Ingredients
| PUFF PASTRY BASE | |
| 1 sheet (250g) store-bought puff pastry | |
| 1 egg, beaten | |
| MINI CHOUX BUNS | |
| 40g unsalted butter | |
| 50ml milk | |
| 50ml water | |
| 60g plain flour | |
| ½ teaspoon caster sugar | |
| 2 large eggs, beaten (the beaten weight should be 110g) | |
| CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE | |
| 500ml milk | |
| 1 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste | |
| 5 large egg yolks (100g) | |
| 100g caster sugar | |
| 40g cornstarch | |
| 25g cold unsalted butter, cubed | |
| CRÈME CHANTILLY | |
| 250ml cream, very cold | |
| 30g icing sugar | |
| 1 teaspoon vanilla paste (or seeds from ½ vanilla pod) | |
| CARAMEL GLAZE | |
| 100g caster sugar | |
| TO ASSEMBLE | |
| 2 tablespoons mānuka honey | |
| biscuit tuile decorations |
A refined take on the iconic French dessert, these mini Saint Honoré cakes combine crisp puff pastry, delicate choux puffs glazed in caramel, silky crème pâtissière and Chantilly cream. They are a showstopping centrepiece for any afternoon tea, celebration or plated dessert service. If you want to make your own puff pastry, you can use the recipe for the mille- feuille, adding extra time for the pastry to chill.
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Instructions
| 1. | PUFF PASTRY BASE |
| 2. | Heat the oven to 190°C. |
| 3. | Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out the puff pastry to 3-4mm thick. |
| 4. | Use a cutter or ring to cut out 7.5cm circles and place on the prepared tray. |
| 5. | Prick the circles lightly with a fork, brush with egg wash and bake for 15-18 minutes until deep golden brown and crisp. |
| 6. | Cool on a wire rack. |
| 7. | MINI CHOUX BUNS |
| 8. | Heat the oven to 180°C. |
| 9. | Line a baking tray with baking paper. |
| 10. | Put the butter, milk and water in a pot and stir over a medium heat until the butter is melted. |
| 11. | Add the flour and sugar and cook, mixing with a spatula, drawing out as much moisture as possible until it forms a dough, about 3-5 minutes. |
| 12. | Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it cool down a bit before gradually incorporating the beaten eggs. |
| 13. | As you add the eggs, check the consistency of the dough, making sure it is not too runny (this will depend on how much moisture was pulled out during the previous step). Stop adding the egg if the mixture gets too loose. When you lift the spatula from the dough, the dough should fall down into the bowl making a triangular shape at the end of the spatula. |
| 14. | Put the dough into a piping bag fitted with a 10mm round tip and pipe out small puffs, approx. 2cm in diameter onto the prepared tray. You’ll need 4 puffs per cake. |
| 15. | Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 160°C and bake to dry out the puffs for another 10 minutes, or until golden. |
| 16. | Cool completely. |
| 17. | CRÈME PÂTISSIÈRE |
| 18. | Put the milk in a saucepan. Split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds into the milk (or add the vanilla bean paste). |
| 19. | Bring the milk to a simmer, remove from the heat, cover and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes. |
| 20. | In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until slightly thick and pale. |
| 21. | Add the cornstarch and whisk until smooth. |
| 22. | Remove the vanilla bean from the hot milk and slowly pour the milk over the yolk mixture, whisking constantly to avoid it scrambling. |
| 23. | Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over a medium heat, whisking vigorously, until it thickens and boils, about 2 minutes after the first bubble. |
| 24. | Remove from the heat and whisk in the cold butter until it becomes smooth and glossy. |
| 25. | Spread the cream out onto a shallow tray, cover with plastic wrap directly touching the surface to prevent skin forming, then refrigerate to chill completely. |
| 26. | CRÈME CHANTILLY |
| 27. | Put a bowl and whisk into the fridge or freezer and chill for at least 10 minutes. |
| 28. | Pour the cold cream into the chilled bowl, add the icing sugar and vanilla and whip until soft peaks form. |
| 29. | Put into a piping bag with a shell or star piping tip. |
| 30. | CARAMEL GLAZE |
| 31. | Put the sugar in a pot and cook over a medium heat until it melts and turns amber. |
| 32. | TO ASSEMBLE |
| 33. | Put the crème pâtissière in a piping bag fitted with a 3-5mm tip. |
| 34. | Pierce the base of the choux buns with a skewer or small piping tip and pipe in the crème pâtissière. |
| 35. | Dip the tops of each filled choux into the caramel glaze – be careful of your fingers with the hot caramel! Leave the caramel to set hard. |
| 36. | Place the puff pastry circles on a tray. |
| 37. | Heat the honey gently, then brush each pastry circle with a thin layer. |
| 38. | Arrange three choux buns in a triangular ‘wall’ around the edge of each pastry circle. |
| 39. | Pipe a small layer of crème pâtissière in the middle. |
| 40. | Using a shell or star piping tip, pipe the crème Chantilly into the open space between the ‘walls’ and pipe a rosette in the middle, creating volume and height. |
| 41. | Top the rosette with another choux bun. |
| 42. | Decorate with biscuit tuile shapes, if desired. |
Recipes & food styling Kenji Yoshitsuka / Food Photography Tony Nyberg