Revisited Choux

Hey foodies!

This week, I was inspired! I started with lots of different ideas and finally created rocher choux.

But what are rocher choux?? Well, I'm not sure if they already exist... But here is my version: a choux filled with salted butter caramel and vanilla diplomat cream, all covered with a rocher glaze (in other words, chocolate glaze). :o)

It's a true explosion of sweetness!

I recommend spreading the recipe over two days. On the first day, prepare the salted butter caramel and the diplomat cream. The next day, make the choux, the rocher glaze and proceed with the assembly.

Here are the ingredients needed to make 50 rocher choux:

Caramel

Go follow the salted butter caramel recipe: HERE

Diplomat Cream

- 4gr powdered gelatin

- 20gr cold water

- 50gr sugar

- 40gr egg yolk

- 10gr flour

- 10gr cornstarch

- 250 gr milk

- 1 tsp vanilla flavoring

- 20gr butter

- 120gr heavy cream

Choux Pastry

- 110 gr whole milk

- 110 gr water

- 100 gr butter

- 4 gr sugar

- 4 gr salt

- 120 gr flour

- 220 gr eggs (4 eggs)

Rocher Glaze

- 335 gr milk chocolate

- 105gr caramelized hazelnuts

- 75gr rapeseed oil

Start by making the caramel.

Caramel

Follow the recipe once that can be found on our blog: HERE

Now let's make the diplomat cream!

Diplomat Cream

A diplomat cream is simply a pastry cream containing gelatin, into which whipped cream is folded. :o)

A light and smooth cream that holds its shape when piped.

Start by pouring 4gr of powdered gelatin into a bowl, then add 20gr of cold water. Stir with a spoon and set aside.

Then pour 50gr of sugar and 40gr of egg yolks into a large bowl and whisk until you get a foamy mixture.

Finish by adding 10gr of cornstarch and 10gr of flour to the mixture, then whisk again until well combined and set aside.

In a saucepan, pour 250gr of milk with 1 tsp of vanilla flavoring and heat the mixture.

It doesn't need to boil — if it starts to steam, that's perfect.

Once the milk is heated, pour a small amount (about one third) into the egg/sugar/flour mixture, then whisk until you get a smooth and liquid mass.

When the texture is smooth, pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan containing the rest of the milk and whisk again.

This way, you will avoid having lumps of cornstarch...

Put the saucepan back on medium heat and whisk continuously until the mixture thickens.

At first it will be quite foamy, but the more it thickens, the less foam will remain on the surface.

At the first PLOP! remove the saucepan from the heat, but continue whisking for another 1 minute to make sure the bottom doesn't burn.

Add the gelatin and mix well so that it melts completely into the pastry cream.

Once the gelatin is completely melted, add 20gr of butter cut into pieces. This will add richness to our diplomat cream. :o)

Mix with a whisk, then pour the mixture into a fairly wide dish so the pastry cream can cool quickly. Place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. The mixture should reach approximately 25°C.

Once the pastry cream is at 25°C, prepare the whipped cream.

Pour 120gr of heavy cream into a bowl and whip it until just whipped. Not too firm but not liquid either. As soon as I get a small peak on my whisk... it's ready.

Whisk your pastry cream again to restore a nice texture.

Add the whipped cream little by little, folding it in three additions.

You will get a beautiful smooth and glossy cream.

This texture is still a bit liquid... That's perfectly normal, don't worry.

Get a 5 mm star nozzle, a 40cm piping bag and 2 IKEA-style clips.

Place the nozzle in the piping bag, then close it just below the nozzle to prevent the cream (still liquid) from escaping.

Then fill the bag and close the top as well.

Place the diplomat cream in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.

Let's go! Time for the choux.

Choux Pastry

Preheat your oven to 210°C fan-assisted.

In a saucepan, pour 110 gr whole milk, 110 gr water, 100 gr butter, 4 gr sugar and 4 gr salt.

To weigh the sugar and salt, I use my ultra-precise scale! It allows for a perfect weight measurement.

