Here’s a new choux bun recipe, not cylindrical this time! You’ve probably gathered (especially if you’ve been following me for a while) that choux buns and I are a great love story! <3 This time, I wanted to combine 2 indulgent and comforting flavours that go together wonderfully: vanilla and pecan.
These vanilla and pecan choux buns are made up of a craquelin choux bun, a vanilla diplomat cream, a pecan praline, caramelised pecans, all topped with a pecan whipped ganache.
How do you make a pecan praline?
If you’ve already made classic praline (almond hazelnut), making a pecan praline shouldn’t be a problem. The process is the same, only the nuts change. In fact, you can very well make a praline with the nuts of your choice: almond, hazelnut, peanut, pistachio, pine nut, in short… the choice is vast!
Whichever nuts you choose, you need to roast them, that is to say put them in the oven at around 150°C for 10 to 15 minutes (some push the roasting a bit further, it’s up to you). This is very important because it’s what allows the nuts to release their aromas and gives them a more pronounced taste (and if you ever want to make a hazelnut praline, it also makes it easy to remove the skins from the nuts). There are 2 methods for making a praline:
- Method 1: make a dry caramel which you spread on a baking sheet and leave to cool. Then simply put the cooled nuts and the sheet of caramel broken into small pieces into a food processor and blend.
- Method 2: make a syrup with water, sugar and glucose, bring it all to 118°C, add the nuts and leave to caramelise (the nuts will first crystallise, then you continue the caramelisation until you get a lovely caramel colour). Turn out, leave the sheet of nuts to cool completely, then blend in a food processor.
I used to use the 2nd method, which I found better in taste. But let’s be honest, the first method is much simpler and much quicker to do and it’s what I do now when I’m a bit short on time. Note that when I choose method 1, I push the roasting a bit further. I often get asked about equipment on Instagram. You should know that I now use my Magimix Cook Expert (which I won in a competition) to blend my nuts and get a beautifully smooth praline in no time! It’s true that it’s brilliant!! But rest assured, before that, I used a small food processor and it worked very well too (and yet it was a Lidl-brand processor that had cost me 16 euros, so no need to invest to make praline).
Finally, if you’re a fan of the vanilla pecan combination, I suggest you have a look on my blog for other recipes (there’s a fairly simple loaf cake recipe but also, and above all, some entremets).
Ingredients & method
7 components · Full recipe
Pecan praline (make in advance — there will be some left over)
Ingredients
- 300 g (10.6 oz) pecans
- 200 g (7.1 oz) sugar
- 50 g (1.8 oz) water
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
Toast the pecans in the oven for 10 minutes at 150°C / 300°F (use the same time to toast the peanuts for the final decoration).
2
Bring the water and sugar to the boil. At 118°C / 244°F, remove from the heat, pour the pecans into the liquid sugar and stir until the mixture turns white and sandy. Return to medium heat and stir until the sugar re-melts and caramelises (this may take a little time).
3
Spread on baking paper and leave to cool.
4
Add the fleur de sel and blend in a food processor to a praline consistency.
5
Store in an airtight jar.
Caramelised pecans (can be made in advance)
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) pecans
- icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon cocoa butter (or butter)
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
When golden, add the cocoa butter (or butter) and fleur de sel and stir well. Turn out onto a surface covered with baking paper.
2
Leave to cool, separate any that stick together, and store in a dry, airtight container.
3
Toast the pecans in the oven for 10 minutes at 150°C / 300°F, then chop into pieces — do not forget to keep a few pecans simply halved for the decoration.
4
Heat the pecans in a large frying pan and dust with icing sugar to coat them completely. Leave to caramelise, stirring regularly, until they turn a beautiful golden colour.
Pecan whipped ganache (start the day before)
Ingredients
- 63 g (2.2 oz) Valrhona Ivoire 40% white chocolate
- 80 g (2.8 oz) full-fat cream
- 170 g (6 oz) very cold full-fat cream
- 40 g (1.4 oz) pecan praline (recipe above)
- 2 g (0.1 oz) powdered gelatine (= 1 leaf)
- 12 g (0.4 oz) water (to rehydrate the gelatine)
Method
1
Soak the gelatine in the water.
2
Break the white chocolate into pieces in a bowl (you can partially melt it in a bain-marie or microwave).
3
Heat the 80 g (2.8 oz) of cream and bring to the boil.
4
Off the heat, add the soaked gelatine and stir.
5
Pour one third of the cream over the white chocolate and stir with a spatula to create an emulsion. Add a second third, then a third, until the mixture is perfectly homogeneous.
