St. Honoré Praliné-Citron

Ingredients

For puff pastry base

• 150 g puff pastry

For choux buns

• 1 recipe choux pastry

For crème Légère

• 250 ml whole milk
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 ½ tbsp caster sugar
• ½ vanilla bean
• 1 tbsp corn flour
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 2 ½ tbsp caster sugar
• 4 eggs, yolks only
• 1/3 cup whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks

For egg wash

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk
• Pinch of salt

For crème Chantilly

• 1 cup whipping cream, whipped to soft peaks
• ¾ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp caster sugar

For caramel

• 1 recipe caramel
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Method

Day 1

• You can buy readymade puff pastry but if you choose to make puff pastry from scratch, follow this recipe. Roll 150 g puff pastry into 1/8 inch thickness. Dock the pastry all over using a fork. Place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate overnight.

Day 2

• Prepare the pastry cream by combining, flours, egg yolks, 2 ½ tbsp of sugar and ½ cup of milk in a bowl. Whisk together. Bring remaining milk, vanilla pod and remaining 2 ½ tbsp sugar to the boil in a saucepan. Once the milk comes to boil, pour half the milk into the eggs mixture while continuously whisking. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook the mixture stirring continuously until it thickens. Remove the vanilla pod. Spread the pastry cream over a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap. Cover with plastic wrap again and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. Once cooled, fold in the whipped cream. Chill the crème Légère until use.
• Prepare the crème Chantilly. Refrigerate.

Day 3

• Using a 9 inch ring/cake mould, cut out a circle from the puff pastry. Refrigerate again.
• Preheat the oven to 200 C. Prepare choux pastry as per the recipe. Fit a piping bag fitted with 1 inch plain tip. Fill it with choux pastry. Combine the egg wash ingredients in a bowl. Remove the puff pastry disc from the fridge. Brush the circumference of the disc with egg wash using a pastry brush. Holding the piping bag at 90 degrees and pipe a ring over the disc, on the egg wash line 
• . Then, hold the pipe at the center of the disc, 1 inch above, and pipe a loose spiral .
• Line another baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe 13 1 inch circles on the sheet. Place the choux buns in the oven and bake them for 30-35 minutes until risen and golden brown.  Let cool on a wire rack.
• Bake the puff pastry disc for 30 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
• Fit a piping bag with 1 inch plain tip and fill it with crème Légère. Make 1 inch incisions at the base of every choux bun. Fill the choux buns with crème Légère. You’ll have left over crème Légère, reserve.
• Prepare the caramel. Dip the surface of the choux buns into the caramel and place on a sheet lined with parchment paper. Dip the base of one choux bun in caramel and place it at the 12 o clock mark. Repeat for 3, 6 and 9 o clock marks . Dip the base of the remaining buns and glue 2 of them between each mark. You should now have 12 buns at the circumference of your disc.
• Pipe the remaining crème Légère on the disc and even it with an offset spatula (see pic). Fit a piping bag with ½ inch star tip and fill it with crème Chantilly. Pipe it over the crème Légère. Place the last choux bun in the center of the cake . Refrigerate until serving.
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