French
Saint-Honoré
Caramel-crowned cream puffs encircle crisp pastry filled with cloud-light vanilla Chiboust cream.
10 servings · 150 minutes prep · 55 minutes cook
Ingredients
Base and choux
- 1 lb all-butter puff pastry
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 8 tbsp butter
- 1 cup flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
Chiboust cream
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 vanilla bean
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tsp powdered gelatin
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup sugar, divided
- 1/3 cup water, for syrup
Directions
Bake the foundation
- Heat the oven to {{temperature:400F}}. Roll puff pastry into a 10-inch round, place it on a parchment-lined sheet pan, and dock the center thoroughly. Make choux from water, milk, unsalted butter, all purpose flour, kosher salt, and egg, adding the egg gradually until the paste forms a glossy V.
- Pipe a choux border on the puff-pastry round. On a second lined sheet pan, pipe 12 small puffs of equal size. Bake both pans at {{temperature:400F}} for 15 minutes without opening the oven, then reduce to {{temperature:350F}}. Remove the small puffs when deeply golden and dry, after about 10-15 minutes more; continue baking the base until its choux border and underside are crisp, about 20-30 minutes more. Cool every component completely.
Make Chiboust
- Cook pastry cream with milk, vanilla bean, egg yolks, cornstarch, and half sugar; dissolve in gelatin.
- Cook remaining sugar with water to {{temperature:240F}} and stream into whipping egg whites. Fold warm Italian meringue into warm pastry cream and use promptly.
Caramelize and assemble safely
- Transfer the Chiboust immediately to a piping bag. Pierce the bottoms of the 12 cooled puffs and fill each until perceptibly heavy, reserving the remaining cream for the center.
- Cook sugar and water to amber caramel. Wearing oven mitts and keeping fingers clear, dip each filled puff top in caramel, set it caramel-side up until hardened, then use a small dab of caramel to attach the puffs around the cooled base.
- Pipe the reserved Chiboust into the center and chill 1-2 hours. Serve the same day, ideally within 4 hours of assembly, before the caramel and pastry soften.
