Chocolate Religieuse Choux Towers with Buttercream Collar

What you need

• 65 ml (1/4 cup) water
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) whole milk, for the choux
• 55 g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, cubed, for the choux
• 75 g (2/3 cup) plain flour, sifted
• 1 tsp caster sugar, for the choux
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 3 large eggs, beaten, at room temperature
• 400 ml (1 2/3 cups) whole milk, for the pastry cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 80 g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar, for the pastry cream
• 30 g (1/4 cup) cornflour
• 100 g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate, 70%, finely chopped
• 100 g (7 tbsp) unsalted butter, very soft, for the buttercream
• 100 g (3/4 cup) icing sugar, sifted, for the buttercream
• 150 g (1 1/4 cups) icing sugar, sifted, for the glaze
• 20 g (3 tbsp) cocoa powder

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F) and line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. 2

   Put the water, milk for the choux, butter, caster sugar and salt in a saucepan. Heat until the butter melts, then bring to a full boil.

3. 3

   Tip in the flour all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring over medium heat until the dough forms a smooth ball and leaves a thin film on the bottom of the pan, about 1-2 min.

4. 4

   Move the dough to a bowl and let it cool for 5 min, so the eggs do not scramble.

5. 5

   Beat in the eggs a little at a time. Stop when the dough is glossy and falls from the spoon in a slow ribbon. You may not need every drop of egg.

6. 6

   Pipe 6 mounds 5 cm (2 in) wide and 6 mounds 2.5 cm (1 in) wide onto the trays, 4 cm apart. Smooth any peaks with a wet fingertip.

7. 7

   Bake without opening the door for the first 15 min. The small buns need 18-20 min in total and the large ones 28-30 min, until deep golden and light when lifted.

8. 8

   Poke a small hole in the base of each bun to let the steam out, then cool completely on a rack.

9. 9

   For the pastry cream, heat the milk for the pastry cream in a saucepan until steaming. Whisk the yolks, granulated sugar and cornflour in a bowl until pale.

10. 10

    Pour the hot milk over the yolk mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly, then return everything to the pan.

11. 11

    Cook over medium heat, whisking, until it thickens and bubbles, then keep whisking for 1 min more. Take it off the heat and stir in the dark chocolate until smooth.

12. 12

    Press cling film onto the surface of the cream and chill until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.

13. 13

    Beat the soft butter with the icing sugar for the buttercream until fluffy, about 3 min.

14. 14

    Whisk the icing sugar for the glaze with the cocoa powder and 3-4 tbsp of hot water to a thick, pourable glaze.

15. 15

    Beat the cold pastry cream to loosen it. Pipe it into every bun through the hole in the base.

16. 16

    Dip the top of each bun in the glaze and let the excess drip off. Set a small bun on each large one with a dab of glaze.

17. 17

    Pipe a ruffled collar of buttercream around the join of each tower, and a small dot on top. Chill for 15 min and serve the same day.

Imported from patisseriemakesperfect.co.uk. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.