Description
Mary’s Christmas choux wreath is an elegant and festive dessert featuring delicate choux pastry buns filled with rich cinnamon-spiced crème pâtissière folded with whipped cream. The choux buns are expertly baked until golden and crisp, then assembled into a beautiful wreath shape using homemade caramel to glue them together. The wreath is adorned with glossy chocolate ganache drizzles, decorative white chocolate snowflakes, and caramel-coated hazelnuts enhanced with red food coloring for a striking holiday centerpiece.
Ingredients
Scale
Choux Pastry
- 110g/3¾oz butter, cubed
- 130g/4¾oz plain flour, sifted
- 4 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
- 250ml/9fl oz water
Crème Pâtissière
- 600ml/20fl oz full-fat milk
- 6 free-range egg yolks
- 75g/2¾oz caster sugar
- 50g/1¾oz cornflour
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 150ml/5fl oz double cream
Chocolate Ganache and Decoration
- 100g/3½oz milk chocolate, 46% minimum cocoa solids
- 100ml/3½fl oz double cream
- 100g/3½oz white chocolate, melted
Caramel and Garnish
- 200g/7oz caster sugar
- Red food colouring paste
- 12 blanched hazelnuts
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare baking sheets: Preheat your oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 and line three baking sheets with baking parchment.
- Make choux pastry base: Place the butter and 250ml water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Heat until the butter melts, then bring to a boil carefully without burning.
- Add flour and cook dough: Remove from heat, add sifted flour, and stir vigorously until a soft ball forms. Cook over low heat stirring constantly for 3–5 minutes to dry the mixture slightly. Let cool briefly.
- Incorporate eggs: Transfer dough to a bowl and whisk in eggs gradually using a mixer or hand whisk until smooth and shiny. Fill a piping bag fitted with a 1½cm plain nozzle.
- Pipe choux buns: Pipe 12 small mounds onto each baking sheet (36 total). Wet your finger and smooth tops. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Continue baking: Lower oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5 and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Dry out buns: Pierce buns with a skewer to release steam, place back in oven for 5 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
- Prepare crème pâtissière – milk: Heat milk to boiling, remove from heat and cool for 30 seconds.
- Make egg mixture: Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale. Add cornflour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour milk gradually over this, whisking continuously, then return mixture to pan.
- Cook crème pâtissière: Bring mixture to boil over medium heat, whisk continuously and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and transfer to bowl. Cover with cling film and cool.
- Make chocolate ganache: Place milk chocolate pieces in a heatproof bowl. Heat cream til simmering, pour over chocolate, stir smooth and let cool to drizzle consistency.
- Pipe chocolate snowflakes: Use melted white chocolate in a small piping bag with a writing nozzle to pipe 12 snowflakes on parchment. Allow to set.
- Assemble filling: Whip 150ml double cream to soft peaks and fold into crème pâtissière. Fill a piping bag for filling choux buns.
- Fill choux buns: Pipe crème pâtissière cream into each cooled choux bun.
- Make caramel: Boil caster sugar and 5 tablespoons water until golden or 170C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat and cool slightly by placing pan in cold water.
- Build wreath base: On a large surface, arrange a circle of 14 buns touching. Place 10 buns inside forming two circles. Dip one side of each bun in caramel and glue to adjacent buns until circles are joined.
- Add top layer: Dip base of remaining 12 buns in caramel and stack on top of the two circles.
- Prepare caramel hazelnuts: Return caramel to heat, simmer gently and stir in red food colouring paste and hazelnuts. Remove hazelnuts with a fork to a silicone paper-lined sheet. Cool.
- Final decoration: Drizzle wreath with one quarter of chocolate ganache. Decorate with white chocolate snowflakes and caramelized hazelnuts. Serve on a festive plate.
Notes
- Use fresh, high-quality eggs for best choux pastry rise and texture.
- Be cautious when working with hot caramel to avoid burns; use a deep pan.
- Allow choux buns to cool thoroughly before filling to prevent sogginess.
- Chilling the crème pâtissière before folding in cream helps maintain structure.
- Make the caramel hazelnuts ahead to allow full cooling and setting.
- For an extra festive touch, dust with edible gold dust or powdered sugar after assembly.
