Cara’choc Cylindrical Cream Puffs (Caramel and Chocolate)

Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and mix with a whisk.

Bring everything to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the rehydrated gelatine and blend with an immersion blender.

Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and set aside in the refrigerator.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream, milk, 50 g (1.8 oz) of glucose, vanilla and fleur de sel.

In another saucepan, cook the sugar and 100 g (3.5 oz) of glucose until the temperature reaches 185°C / 365°F.

Deglaze with the hot cream off the heat. Beware of spattering:

Return to the heat and cook to 105°C / 221°F while stirring with a spatula. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve if needed.

Allow the caramel to cool slightly and when it reaches 70°C / 158°F, add the butter cut into small pieces. Blend with an immersion blender and transfer to an airtight jar.

Melt two-thirds of the chocolate (i.e. 100 g (3.5 oz)) in the microwave. To do this, proceed in 30-second intervals at 500 W, stirring each time. The goal is to reach the first temperature point of the curve (45-50°C / 122°F / 113-122°F for dark chocolate).

Pour the melted chocolate onto a sheet of acetate and cover with another sheet of acetate (or if it is large enough, you can fold it in half). Spread it out with a rolling pin. Leave to crystallise for a few moments at room temperature.

Using a round 8 cm (3.1 in) diameter cutter (I chose a fluted cutter), cut out 8 discs from the chocolate sheet (feel free to make more, just in case).

Once at the right temperature, add the remaining third of chocolate and stir to cool it down until reaching the final temperature point directly (29-30°C / 86°F / 84-86°F for milk chocolate). The chocolate becomes slightly thicker; it is ready to be worked with. Leave to crystallise completely at room temperature if you made it ahead of time, or refrigerate if you are short on time. You may not need as much chocolate, you can make a little less but personally, I like to make more to anticipate any breakage or to choose the prettiest discs ;).

Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.

Make a ganache: melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler until it just begins to melt.

Heat the milk then, off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine.

Pour the hot milk in 3 additions over the dark chocolate, emulsifying each time. The chocolate should be smooth and glossy.

Whip the heavy cream but do not whip it too firmly; it should be mousse-like.

When the ganache has cooled to 30°C / 86°F, gently fold in the whipped cream.

Fill 8 cavities of the Stone mold with chocolate mousse up to three-quarters full (the chocolate mousse disc should not be too thick). Tap the mold firmly on the work surface so the mousse spreads evenly and any air bubbles disappear.

Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the freezer overnight.

Rehydrate the gelatine in the water.

Melt the Caramélia chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Off the heat, add the rehydrated gelatine and mix.

Pour one third of the milk over the chocolate and stir with a spatula to create an emulsion. Then pour in a second third, then a third, until the mixture is perfectly smooth.

Add the very cold heavy cream and mix again. Blend for a few seconds with an immersion blender to thoroughly emulsify everything.

Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and leave to set in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

In a saucepan, combine the water, milk, salt, sugar and butter. Bring to a boil then, off the heat, add the flour all at once. Mix well with a wooden spoon.

Return to the heat for 30 seconds to dry out this panade (it should very slightly catch on the bottom of the pan) .

Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Leave to cool for a few minutes.

Beat the eggs then add them gradually to the dough. It should be neither too thick nor too runny; it should form a ribbon ( if using an electric hand mixer, use the dough hooks rather than the beaters. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment ).

Transfer the dough to a piping bag without a tip.

Prepare the stainless steel rings. To do this, cut a Silpain mat to the dimensions of your rings. Here, I use rings of 7 cm (2.8 in) diameter and 2 cm (0.8 in) height. The Silpain strip should perfectly line the inside of the ring.

Preheat your oven to 190°C / 375°F fan-assisted/convection.

Place the rings on a perforated aluminium baking sheet, itself covered with a Silpain mat.

Pipe the choux pastry inside the rings, filling them to 1/3 ( with my rings, I piped 34 g (1.2 oz) of choux pastry per ring ).

Place a second Silpain mat on top of the rings, add a second perforated sheet then place a heavy weight on top (I used my cast iron casserole). The choux pastry develops incredible force during baking.

Place everything in the oven and bake for 1 hour 05 minutes.

At the end of baking, remove the sheet from the oven taking care not to burn yourself (I recommend removing the weights first). Carefully remove the rings then the Silpain strips. Leave the choux to cool on a wire rack. If the making of cylindrical choux is still unclear, I recommend watching the video I made and published on Instagram: click here

Remove the Stone mold from the freezer and unmold the chocolate mousse discs.

Place them on a wire rack, with the rack set on a plate or dish to catch the excess.

Reheat the mirror glaze to approximately 30°C / 86°F, blend again with the immersion blender taking care not to incorporate bubbles, and pour gently to coat each disc.

Remove the discs from the rack using a small offset spatula and place each one on a milk chocolate disc, centred precisely. Set aside.

Mix the namelaka cream with a spatula then transfer to a piping bag without a tip.

Transfer the salted butter caramel to another piping bag without a tip.

Pierce the base of the cylindrical choux with a knife by making a small cross first, then rotating the knife to create a small hole.

Half-fill the choux with namelaka cream then add a little salted butter caramel and complete with namelaka cream. Stop filling when cream comes out of the hole (you can leave this cream that protrudes from the chou, as it will help the chocolate disc to adhere).

Place the choux on a serving plate, hole facing up, then delicately place the chocolate disc on the chou, perfectly centred, then scatter with chocolate sprinkles.

Set aside in the refrigerator until serving. I made a video of the assembly of these choux which I published on Instagram. Feel free to watch it if anything seems unclear.