Religieuse Trio

Religieuse is a classic French pastry that's visually striking because of its two stacked choux pastry puffs, which resemble a nun's habit, hence the name. The bottom puff is typically larger, and the smaller one sits on top, creating a somewhat “head and body” effect. Traditionally, it’s filled with crème pâtissière (pastry cream), and it’s often topped with icing or fondant. Like the éclair, it’s incredibly versatile when it comes to flavor combinations. You can play around with different fillings, like chocolate, coffee, or fruit-flavored creams, and the toppings can be customized to complement those flavors. Some even use different types of glazes or coatings, from glossy chocolate to delicate fruit glazes, making it a fun pastry to experiment with.

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Does Religieuse means Nun in French?

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Choux Craquelin Crust

In the food processor, mix all ingredients together until it comes together. Roll out pastry between 2 parchment papers into a 2mm thick sheet. Freeze for an hour or so. Cut pastry sheet into disks that marches the diameter of the pastry choux. Craquelin can be kept frozen for months.

Pate A Choux

Bring to a boil: water, milk, butter, trimoline and salt. Remove from the heat, add flour at once, and stir thoroughly until fully incorporated. Turn the flame back on, stirring dough swiftly on medium-high heat for about 3 minutes until it forms a ball and film on the bottom of the saucepan. This initial cooking causes the starch in the flour to gelatinize, which will help the pastry hold onto steam and puff up. Transfer dough in mixing bowl and beat on low with the paddle attachment for about 3 minutes or until most steam is gone. This prevents eggs from scrambling if added too early. Add eggs at once and mix until smooth on low speed. Pipe out 12 large choux (≈40g each). Pipe out 12 smaller choux for the heads. Top choux with the frozen craquelin disks.

Baking

Fan oven: Preheat oven to 375ºF/190ºC. Bake choux pastries about 35 minutes (one tray at the time). Do not open the oven door during baking or it will deflate. Then, turn oven off leaving the door ajar for 15 minutes. Shorter baking time by 10 minutes for religieuse’s heads. Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire rack.
Conventional oven: Preheat oven to 450ºF/230ºC. Bake large choux for 5 minutes. Then, lower temperature to 350ºF/180ºC and bake for 30 minutes more (one tray at the time). Do not open the oven door during baking or it will deflate. Then, turn oven off leaving the door ajar for 15 minutes. Shorter baking time by 10 minutes for religieuse’s heads. Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire rack.

Praliné / Hazelnut Spread

Lightly toast nuts on skillet. Meanwhile, turn sugar into caramel – toss in nuts and cool. Break caramelized nuts into pieces (save some for garnishing). Let cool. In a running food processor, throw in pieces of caramelized nuts; turn to paste. Set aside.

Praliné Mousseline

Bring milk to a simmer. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar to blend and add flour and corn starch. Turn off the heat. Whisk hot milk gradually into the yolk mixture. Return custard to the stove, bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes on medium high heat whisking constantly. Turn off the heat and add the butter. Transfer custard onto a tray lined with plastic wrap. Cover with plastic wrap in contact and let cool to room temp and chill. Beat chilled custard on high speed for one minute or until smooth. Add praliné and remaining butter. Beat on high until fluffy. Keep at room temperature to fill the choux.

Chantilly

In a chilled mixing bowl, whip all ingredients to medium peaks.

Montage

Slice-off large choux tops and heads. Trim the large choux using a round fluted cutter. Dust small ones with powdered sugar and set aside. Pipe the praliné mousseline into the hollow center of the large shells. Stuff with some crushed caramelized nuts. Pipe a nice rosette of praliné mousseline on the top and place the trimmed hats upside-down. Pipe out some whipped cream, add more praliné mousseline, crushed caramelized nuts and Chantilly. Put the hat back on each head and serve!. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. Do not freeze. Enjoy!

Rose-Framboise Religieuse

Bring milk, one-third of the sugar and vanilla to a simmer. Meanwhile in a separate bowl, beat egg yolks with remaining sugar, flour and corn starch. Temper yolk mixture with the hot milk. Return custard to the stove, bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes on medium high heat whisking constantly. Add rose water. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter. Transfer custard onto a baking tray lined with plastic warp. Cover with another piece of plastic film in contact. Cool custard to room temp and chill. Beat custard on high speed for about a minute or until smooth. The pastry cream can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Buttercream Frosting

Beat on hight speed until it gets smooth and fluffy.

Montage

Slice-off large puffs tops and cut off head’s bottoms (foot). Pipe the custard into the hollow center of the shell and stuff with 5 raspberries. Pipe out a thin rosette of buttercream custard frosting on top of each large choux. Place heads upside-down on the rosette. Fill heads with custard and top with butter cream. Garnish with a fresh rose petal and a framboise (raspberry). Fill each cavity with some red fruit jam.

Chocolate Religieuse

In a clean bowl add chocolates and pour in the hot vanilla custard. Let sit a couple of minutes and whisk swiftly until completely smooth. Transfer chocolate custard onto a baking tray lined with plastic warp. Cover with another piece of plastic film in contact. Cool custard to room temp and chill; beat to smooth.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Beat on high until smooth.

Chocolate Glaze

Pour hot heavy cream in the chocolates. Let sit to melt and blend. Pass through a fine sieve. Let cool to 95ºF/35ºC before using.

Montage

More like the traditional way for this one. Simply prick the top of each large choux and the bottom of the small ones. Pipe all puffs generously with the chocolate custard; scrap out any excess filling that comes out of the choux and set aside. Tap chocolate glaze over the counter to remove any air bubbles. Make sure the temperature of the glaze does not exceed 95ºF (35ºC). Dip each large choux in the chocolate glaze to coat. Pull out choux in a circular motion to remove any excess glaze. Finger tips should never be in contact with the chocolate glaze. Then, flip and let set. Glaze small puffs and place them on the top of each large choux puff. Decorate with chocolate buttercream frosting using a very small open start pastry tip. Refrigerate for up to 2 days. Avoid freezer. Enjoy!