6
Add the 170 g (6 oz) of very cold cream and the pecan praline, stir again. Blend for a few seconds with a stick blender to fully emulsify.
7
Press cling film directly onto the surface and refrigerate overnight. I used pecan paste because I had some at home (I like using nut pastes for whipped ganaches — the flavour is intense and they are not sweet). But the pecan praline from this recipe will work just as well 🙂
Vanilla diplomat cream (can be started the day before)
Ingredients
- 315 g (11.1 oz) milk
- 1 Norohy organic Madagascar vanilla pod
- 60 g (2.1 oz) caster sugar
- 60 g (2.1 oz) egg yolks (3 to 4 yolks)
- 30 g (1.1 oz) cornflour
- 3 g (0.1 oz) gelatine (= 1½ leaves)
- 22 g (0.8 oz) unsalted butter
- 115 g (4.1 oz) full-fat cream
Method
1
Soak the gelatine leaves in very cold water for 10 minutes.
2
In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until pale.
3
Add the cornflour and mix.
4
Bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla seeds and pod in a large saucepan. Pour three-quarters of the milk into the bowl in a thin stream, whisking constantly, then pour everything back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk.
5
Whisk over medium heat until the cream thickens, about 2–3 minutes.
6
Off the heat, fold in the drained gelatine, then the cold butter cut into pieces, and mix well.
7
Spread in a wide dish, press cling film directly onto the surface and leave to cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour (you can also do this step the day before).
8
The next day (or 1 hour later), put the crème pâtissière in the stand mixer bowl and whisk at full speed for 2–3 minutes to aerate it well.
9
Whip the full-fat cream to soft peaks and fold it into the crème pâtissière in 3 additions.
10
Transfer the diplomat cream to a piping bag fitted with a plain 10–12 mm nozzle. Set aside in the fridge until assembly.
Craquelin
Ingredients
- 30 g (1.1 oz) unsalted butter
- 37 g (1.3 oz) soft brown sugar
- 37 g (1.3 oz) flour
- 1 pinch of fleur de sel
Method
1
In a bowl, mix the flour, soft brown sugar and fleur de sel, then add the softened butter and knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and homogeneous.
2
Roll the dough to a maximum thickness of 2 mm between two sheets of baking paper.
3
Cut out 5 cm (2 in) diameter discs using a pastry cutter and freeze. Do not hesitate to re-roll the trimmings to cut more discs.
Choux pastry
Ingredients
- 50 g (1.8 oz) water
- 50 g (1.8 oz) milk
- 2 g (0.1 oz) sugar
- 1 g (0 oz) salt
- 40 g (1.4 oz) butter
- 60 g (2.1 oz) flour
- 100 g (3.5 oz) eggs
Method
1
In a saucepan, combine the water, milk, salt, sugar and butter. Bring to the boil, then off the heat, add the flour all at once. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
2
Return to the heat for 30 seconds to dry out the panade (it should very slightly stick to the bottom of the pan).
3
Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
4
Beat the eggs then add them gradually to the dough. The dough should be neither too thick nor too runny — it should ribbon when lifted (if using an electric mixer, use the dough hooks rather than the whisk; if using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment).
5
Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a plain 10 mm nozzle.
6
Preheat the oven to 240°C / 465°F.
7
Pipe choux of 4 cm (1.6 in) diameter onto a tray lined with baking paper or a silpat mat (keep the bag perfectly upright). With this quantity of dough, I was able to make about fifteen choux.
8
Place a frozen craquelin disc on each chou.
9
Before baking, lower the oven temperature to 175°C / 350°F and bake for approximately 20–25 minutes.
10
After baking, place the choux on a wire rack and leave to cool. To pipe evenly sized choux, you have two options: use a cutter of the right size dipped in flour, then tap it onto the baking mat to leave an imprint; or use a template slipped under the sheet of baking paper (which is what I do).
Assembly
Ingredients
- None
Method
1
Hollow out the pecan whipped ganache with a Parisian spoon heated beforehand (with a blowtorch or under hot water) and pipe pecan praline into the centre.
2
Finish with a caramelised pecan half and set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
3
Cut a hole in the top of each chou with a serrated knife to create an opening of about 2 cm (0.8 in) in diameter (do not forget to keep the little lid).
4
Fill halfway with diplomat cream, add a little pecan praline and some caramelised pecans, then finish with a little more diplomat cream. Replace the little lid to cover the opening.
5
Whip the pecan ganache like a chantilly cream and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain 16 mm nozzle.
6
Pipe a generous ball of pecan whipped ganache on top of each chou (it should fully cover the opening made at the start).
Gallery
