A Paris-Brest is like a giant cream puff or éclair, baked into a big ring, sliced open and filled.  We wanted something a bit different that incorporated a rich, dark chocolate pudding for my daughter's birthday, and this was a hit!  A few years ago, I made a Paris-Brest for my brother's birthday, and I've made that Paris-Brest filled with a vanilla pastry cream and homemade caramel sauce several times now.  This is a fun chocolate-filled alternative.  It's also a nice alternative to overly sweet birthday cakes, as there isn't much sugar in it. Enjoy! 

Assembled, ready for a bit of decorations and birthday candles. 

Such a fun birthday cake!

Chocolate Paris-Brest Birthday Cake!

Rich Chocolate Pudding:

In a separate small bowl, whisk together until smooth.  Set aside to add in later:
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cornstarch

Whisk together in a medium-size saucepan:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder (I like to use an extra dark cocoa powder)
1/2 tsp salt

Add and whisk the following into the sugar/cocoa mixture:
2 1/2 cup milk (higher percentage of fat is best - you can even 10% cream for a really rich pudding)

Stir milk/cocoa mixture regularly while heating over medium heat until mixture almost comes to a boil **you don't want it to be at a boil, just very hot because you'll add a bit to the eggs and if it is boiling, you'll curdle the eggs a bit** 

Using your mixture of "almost" boiling hot chocolate milk, whisk 1/4 cup milk into your egg yolk mixture.  Add an additional 1/4 cup milk, whisking in.  Add a final 1/4 cup milk, whisking in.  This allows your eggs to heat up a bit slower, so you don't end up with lumps in your pudding.

Add egg mixture back into the pot.  Stirring constantly, mix until mixture comes to a boil and begins to bubble and thicken.  Keep on heat no more than 1 minute after mixture has begin boiling.

Remove from heat and add:
1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste (optional)

Add and mix in: 

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or diced dark chocolate

For a really smooth pudding, you can strain this in a sieve to remove any lumps, but I usually don't bother.  Put in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap (make sure plastic wrap is on the surface of the pudding to avoid any 'skin' being formed on top of your pudding).  Let cool.  I usually let it cool for a bit at room temperature before moving it to the refrigerator to fully cool. 

Choux Pastry (Pate a Choux):

Preheat oven to 360 F.  (I find somewhere between 350 - 375 works perfectly).  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

In a medium sized saucepan (avoid non-stick coated pans), heat the following over medium heat just til starting to boil: 

1 1/4 cup water

1/2 cup salted butter

1 tsp sugar

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

Remove from heat and stir in quickly with a wooden spoon: 

1 1/2 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

Put the pot back on the heat and stir vigorously over the heat for 2 - 3 minutes.  It should smooth during this time.  

Remove from heat and place the dough into a mixer.  Turn on the mixer speed to low.  Let it mix for ~5-10 minutes, scraping occasionally.  Your dough should look nice and shiny and be quite thick.  

Add to the dough (one at a time or just all together): 

4 large eggs, room temperature

You want to let the dough mix on medium to medium-high speed until it's nice and smooth, scraping occasionally.  Scoop the dough into two freezer ziplocs (not absolutely necessary, but it's quite a thick dough and I find this helps avoid having a bag split while piping).  Snip ~1" - 1 1/2" from the corner of the bag.  

Using approximately 1/3 of the batter, pipe a large circle onto the parchment-lined paper.  Pipe a second circle just outside (or inside) of your first circle with the next 1/3 of the batter.  Using the last 1/3 of the batter, pipe a third circle on top of the first two circles.  

Two rings piped with approximately 2/3 of the batter. 

A final ring piped on top.  You can smooth it with just a little water on your fingers, if desired. 

Brush the top of your pastry with: 

1 egg, beaten

And sprinkle the top with: 

Sparkling sugar OR sliced almonds

We have nut allergies around here, so after brushing with egg I usually top it with coarse sugar crystals.  They end up looking beautiful.  However, you can top with slice almonds after adding the egg, if you prefer. 

Nothing more fun than learning to make Paris-Brest on your birthday!

Brushing on the egg wash before baking.