Bring the mixture to a boil and let the butter melt.

Add 120gr flour all at once, off the heat.

Mix with a spatula for a few seconds, then quickly put the saucepan back on low heat.

Stir vigorously to dry out the dough for 2 minutes, then remove from heat.

You will see that the dough forms a sort of ball after 2 minutes.

Put your panade (the choux pastry) into a mixing bowl and mix with the flat beater (K beater) at medium speed for 1 minute.

This will cool the dough and remove a little more moisture.

In another bowl, crack and pour 4 eggs (220gr) and whisk them lightly.

Add the eggs in 3 additions so that your panade becomes smooth and glossy.

Add a little egg, mix, then repeat until fully incorporated.

You will get a very smooth and silky texture.

To get nice crispy choux, I use a perforated baking tray with a perforated silicone mat. I love it!

I find the baking result is really perfect for choux, éclairs, cookies, biscuits and tart bases!

Place your choux pastry in a piping bag and pipe your choux using a 10mm star nozzle.

TIPS:

Always use a fluted nozzle to pipe choux or éclairs. This allows for more even baking and prevents them from cracking in the oven.

Pipe small rounds about 4 to 5 cm in diameter, at a right angle, as they will puff up a lot (double in size) during baking.

Bake your choux in the oven preheated to 210°C, fan-assisted for 15 minutes... but, turn off your oven.

You heard right! :o) Turn off your oven for 15 minutes with the choux inside. This way, your choux will form a small crust and develop more evenly during the rest of the baking.

After these 15 minutes, turn your oven back on at 170°C and continue baking for an additional 10-15 minutes.

Your choux will therefore have baked for 25 to 30 minutes in total.

Do not open your oven during baking, they would collapse instantly!

Once baked, let them cool on the tray. They should be well baked on the bottom.

Once cooled, cut a small cross on the bottom of each choux with a knife, so you can fill them.

It's time for assembly.

Get a 30cm piping bag and a filling nozzle.

Fill your piping bag with 250gr of caramel.

Then insert 5gr of caramel into each choux.

I weighed the first ones to get an idea, but for the rest, I did it by eye. ;o)

Finally, fill your choux with diplomat cream.

Fill them generously, but not too much. If you overfill them, the cream may come out and it will be difficult to glaze them.

Once all the choux are filled, place them in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

It's time to make our rocher glaze.

Rocher Glaze

This rocher glaze is a recipe from the great chef "Cyril Lignac". He uses it to cover his marble cake.

I had been wanting to try it for a long time... but without the cake. ;o) I have clearly adopted it, and you may well see it again in the future.

For the caramelized hazelnuts, I used those from Funcakes. They are excellent!

And for the chocolate, I used the famous Valrhona chocolate, the Jivara! An exceptional chocolate!

Start by melting 260gr of milk chocolate in the microwave at 400W for 1 minute.

After this time, stir the chocolate with a spoon, then put it back in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Check the temperature, you need to reach 45°C.

Meanwhile, finely chop 75gr of milk chocolate.

Once 45°C is reached, add the 75gr of unmelted chocolate that you finely chopped.

Let the chocolate melt completely before moving on.

When it is completely melted, add 75gr of rapeseed oil and 105gr of caramelized hazelnuts.

Stir everything with a spoon. Your glaze is already ready!

For the glazing, get some baking paper to place your choux on. Personally, I placed a sheet of baking paper on one of my perforated racks. Very handy for transporting them and putting them in the fridge afterwards.

I also used a special chocolate dipping tool. I'll show you in photo No.2.

Take your choux out of the freezer and dip them in the glaze, one by one. Use a spoon to spread the glaze evenly over the entire surface.

Then place them on the baking paper. Once all the choux are coated in chocolate, put them in the fridge.

And here is the result! :o)

A bomb of sweetness, a true hug, as Cyril Lignac would say.

They should be kept in the fridge. And yes, you can make them 1 day in advance without any problem.

I hope you will try this new recipe.

Happy Sunday, foodies!

P.S.: All the equipment used can be found at the bottom of the recipe.