A few weeks ago, I felt like making a vanilla Saint-Honoré. It had been ages since I’d made one! This dessert is known for being a bit difficult to make because it requires mastering several basic pastry techniques: puff pastry (or inverse puff pastry), choux pastry, caramel, chiboust cream (and therefore pastry cream and Italian meringue). Yes, all that in one single dessert!
For those who aren’t familiar with chiboust cream (or Saint-Honoré cream), it’s actually a cream derived from pastry cream. You add gelatine and then an Italian meringue. I preferred to replace it with a vanilla whipped ganache because I’m a complete fan of it 🙂 And here, no caramel on my choux buns (it’s really not something I’m fond of), so I opted for choux buns topped with craquelin, which gives them a regular shape and brings a bit of texture to the mouth.
Inverse puff pastry is simpler to make than a classic puff pastry (the dough is enclosed in the butter). I obviously recommend making it yourself because the result is incomparable. I recommend the recipe for Christophe Felder’s inverse puff pastry, a classic! That said, let’s imagine you really fancy a vanilla Saint-Honoré but you have neither the time nor the inclination to embark on making homemade puff pastry; in that case I recommend the puff pastries from Picard.
Let’s talk a little about organisation. It’s the key word for succeeding with this dessert. I advise against leaving it to the last minute, thinking you’ll have everything wrapped up in 2 hours (we’re not on Le Meilleur Pâtissier, you know!). To avoid overloading yourself (and unnecessary stress), you can spread the work over several days; I’ve been working this way for a little while now. I always indicate in the recipe when to do the different steps. Be aware that:
- the craquelin can be frozen (you can make it the day before or even several days ahead),
- the whipped ganache must spend a night in the fridge so it has to be made the day before,
- the pastry cream can be made on the day but you can just as well make it the day before too,
- the puff pastry freezes very well (make it when you have a moment); mine had spent several months in the freezer,
- finally, the choux buns can be made and baked on the day but once again, (raw) choux buns freeze very well.
Take the time to organise yourself well and keep some time on the day for nice piping (if you’re not comfortable with piping using the Saint-Honoré nozzle, don’t hesitate to practise for 5 minutes). And if you don’t have a Saint-Honoré nozzle, you have no excuse not to make this vanilla Saint-Honoré because in the recipe, I’ve given you a little tip for piping like me, even without the nozzle 😉
It’s a truly excellent dessert! The inverse puff pastry is crisp and melts in the mouth, the choux buns filled with pastry cream are just insane. As for the whipped ganache, I don’t need to draw you a picture, it’s the little indulgent touch (on top of everything else, of course!). This vanilla Saint-Honoré is irresistible!
Ingredients & Method
5 components · Full recipe
Craquelin (can be made ahead)
Ingredients
- 40 g (1.4 oz) unsalted butter
- 50 g (1.8 oz) light brown sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) flour
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
In a bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar and fleur de sel, then add the softened butter and knead for a few minutes until you obtain a smooth, uniform dough.
2
Roll out the dough to a thickness of 3 mm between 2 sheets of parchment paper.
3
Cut out discs to match the diameter of your choux (slightly larger if you want the craquelin to cover them fully).
Vanilla whipped ganache (start the day before)
Ingredients
- 42 g (1.5 oz) white chocolate
- 75 g (2.6 oz) whipping cream
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 1.25 g (0 oz) powdered gelatin
- 7.5 g (0.3 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
- 125 g (4.4 oz) very cold whipping cream
Method
1
Rehydrate the gelatine in water.
2
Break the white chocolate into pieces in a bowl (you can melt it slightly in a bain-marie or microwave).
3
Heat the 75 g (2.6 oz) of cream with the split and scraped half vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover and leave to infuse for 15 minutes.
4
Remove the vanilla pod and heat the cream again.
5
Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatin and stir.
6
Pour one third of the cream over the white chocolate and mix with a spatula to create an emulsion. Then pour in a second third and then a third to obtain a smooth, homogeneous mixture.
7
Add the 125 g (4.4 oz) of very cold cream and mix again. Blend for a few seconds with an immersion blender to thoroughly homogenise the mixture.
Vanilla Pastry Cream (can be made the day before)
Ingredients
- 500 g (17.6 oz) milk
- 80 g (2.8 oz) egg yolks (4 to 5 yolks depending on size)
- 120 g (4.2 oz) sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) cornstarch
- 70 g (2.5 oz) butter
- 1 vanilla pod
Method
1
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture turns pale and ribbon-like.
2
Add the cornstarch and mix.
3
Bring the milk and scraped vanilla pod to the boil in a large saucepan. Pour a little of the hot milk into the bowl in a thin stream, whisking constantly, to loosen the cream, then pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
4
Whisk over medium heat until the cream thickens.
5
Transfer to a bowl and add the butter cut into pieces. Whisk vigorously until the butter has melted, then cover with cling film pressed directly onto the surface.
Choux Pastry
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) all-purpose flour (T45)
- 125 g (4.4 oz) whole eggs
- use a template (click here, print this sheet and slide it under your baking paper — don’t forget to remove it before baking).
- use a 3 or 3.5 cm (1.4 in) cookie cutter: dip it in flour then tap it on a silicone mat. Repeat for each round. This gives flour circles to pipe uniform choux.
Method
1
In a saucepan, combine the water, milk, salt, sugar and butter and gently bring to a boil.
2
Off the heat, add the sifted flour all at once. Stir well with a wooden spoon.
3
Return to the heat for 30 seconds to dry out the dough (until it starts to stick to 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 the choux paste at this stage).
5
Beat the whole eggs together (it is easier to control the addition of eggs this way) and add them gradually. The dough should be neither too thick nor too runny — it should form a ribbon. A line drawn through the dough with your finger should slowly close back up.
6
Preheat the oven to 240°C / 465°F (conventional heat).
7
Put the choux pastry in a piping bag fitted with a 10 mm nozzle and pipe evenly spaced rounds onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
8
Place a frozen craquelin disc on each choux round and press down gently.
9
Place in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 170°C / 340°F. Bake for about 25 minutes. Do not open the oven door to prevent your choux pastry from collapsing.
Assembling the Vanilla Saint-Honoré
Ingredients
- 1 disc of inverted puff pastry (recipe here)
- the previously baked choux
- the pastry cream
- the whipped ganache
Method
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.
2
Cut out a 22 cm (8.7 in) disc of inverted puff pastry.
3
Place this disc of pastry on a sheet of baking paper set on a baking tray. Add another sheet of baking paper on top and cover with a second baking tray weighted down (to prevent the pastry from puffing up too much during baking).
4
Bake for 25–30 minutes until you achieve a lovely caramelised colour. You can also dust the puff pastry with a little icing sugar and continue baking for a few moments (watch it closely — it goes very fast!!!) for a beautiful caramelisation. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
5
Place the pastry cream in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk at full speed for 2–3 minutes to lighten it. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with an 8 mm plain nozzle.
6
Pierce the base of each choux with a knife in a small cross, then fill with cream (don’t be stingy — it’s even better if a little cream oozes out, as it helps the choux adhere to the puff pastry disc).
7
Place the choux around the outer edge of the puff pastry disc.
8
Fill the Saint-Honoré with vanilla pastry cream, piping in a spiral from the centre. If you keep the 8 mm nozzle, pipe two layers of pastry cream.
9
Whip the vanilla ganache with a hand mixer until firm enough to pipe but not so much that it splits. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a small Saint-Honoré nozzle. If you don’t have one, you can cut your piping bag in that shape. Pipe the whipped ganache starting from the outside, first between each choux puff then moving back towards the centre (the split side faces upwards).
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