Immediately bake at 360 F for 50 - 55 minutes.  Remove from the oven and carefully slide your pastry onto a cooling rack.  Have a friend help hold the cooling rack up in the air and quickly poke 7-8 holes in the bottom of your pastry.  Poke a few holes around the edges of the pastry where you plan to slice it in half once cooled.  *Choux Pastry does best if you give the hot air somewhere it can release so the pastry doesn't collapse on itself while cooling.* 

Make sure to immediately slice holes in the sides and bottom to avoid any collapse during cooling. 

Whipped Cream:

In a mixer with a whisk attachment, beat until nice stiff peaks form: 

2 cups heavy whipping cream

~1/3 powdered sugar (more or less, to taste)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Assembling:

This cake is best made, assembled and served fresh, but if you need to prepare in advance, store in the refrigerator until serving.

1. Carefully slice your Choux Pastry Ring in half.  Carefully set aside the top.

2. Pipe or spoon your cooled chocolate pudding into the pastry ring. 

3. Pipe or spoon your whipped cream on top of the pudding.

4. Carefully top with the Choux Pastry Ring. 

5. Decorate with extra whipped cream, as desired. 

6. Slice carefully with a serrated knife and serve! 

Store leftovers in the refrigerator.  

Sliced and ready to fill.

Piped with rich dark chocolate pudding.

Piped with whipping cream. 

Sliced and served! One happy Birthday girl!

Chocolate Paris-Brest Birthday Cake Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Surprisingly, I don't make cream puffs terribly often, but every time I do I am reminded why they're such a fun dessert.  You can make these larger or smaller, depending on your preference, but you will have to adjust your baking time and make sure they're a nice golden brown.  Larger cream puffs definitely need longer in the oven to make sure they're firm and don't collapse on themselves during cooling.  An easy filling is just to use fresh whipped cream whipped with a spoonful of powdered sugar added to sweeten it a bit, but we especially love them with a vanilla or chocolate pastry cream.  Enjoy!

Make any size from this recipe!  Tiny cream puffs or larger ones.  Both work great!

Cream Puffs

Makes ~20 cream puffs, but it can make more/less depending on the size you pipe out

Make and cool filling of your choice.  I recommend a rich crème patissiere (vanilla pastry cream) (recipe below), or a rich chocolate pudding (chocolate pastry cream) (make it using 1/4 - 1/2 cup less milk for a bit thicker pudding). 

Crème Patissiere (Vanilla Pastry Cream): 

In a medium saucepan (avoid non-stick coated pans), heat over medium heat until just boiling: 

2 1/2 cup half & half OR whole milk

1/3 - 1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

In a small bowl, mix together: 

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup half & half OR whole milk

Whisk the yolks/cornstarch mixture into the hot sugar/cream mixture.  Increase the heat to medium-high to speed up the process, but whisk constantly and rapidly.  Once the mixture thickens and starts to boil (I find it makes big, thick popping bubbles when done, and I quickly have to remove from heat to avoid getting burned), remove from heat and pour the pudding into a glass dish.  *If you find you have any lumps in your pudding, you can strain the pudding through a fine sieve to remove lumps as you put it into the glass dish. I find if I am trying to multi-task and forget to stir enough then this sometimes happens to me.*  

Cover the pudding with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the pudding.  Let cool at room temperature until it's cool enough to place in the refrigerator to completely chill.  (I like to make this in the morning if I need it chilled by evening, or you can make it the day before.  If you're in a rush, you can place the bowl into a larger bowl of ice to speed the cooling process). 

Choux Pastry (Pate a Choux):

Preheat oven to 360 F.  (I find somewhere between 350 - 375 works perfectly).  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

In a medium sized saucepan (I prefer to avoid non-stick coated pans), heat the following over medium heat just until starting to boil: 

1 1/4 cup water

1/2 cup salted butter

1 tsp sugar

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

Remove from heat and stir in quickly with a wooden spoon: 

1 1/2 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

Put the pot back on the heat and stir vigorously over the heat for 2 - 3 minutes.  It should smooth a bit during this time.  (I do find the bottom of the pot ends up coated with a thin layer of dough, but soaking the pot makes clean up easy)

Be prepared for an arm workout during this step.  The dough is thick and sticky. 

Remove from heat and place the dough into a mixer.  Turn on the mixer speed to low.  Let the dough mix for ~5-10 minutes, scraping occasionally.  Your dough should look nice and shiny and be quite thick.  This helps the dough cool before adding your eggs.  

