Ingredients
| CHOUX PASTRY | |
| 125ml water | |
| ½ teaspoon salt | |
| 50g unsalted butter, cubed | |
| 100g all-purpose flour | |
| 3 eggs (may need 4) | |
| icing sugar, to serve | |
| CARAMELISED MACADAMIA PRALINE | |
| 100g Northland macadamias | |
| 40g sugar | |
| a pinch salt | |
| LEMON CHANTILLY | |
| 200ml cream | |
| 80g mascarpone | |
| 30g sugar | |
| zest of 1 lemon |
Choux pastry is a big winner at La Patisserie. So easy to eat, it’s the perfect treat. This version showcases Northland products with Kerikeri lemons and macadamias.
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Instructions
| 1. | CHOUX PASTRY |
| 2. | Put the water, salt and butter in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. |
| 3. | Remove from the heat, then add the flour all at once. |
| 4. | Mix everything until combined, then put back on a very low heat. |
| 5. | Keep stirring to prevent the dough from burning, until it starts to form a ball and doesn’t stick to the spatula. This step is important to evaporate some of the moisture in the dough. |
| 6. | Once the dough is combined and not sticky anymore, put it in a mixing bowl (if using a stand mixer you’ll need the paddle attachment). |
| 7. | While the dough is still warm, mix in the eggs one by one. Each time you add an egg the dough will split, so mix well until it comes back together before adding the next egg. By the end, the dough should be shiny and smooth (if not, adding an extra egg should help). |
| 8. | Put the dough in a piping bag and pipe little domes on a baking tray lined with baking paper. The size is up to you, just keep in mind that choux pastry will double or triple in size when baking. |
| 9. | With the back of a wet spoon, flatten the little peak on top of each choux. |
| 10. | Heat the oven to 180°C fan forced and bake for 15-18 minutes until nicely coloured, then drop the oven temperature to 160°C and bake for a further 5-8 minutes to dry them off. |
| 11. | Leave to cool completely before filling. |
| 12. | CARAMELISED MACADAMIA PRALINE |
| 13. | Heat the oven to 155°C fan forced. Roast the macadamias for 10 minutes. |
| 14. | To make a dry caramel, put the sugar in a saucepan on a medium heat. |
| 15. | Slowly wait for the sugar to melt. Towards the end you can lower the heat and stir with a wooden spoon to help any leftover sugar to melt and also prevent the caramel from burning. |
| 16. | The caramel is ready when all the sugar is melted and is a nice brown caramel colour. |
| 17. | When the caramel is ready, keep the pan on the heat and add the roasted macadamia nuts and the salt. |
| 18. | Mix quickly to coat the nuts with caramel. Pour it onto an oiled baking tray and cool. |
| 19. | Set aside some of the caramelised macadamias for serving and use the rest for the praline. |
| 20. | To make the praline, place the rest of the caramelised macadamias in a food processor or high-speed mixer. |
| 21. | Mix at the highest speed until it becomes a smooth paste. |
| 22. | LEMON CHANTILLY |
| 23. | Whip together the cream, mascarpone, sugar and lemon zest to make a chantilly then place it in a piping bag. |
| 24. | To assemble: Cut each choux pastry in half, spoon some praline in each base, cover generously with lemon chantilly and finish with some crushed caramelised macadamias. |
| 25. | Cover with their pastry top and sprinkle over some icing sugar to finish. |
Recipes & food styling Alan Bartos / Photography Aaron McLean