hot previous mixture. Whisk well and pour everything back into the saucepan.
4
Bring to a boil for 2 minutes while whisking, then, off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatin and stir.
5
Pour the mixture into a jug (or any tall container). Allow to cool, and when the cream is at around 35°C / 95°F, add the cold butter and blend with an immersion blender. The cream should be smooth and homogeneous. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 10 mm tip and refrigerate until assembly.
Baking the choux pastry (on the day)
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Arrange the choux on a baking tray lined with baking paper, then place a frozen craquelin disc on top of each one.
2
Allow the choux to thaw for about thirty minutes at room temperature. It is perfectly possible to bake the choux straight from frozen, but I noticed that the craquelin tends to slide off when the choux is frozen. I now prefer to let them thaw for about thirty minutes, just long enough for the craquelin to stick to the chou. Preheat the oven to 240°C / 465°F (static heat).
3
Place in the oven then immediately lower the temperature to 170°C / 340°F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not open the oven door to prevent the choux from collapsing.
Vanilla mascarpone chantilly
Ingredients
- 180 g (6.3 oz) heavy cream
- 50 g (1.8 oz) mascarpone
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar (the rest is already sweetened)
- half a vanilla pod
Method
1
Place the bowl and the electric mixer whisk attachments in the freezer for at least 15 minutes.
2
Pour the cream and mascarpone into the bowl and begin whisking at medium speed. Then, when the cream starts to firm up a little, increase the speed.
3
Add the icing sugar and vanilla when the cream is almost whipped.
4
Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 10 mm tip.
Assembly of the mango passion cream puffs
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Pierce the base of each chou with a knife (make 2 cuts, like a cross).
2
Half-fill all the choux with the mango passion cream then fill completely with the vanilla chantilly.
3
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
4
Using a small cutter or a round piping tip (choose the diameter based on the size of your choux), cut out rounds of mango passion confit and place one on top of each chou.
5
To finish, place a small sugar pearl on each one, just for the look 😄 Note: the choux are much better eaten on the same day. They don’t fare well with the humidity of the fridge.
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