Add to the dough (one at a time ideally, or just all together if you lack patience - the main thing is to let the dough beat until it's really nice and smooth): 

4 large eggs, room temperature

You want to let the dough mix on medium to medium-high speed until it's really nice and smooth, scraping occasionally.  Scoop the dough into two freezer ziplocs one inside the other (not absolutely necessary, but it's quite a thick dough and I find this helps avoid having a bag split while piping).  Snip ~1" from the corner of the bag.  

After scraping down the bowl.  It's hard to tell in a photo, but there's a glossy sheen to the dough.

Pipe small blobs onto a parchment-lined baking pan.  You can make these smaller or larger, depending on your preference.  They puff up during baking, so make sure they're spaced far enough apart from each other.  If desired, you can dip a finger in water to gently push down and smooth the tops of the choux pastry.  Use sparingly - you don't want them to be too wet on top. 

If desired, beat 1 egg and brush the tops of the choux pastry before baking.  If you don't brush the tops with beaten egg, they don't end up as dark golden browned during baking.  I've done it both ways - and it's really just a look thing.  I think the golden brown you get from the egg wash is lovely.  Bake at 360 F for 20 - 35 minutes, until the cream puffs are nicely browned.  I find smaller cream puffs need only 20 minutes, but the larger ones need significantly more time until they're puffed and golden brown.  *Yes, 360 F.  I find 350 too low and 375 too high.  If your oven runs cool then bake at 375 F.* 

These cream puffs were baked without being brushed with an egg wash, so they ended up paler, but are just as crispy on the outside and soft on the inside as the ones brushed with egg. 

Remove from oven and immediately poke a hole in the bottom with a sharp knife before placing on a cooling rack.  This helps steam escape, so the cream puffs won't collapse on themselves.  It also makes it easier to pipe in filling later, if you're wanting to pipe it in neatly.  

Once cool, fill cream puffs with filling of your choice - some people even prefer them filled whipped cream instead of a vanilla or chocolate pastry cream.  Whatever you prefer is great! To fill, it's neatest to pipe in the pastry cream from the bottom of each choux pastry using a long nosed metal piping tip.  However, I tend to aim for speed, so slicing the choux 1/2 or 3/4 through and piping the filling in from the side works well for me.  

These can be decorated with powdered sugar, or drizzled with a homemade chocolate ganache or homemade caramel sauce, like the one I used in my Paris-Brest Pastry recipe before serving.  Once the cream puffs are filled, store them in the refrigerator until serving.  Enjoy! 

Filled with chocolate pastry cream and topped with homemade caramel sauce. Yum! 

Cream Puffs Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free! 

Paris-Brest Pastry filled with Creme Patissiere & Homemade Caramel Sauce

Amazing eclair dough piped in a large ring, filled with homemade creme patissier and caramel sauce.  It was absolutely amazingly delicious.  A stunning dessert.  My youngest brother has a tendency to "suggest" dessert ideas to me - knowing I almost always will create them.  This was his birthday request and it did not disappoint. Enjoy! 

A decadent dessert - but light and airy all at the same time. 

A slice of Paris-Brest pastry - delicious creme patissiere and caramel filling. Yum! 

Paris-Brest Pastry with Creme Patissiere & Homemade Caramel Sauce

Creme Patissiere (Pastry Cream): 

In a medium saucepan (avoid non-stick coated pans), heat over medium heat until just boiling: 

2 1/2 cup half & half OR whole milk

1/3 - 1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

In a small bowl, mix together: 

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 egg yolks

1/4 cup half & half OR whole milk

Whisk the yolks/cornstarch mixture into the hot sugar/cream mixture.  Increase the heat to medium-high to speed up the process, but whisk constantly and rapidly.  Once the mixture thickens and starts to boil (I find it makes big, thick popping bubbles when done, and I quickly have to remove from heat to avoid getting burned), remove from heat and pour the pudding into a glass dish.  Cover the pudding with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the pudding.  Let cool at room temperature until it's cool enough to place in the refrigerator to completely chill.  (I like to make this in the morning if I need it chilled by evening, or you can make it the day before). 

Homemade Caramel Sauce:

This makes twice as much as you'll need for this dish, so make half the recipe if you don't want extra caramel sauce. 

Butter an 8" x  8" glass dish and set aside on a cooling rack. 

In a medium-large saucepan (avoid non-stick coated pans) place the following, mixing just a tiny bit and very gently: 

4 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 c heavy/whole cream

2 cups white sugar

1/3 cup corn syrup

generous pinch or two of salt

Use a candy thermometer to keep track of the temperature.  Heat until 225 F.  

