Name: Chocolate & Praline Paris Brest
Yield: Makes 15-16
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 250 g (9 oz) whole eggs (about 5 eggs), beaten Egg wash; 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) water; 40 g (1½ oz/¼ cup) cocoa powder; 225 ml (7½ oz/scant 1 cup) whipping (pouring) cream; 100 g (3½ oz/1 cup) flaked almonds; 125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) milk; 12 g (⅓ oz) caster (superfine) sugar; 80 g (2¾ oz) egg yolks (about 4 eggs); 100 ml (3½ fl oz/generous ⅓ cup) milk; 40 g (1½ oz/scant ¼ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted; 100 g (3½ oz/generous ⅓ cup) caster (superfine) sugar; 160 g (5½ oz/1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted; 25 g (scant 1 oz) unsalted butter, softened; 500 ml (16 fl oz/2 cups) milk; ¼ vanilla pod (bean), split lengthways; 75 g (2½ oz) gianduja, finely chopped; 75 g (2½ oz) Praline Paste; 2 g {¼ tsp) salt; 120 g (4¾ oz) egg yolks (about 6 eggs); Icing (powdered/pure) sugar, to dust Chocolate decorations; 180 g (6½ oz) fine dark (bittersweet) chocolate (65% cocoa solids), finely chopped; 30 g (1 oz) caster (superfine) sugar; 50 g (1¾ oz) fine dark (bittersweet) chocolate (70% cocoa solids); 2 quantities Crème Chantilly; 125 g (4½ oz) unsalted butter, cut into cubes; 80 g (2¾ oz/¾ cup) hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Preparation info

Makes
15-16

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Couture Chocolate

By William Curley

Published 2011

About

This wonderful patisserie was first created to commemorate the bicycle race between Paris and Brest, which dates back to 1891. Confusion remains as to the exact creator, but he was clearly a very crafty baker. On seeing the first race, he was so inspired that he created this tyre-shaped choux pastry filled with praline crème pâtissière and crème Chantilly, mimicking the newly invented inner tubes of the day and topped with roasted almonds and icing (powdered/pure) sugar to represent the dus