Praline cream
Caramel, toasted nuts, and butter beaten into silk. This is the classic Paris-Brest filling, and it keeps for a week in the fridge.
Formula
- Praliné paste: 150 g hazelnuts (about 1 cup)
- Praliné paste: 150 g whole almonds (about 1 cup)
- Praliné paste: 300 g granulated sugar (1 1/2 cups)
- Praliné paste: 60 g water (1/4 cup)
- 300 g cold pastry cream
- 200 g unsalted butter, soft (14 tbsp)
- 200 g praliné paste (from above)
- pinch salt
You'll need: a rimmed baking sheet, a food processor, and a stand mixer or hand mixer.
Method
- Toast the nuts. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spread the hazelnuts and almonds on the baking sheet and toast 10 minutes, until fragrant. Rub the hazelnuts in a towel to remove most of the skins.
- Make the caramel. Combine the sugar and water in a clean saucepan. Cook over medium heat, swirling once or twice, until deep amber, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Pour the caramel over the nuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cool completely until hard, about 20 minutes, then break into pieces.
- Blend to paste. Process the caramel-nut pieces until they turn to a smooth, pourable paste, 5 to 8 minutes, scraping down twice. Measure out 200 g for the cream; save the rest in a jar. It keeps for months.Watch for: The mixture goes from crumbs to a ball to liquid paste. Keep blending past the ball stage.
- Beat the soft butter until creamy, 1 minute. Beat in the cold pastry cream until smooth, then the 200 g praliné paste and the salt. Use right away or chill; rewhip briefly before piping if cold.