Immediately remove from heat and add: 

1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

Pour the caramel into your prepared pan.  Let cool on the cooling rack until you need to use it.  Prior to using, mix the caramel around with a spoon.  Any extra caramel can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered glass container once cool.  Gently reheat before serving.      

Choux Pastry (Pate a Choux):

Preheat oven to 360 F.  (I find somewhere between 350 - 375 works perfectly).  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  

In a medium sized saucepan (avoid non-stick coated pans), heat the following over medium heat just til starting to boil: 

1 1/4 cup water

1/2 cup salted butter

1 tsp sugar

1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

Remove from heat and stir in quickly with a wooden spoon: 

1 1/2 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

Put the pot back on the heat and stir vigorously over the heat for 2 - 3 minutes.  It should smooth during this time.  

Remove from heat and place the dough into a mixer.  Turn on the mixer speed to low.  Let it mix for ~5-10 minutes, scraping occasionally.  Your dough should look nice and shiny and be quite thick.  

Add to the dough (one at a time or just all together): 

4 large eggs, room temperature

You want to let the dough mix on medium to medium-high speed until it's nice and smooth, scraping occasionally.  Scoop the dough into two freezer ziplocs (not absolutely necessary, but it's quite a thick dough and I find this helps avoid having a bag split while piping).  Snip ~1" - 1 1/2" from the corner of the bag.  

Using approximately 1/3 of the batter, pipe a large circle onto the parchment-lined paper.  Pipe a second circle just outside (or inside) of your first circle with the next 1/3 of the batter.  Using the last 1/3 of the batter, pipe a third circle on top of the first two circles.  

Two rings piped with approximately 2/3 of the batter. 

A final ring piped on top.  You can smooth it with just a little water on your fingers, if desired. 

Brush the top of your pastry with: 

1 egg, beaten

And sprinkle the top with: 

Sparkling sugar OR sliced almonds

We have nut allergies around here, so after brushing with egg I topped with coarse sugar crystals.  They end up looking beautiful.  However, you can top with slice almonds after adding the egg, if you prefer. 

Immediately bake at 360 F for 50 - 55 minutes.  Remove from the oven and carefully slide your pastry onto a cooling rack.  Have a friend help hold the cooling rack up in the air and quickly poke 7-8 holes in the bottom of your pastry.  Poke a few holes around the edges of the pastry where you plan to slice it in half once cooled.  *Choux Pastry does best if you give the hot air somewhere it can release so the pastry doesn't collapse on itself while cooling.* 

Fresh from the oven - make sure to immediately slice air holes in sides and bottom to allow steam to escape. 

I found it's easiest to get holes in the bottom by having someone hold the paris brest pastry up on a cooling rack and slicing little slivers from underneath. 

Assembling your Paris-Brest Pastry

Once your creme patissiere, caramel sauce, and choux pastry have fully cooled,you're ready to assemble your Paris-Brest Pastry! 

Carefully slice the Choux Pastry in half horizontally using a sharp bread knife.  Set the top to the side.  Place the bottom half of the choux pastry on the serving platter.   

Scoop your homemade Creme Patissiere (Pastry Cream) in a large freezer ziploc.  Cut the corner and pipe onto the bottom half of the pastry, ideally in a nice zigzag pattern.  

Filled with creme patissiere - pipe it as you prefer, but I liked the look this gives once the top is put on.

Generously drizzle the Caramel Sauce on top of the Creme Patissiere.  

A drizzle of homemade caramel sauce. Yum!

Place the top of the pastry back on, and dust generously with powdered sugar.   Drizzle the top with more homemade caramel sauce and serve!   

If you need to assemble in advance, keep refrigerated until serving - ideally assemble no more than a few hours before serving for the best results.  Although, leftovers a day after still tasted delicious and so you could potentially assemble it longer in advance, if necessary. 

Slice with a serated knife to serve.  SO delicious.  Enjoy!  

Happy Birthday Ben! Excellent choice of desserts! 

A slice of deliciousness. 

Served outside on a beautiful day. 

And another, just for fun. 

It was just stunning.  And delicious. Mmmmm... 

Paris-Brest Pastry filled with Creme Patissiere & Homemade Caramel Sauce by Successfully Gluten Free!