Eric Lanlard’s pistachio Paris-Brest recipe
French pâtissier Eric Lanlard shows us how to create this classic pastry, created to resemble the wheel of a racing bike commemorating the Paris-Brest race.
Image: Eric Lanlard
Ingredients
For the choux pastry:
- 125ml milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 10g sugar
- 50g butter
- 75g all-purpose flour
- 2-3 large eggs
For the pistachio cream mousseline:
- 500ml milk
- 3 large egg yolks
- 100g sugar
- 45g cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200g soft butter
- 200g pistachio paste
For the decoration:
- 50-60g coarsely chopped pistachos
- dried edible rose petals
- Icing sugar
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C. To make the choux pastry, place milk, salt, sugar and butter and bring to boil. Add the flour then lower heat and mix well until a lump of dough is formed.
- Transfer the dough into a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment and mix at medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes until the dough has cooled slightly. Add half of the eggs and blend on medium speed. The dough will look like it’s falling apart, but just keep beating it. Continue to gradually add in the eggs until the dough is flexible. Check whether a thin string of dough is formed between 2 fingers. If not, add a little more egg.
- Transfer the dough mixture into a piping bag fitted with 2cm serrated piping tip and pipe seven 8cm diameter circles onto a lined oven tray. Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and puffed. Cool completely at room temperature and cut each Paris-Brest in half.
- To make the pistachio cream, place the milk in a pan with the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla and beat until combined. Place the pot over medium heat and whisk until you get a uniform, dense and stable cream. Remove from heat and transfer into a flat container. Cover the surface of the cream with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the cream is completely set.
- Place butter and pistachio paste in a mixing bowl and whip until blended. Add the cold pastry cream and continue whipping at high speed until a very stable, glossy cream is formed. Transfer the cream to a pastry bag with a 2cm serrated piping tip and pipe generous mounds onto the base of each Paris-Brest. Close each Paris-Brest with the top part and sprinkle with icing sugar.
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