Ingredients

For the craquelin:

• 30g unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 30g caster sugar
• 40g plain flour

For the choux:

• 60ml milk
• 60ml water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1tsp sugar
• 50g unsalted butter
• 2 medium eggs
• 70g plain flour

For the hazelnut praline crème:

• 250ml milk
• 5 egg yolks
• 80g sugar
• 40g cornflour
• 1 leaf of gelatine
• 2tbsp hazelnut praline paste
• 50ml whipped cream

To finish:

• Cocoa powder, for dusting (optional)
• 5-6 hazelnuts, toasted and cut in quarters

Tools

• kMix Stand Mixer Pastel Pink

Method

For the craquelin:

1. Cut a large rectangle of parchment paper (roughly 20 x 30cm) and set it aside. Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix until the dough comes together. Place the dough on one side of the parchment and fold the second half over the dough.
2. Roll the dough out between the two sheets of parchment; as thin as possible (2mm) and place the parchment sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
3. When frozen, cut out small circles using a round cutter (3cm) and place them back in the freezer until the choux is ready to be baked.

For the choux :

1. Preheat the oven to 200C or 180C if using a fan oven. Line two baking trays with parchment paper.
2. Put the water and milk in a saucepan with salt, sugar, and butter over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring regularly.
3. Once the milk has come to a simmer and all the butter has melted, remove the pot from the heat and add the flour gradually, beating in the flour using a wooden spoon.
4. Reduce the heat to low and place the saucepan over the heat, mixing the dough with the wooden spoon for about 1-2minutes to cook out the starch.
5. Remove from the heat and put the dough into the bowl of the stand mixer. Beat the dough for about two minutes to cool using the paddle attachment.
6. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk with a fork. Add half of the whisked egg to the bowl and beat until the choux has reached a dropping consistency. Add a little more egg if needed.
7. Put the choux paste into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle and pipe the choux (3cm in diameter) onto the prepared baking trays. Remove the Craquelin discs from the freezer and place one on top of each piped choux.
8. Bake the choux in the oven for 7 minutes. Reduce the heat and cook at 180C or 160C for 15 minutes. Test one choux after this time to ensure it is fully cooked inside. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

For the chocolate cremeux:

1. Soak the gelatine sheet in a bowl of cold water.
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan until just simmering. Put the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour into a bowl and whisk together until well combined.
3. Pour the milk into the egg mix gradually, whisking all the time. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over a low to medium heat, stirring constantly with the whisk until the crème has thickened. Continue to whisk until the mixture comes to a boil, then remove from the heat.
4. Squeeze the water from the gelatine sheet and add to the crème, whisking well to ensure it is fully dissolved.
5. Add the hazelnut praline paste and beat until smooth. Put the crème into a bowl and leave to cool. Place the crème in the fridge and allow it to set for about an hour.
6. Once set, whisk the crème until smooth, then fold in the whipped cream. Place the crème into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

To Assemble:

1. Slice the choux buns in half and pipe the hazelnut praline crème into the base of each choux bun.
2. Place the top the choux back on top, then arrange chopped hazelnuts around the crème.

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