Religieuse Trio

Religieuse in French it literally means 'the nun', and apparently they got this name from its appearance, which is said to resemble a nun's habit. Like eclair it allows endless combination of flavors and it is a great playground for creativity.

Blend all ingredients together until combined. Roll out between 2 parchment papers into a 1.5 mm thick sheet. Freeze and cut into disks from the diameter of the choux. Craquelin can be kept frozen for months.

Bring to a boil, water, milk, butter, trimoline and salt. Remove from the heat, stir in flour until fully incorporated. Turn the flame back on, stirring dough swiftly on medium-high heat for about 3 min or 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 min or until most steam is gone. This prevents eggs from cooking if added too early. Add eggs at once and mix until smooth on low speed. Pipe out eclair onto a non-stick perforated silicone liner. Pipe 12 large choux using a 20 mm diameter plain pastry tip for the base; about 40grams each and 12 mm for the heads. Place a disk of frozen craquelin on the top of each choux.

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.

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

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 whisk in 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.

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

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!

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 hot milk. Return custard to the stove, bring to boil and cook for 2 minutes on medium high heat whisking constantly. 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.