Choux au Craquelin with caramel crémeux and Japanese wineberry

Let's make some beautiful choux au craquelin! First I’m going to show you how to make the perfect choux, we’re going to fill them with a whipped caramel cremeux and a Japanese wineberry compote.

The choux pastries

For a beautiful even bake and a crunchy layer on top I add a craquelin. This dough disc will form around the batter while baking them.

100 g	flour
100 g	sugar
80 g	butter

For that mix the flour with the sugar and the butter. Knead this till it’s an even firm dough. Place the dough on a silicon sheet and place another sheet on top. Then roll it out until the dough is around 3 to 4 millimeters thin. The dough is very soft, especially when it becomes warm. That’s why you need to roll it between two sheets. Now place it on a cutting board or on tray and let it set in your fridge. After an hour or two remove the top sheet and cut it with a round cutter. The trimmings you can reuse for your next choux pastries. Keep it in your fridge for later. Now for the choux batter.

100 g	water
100 g	milk
5 g	sugar
5 g	salt
100 g	butter
120 g	flour
200 g	whole egg

Mix the water with the milk, the sugar, the salt and the butter. Heat this up till the butter is melted. I do this on a medium high heat. Once it’s melted add the flour and directly start mixing to prevent lumps from forming. Then while stirring cook the batter for three to four minutes on a medium heat. We do this to give the dough more strength and remove the floury taste. Once it’s starts to shine you know it’s done. Then take the pan off the heat and let it cool down for 5 minutes. After that mix in the egg. Do this egg by egg and mix it every time to insure it’s well incorporated. Then transfer it into a piping bag that’s fitted with a round nozzle and pipe small dots on a silicon sheet. At the end of each dot I give the bag a little swirl to prevent a tip from forming. When baking with a craquelin disc this doesn’t really matter, but it you bake it without this will give a beautiful round choux without a burned tip on top. Now place a disc on every choux. Don’t take them out of the fridge all at once, because they turn soft quite fast. Then bake them at 190 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Absolutly don’t open the oven in between, then they will collapse! Now after the 30 minutes I always leave them in the oven with the door slightly open for another 10 minutes. This to insure all the moisture has evaporated. Then keep them dry and covered for later.

The Japanese wineberry compote

200 g	Japanese wineberries
20 g	muscovado sugar
1 g	cardamom

Transfer the Japanese wineberries into a pan and also add the muscovado sugar. Bring this to a simmer on a low heat while it’s covered with a lid. When it’s simmering place the cardamom into a tea sieve and add it to the pan. Now let the compote reduce on a low heat while letting the cardamom infuse with the berries. When you’re happy with the thickness let it cool down in your fridge. Once cold remove the cardamom and give it a final mix. Then transfer it into a piping bag and keep it in your fridge for later.

The whipped caramel cremeux

6 g	gelatin
140 g	sugar
50 g	water
500 g	cream (35%)
1	empty vanilla pod
100 g	egg yolk

First soak the gelatin in cold water. Then mix the sugar with the water and caramelize this on a medium high heat. The darker the caramel, the more intense the flavor will be. I prefer quite a dark caramel. Now turn down the heat and while stirring add the cream. Then also add the empty vanilla pod and with the heat off let it marinade for at least 30 minutes. After that transfer the egg yolk into a bowl and while stirring add the caramel liquid. Pour it back into the pan and cook the cremeux till it’s 85 degrees Celsius. At this temperature the yolks will thicken the cremeux without splitting. Then pass it through a fine sieve into a bowl and add the soaked gelatin with a gram of flaky salt. Blend this till smooth. This takes around 30 seconds. Now cover it and let it set in your fridge for at least 6 hours. I always leave it overnight. The next day you can transfer it into a mixing bowl and whip it up for around 3 minutes. You’ll end up with a lovely airy and rich cremeux.

How to finish the choux pastries

First cut the top off with a serrated knife. Then fill the bottom of all the pastries with some of the whipped cremeux and pipe the Japanese wineberry compote on top. Now add another layer of the cremeux, but this time pipe it in a circle. Fill it with the compote and then add 3 fresh Japanese wineberries. Now for a lovely fresh note I also added some purple oxalis leaves, but off course this is optional. Then they’re ready to be served!