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oday I’m making a little chocolate and hazelnut deliciousness – choux craquelin filled with gianduia chocolate ganache, hazelnut whipped ganache and praliné paste! Yum!
First I will make choux craquelin. What is choux, and what is craquelin – you say? Choux pastry is a type of dough used for making eclairs, cream puffs, Paris-Brest and profiterols. Craquelin is sort of crumble, rolled out into a thin disc, that you put onto choux pastry before baking. The result is – yummy and crunchy hollow choux pastry!
Next, I will make gianduia chocolate ganache. Remember gianduia chocolate? Once you taste it, you will never forget it! Gianduia is a chocolate that contains about 30% pure, smooth hazelnut paste and tastes like heaven! Need I say more?
It is advisable to make hazelnut whipped ganache the day before, so it has time to rest in the fridge before whipping. Don’t whip it too long – it should be perfectly smooth and creamy.
And finally, the star of my chocolate and hazelnut choux craquelin – praliné paste! This thing is soo good and versatile! You can put it into a ganache, mousse, cookies, as a spread, or – my favorite – eat it with a spoon directly from a jar! To make it you will need to toast and peel the skins from your hazelnuts. Once the hazelnuts are ready it is necessary to make caramel. Once the caramel is done, you should add hazelnuts, stir well and transfer everything onto a paper lined baking tray. When the caramel cools down and hardens, break it into pieces and use your food processor to grind it until you get smooth, liquid paste. You can also use high speed blender if you have one. And that’s it! Pour your liquid gold into a jar and try not to eat everything immediately! :)
Check my other delicious choux craquelin recipes – triple chocolate cream puffs and gluten free pistachio and raspberry choux craquelin!
Chocolate and Hazelnut Choux Craquelin
by:Tereza Alabanda,The Pastry Maestra
PRINT PDF (EN) ISPIŠI PDF (HR)Prep. time : 60 minutes
Cook time : 30 minutes
Ready in 90 minutes plus cooling
Level : Advanced
INGREDIENTS
Craquelin:
- Butter 85g (3oz)
- Soft brown sugar 100g (3.5oz)
- All purpose flour 100g (3.5oz)
- Salt – a pinch
- Water 125g
- Milk 125g
- Salt 5g
- Sugar 5g
- Butter 100g (2oz)
- All purpose flour 150g
- Eggs 250g
- Gianduia chocolate 115g (4oz)
- Cream 35% 55g (2oz)
- Butter 30g (1oz)
- White chocolate 70g (2.5oz)
- Cream 35% 250g (8.8oz)
- Glucose syrup 10g (2Tsp)
- Gelatin 3g (1.5 sheets)
- Hazelnut paste 50g (1.8oz)
- Sugar 115g (4oz)
- Hazelnuts (toasted and peeled) 115g (4oz)
- Chopped hazelnuts
- Chocolate sprinkles
- To make craquelin put softened butter into a bowl. Add brown sugar and stir well with a silicone spatula. Then add salt and flour and stir well to combine. Put craquelin onto a sheet of parchment paper. Cover it with another sheet of parchment paper and flatten a bit with your hands. Then roll out the dough to about 2mm (5/64″) thickness. Place craquelin into a freezer until needed.
- To make choux pastry put water, milk, salt, sugar and butter into a saucepan and heat it up. When the mixture boils remove it from heat. Add flour and stir well with a silicone spatula. Put the pan back on the stove and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Transfer the mixture into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment,and mix on low speed until it cools down a bit. Then gradually add eggs mixing well after each addition until you get smooth, glossy and pipieable mixture.
- Cut out frozen craquelin into 4cm (1.6″) in diameter discs.
- To make ganache melt gianduja chocolate in the microwave on low heat. Add cream that you’ve previously heated up in the microwave and stir with a whisk until the ganache becomes smooth. Then add softened butter and stir until it melts.
- To make hazelnut whipped ganache soak gelatin in cold water. As soon as the gelatin softens take it out and squeeze to get rid of the excess water. Place cream into a bowl, add glucose syrup and vanilla powder. Heat up this in the microwave. Then, add soaked gelatin and stir until it melts. Put white chocolate into a bowl, and strain hot cream into the chocolate. Blend this mixture with immersion blender until it becomes uniform. Then add hazelnut paste and blend the mixture once more. Cover the mixture with cling film, and leave it in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.
- Transfer the set ganache into a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment and mix on medium speed until it becomes nicely whipped.
- To make praline paste first you need to toast the hazelnuts in the oven at 180°C (350°C). Peel the skins and set them aside until needed. Next, make caramel. Put sugar and enough water to cover the sugar into a saucepan. Stir with a whisk and put the lid on. When the mixture boils remove the lid and continue cooking the syrup until it becomes amber in color. At that point remove the pan from the heat and add hazelnuts. Stir well with a silicone spatula. Then, transfer the mixture onto a paper lined baking tray and leave it to cool down. Place cooled caramel and hazelnut mixture into a food processor. Finely grind it, scraping the sides of the mixing bowl every now and then. Then, continue processing until you get liquid, smooth paste.
- To fill choux craquelin, first make a hole on top of it using a small star tip. Then, pipe some gianduia chocolate ganache through the hole. Next, fill the remaining space with hazelnut whipped ganache.
- To decorate your choux, make hazelnut whipped ganache rosette. Make a little indentation in the middle of the rosette using your ball tool dipped in hot water. Fill it with praliné paste. Finally sprinkle some chopped hazelnuts and chocolate sprinkles on the top.
- There, your delicious chocolate and hazelnut choux craquelin is done! Enjoy!
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