The Paris-Brest is a refined French dessert based on cream puff pastry. In this case, the cake is filled with a dark chocolate and raspberry Chantilly. One of the peculiarities of this dessert is its simple but effective shape: it looks like a bicycle wheel. Pastry chef Louis Durand invented this recipe in 1891 to celebrate the famous Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race, which it is named after. The Paris-Brest is a circular crown made of soft choux pastry, filled with cream, and garnished with almond flakes and powdered sugar.

1

To make a Paris-Brest, the first step is to make a soft choux pastry. Start by boiling water in a saucepan together with milk, sugar, and salt mixed with butter at room temperature. Then add flour, and cook until the mixture comes completely away from the sides of the saucepan. Pour into a planetary mixer, and run for two minutes at medium speed. Then add eggs, one at a time. Allow one egg to mix in before adding the next. Mix everything until smooth and even. Transfer to a pastry bag with star nozzle, and draw out a 12 cm / 4¾ inch diameter circle on a baking sheet covered with baking paper. Form several concentric crowns within the first circle. Decorate with almond flakes and powdered sugar, and bake at 180 °C / 356 °F for 30 to 35 minutes.

2

Prepare a chocolate cream as filling. Break up chocolate, and melt in a double boiler or microwave. Bring milk and vanilla to a boil in a saucepan. Take off the heat and add already mixed egg yolk, sugar, salt and starch. Bring back up to a boil. Lastly, fold mixture into melted chocolate. Leave chocolate cream to stand for an hour in the fridge.

3

Once cooked, cut choux pastry disc in half and fill with Chantilly cream using a pastry bag with star nozzle. Place some raspberries on top. Then cover with top disc, sprinkle with powdered sugar, and serve.