This giant ring of choux is filled with several delicious creamy, nutty, and chocolatey fillings you’re going to absolutely love, and topped with chocolate butterflies to make this a show-stopper of a dessert!
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My mom turned 75 this past summer, and to celebrate I wanted to make something really special. I also made this Piña Colada Dacquoise for a small party we hosted when her friends came to Nova Scotia to visit her for a week, but this Paris-Brest was just for us to celebrate on her actual birthday as a family. I often end up making two birthday cakes for that reason—a birthday party is usually on a different day than the person’s actual birthday, and I can’t let the real birthday pass by without a good cake to mark the occasion. And I’m not complaining—honestly I’m happy to have any excuse to bake something special. My mom especially loves anything with nuts and chocolate, so I made sure that this dessert would have lots of both!
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What is a Paris-Brest?
The Paris-Brest is a traditional French pastry (not quite a cake, not quite a pie, but who cares—it’s delicious!) invented in 1910 by French pâtissier Louis Durand to commemorate the Paris-Brest-Paris, a long-distance bike race that started in Paris, went all the way to the port city of Brest, and back to Paris again. It features a large wheel of choux (i.e. cream puff) pastry, filled with praline mousseline and topped with toasted sliced almonds. It’s become a classic French pastry with many variations and interpretations having been made since then. To make mine extra special for my mom’s 75th birthday (and to add more of her favourite chocolate-hazelnut flavour combo) I also added Nutella, chocolate ganache, and tempered chocolate butterflies to this version.
Why You’ll Love my Extra Nutty and Chocolatey Paris Brest
- The flavour and texture are to DIE for. The choux pastry is a little bit crisp, and it’s filled with Nutella, creamy milk chocolate praline ganache, praline mousseline, and chopped chocolate covered nuts. The combination of creamy, crunchy, and crisp textures are amazing, there’s lots of chocolate and nutty flavour, and even some caramel from the hazelnut-almond praline.
- Everything can be made in advance. There are, in all honesty, a lot of components to make. But don’t let that scare you off of attempting this recipe—everything can be made (at least partly) in advance so you can fit this into your busy schedule. If you plan it out for a week or two in advance and find some time over a few days to work on one component or two at a time, you can absolutely pull off making this showstopper of a dessert! I’ll let you know later on in this post (as well as in my video) how each part can be made ahead.
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Tips for Success
- Pay attention when you’re adding the egg to the choux dough. Depending on your flour, exactly how much moisture you cooked off, or the humidity in your kitchen on the day you make it, you may need to add more or less egg than the recipe calls for. It’s important to pay attention to the consistency once you’ve added about 3/4 of the beaten egg. To test, dip the paddle of your stand mixer or a wooden spoon or spatula into the batter and lift it up. If the batter is smooth and shiny and hangs off the paddle, spoon, or spatula in a smooth V shape, you’re good to go. If it’s still chunky, add a little more egg, beat until it’s combined, and test again. If it gets to the point that it flows quickly off of the paddle and doesn’t hold a V shape, you’ve added too much egg (and I’m afraid there’s no fixing it at that point), so it’s best to add a little at a time and test often.
- When making the pastry cream (for the mousseline), temper your egg yolks slowly and carefully. After you heat the milk, stream it slowly into the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly—this gradually heats the yolks up without allowing them to curdle and turn into scrambled eggs. Just in case, I always recommend straining pastry cream out afterwards to remove any accidentally-cooked egg bits (which happens to the best of us, and can ruin the texture of an otherwise perfect pastry cream).
- Use a jumbo piping tip for the mousseline. Get the biggest star-shaped piping tip you can find, to get the beautiful dramatic swirls of mousseline that Paris-Brest is known for.
- Make extra chocolate butterflies, like double the number you think you’ll use. They’re fragile little buggers, and some of them will almost certainly crack during assembly. They don’t take long to pipe out, so it’s no big deal to make extra and doing so will save you a headache later.
Ingredients to make Extra Nutty and Chocolatey Paris-Brest
- Eggs. Use fresh, large eggs. Room temperature eggs will be a little easier to incorporate into the choux dough, but I’ve used them straight from the fridge too without any issue.
- All-purpose flour has a medium level of gluten—not high like bread flour, or low like cake or pastry flour. For this Paris-Brest it strikes the right balance, lending enough structure without winding up too tough or chewy.
- Salt is a very important ingredient in sweet baked goods. We don’t normally think of salt when we think of desserts, but it plays an extremely important role in enhancing all of the other flavours. If no salt was used, the cookies would taste a little bland.
- Unsalted butter is best because it allows you to control the salt content. If all you have on hand is salted butter you can use that, but you’ll need to reduce the other salt the recipe calls for to compensate. Cheap grocery store brand butter is fine, but if you can afford it it’s worth splurging on high-quality European-style butter to impart even more flavour and texture to the mousseline. I wouldn’t bother using the expensive stuff for the choux or ganache, though.
- Milk chocolate. This recipe uses both milk chocolate for the ganache, but if you prefer you can use dark chocolate instead. For the best flavour, use the best quality chocolate you can afford (you can usually tell when a chocolate is high quality not just by the higher price tag, but the ingredient list should be relatively short without any fillers).
- Chocolate is also used to make the butterfly decorations. If you want to use real chocolate, you’ll have to temper it before you pipe it (otherwise it may turn cloudy and won’t have a nice snap). I won’t go into the process of tempering chocolate here, but there are lots of resources online—one of my favourite blog posts about it is this one on Serious Eats. If you don’t want to go to the trouble of tempering chocolate, you could simply use chocolate-flavoured candy melts. They don’t taste nearly as good as real chocolate, but you’ll only be using them to make a few butterfly decorations so it won’t affect the overall flavour of the pastry, and I think it’s a fair compromise to make.
- Chocolate-covered nuts add flavour and texture to the fillings inside the Paris-Brest. I used a combination of dark chocolate-covered pistachios and milk chocolate-covered caramel hazelnuts. You can use any chocolate covered nut(s) you like, or skip them entirely.
- Nutella ramps up the chocolate and hazelnut flavour combo in a way I really loved, but it’s optional.
- Heavy cream is essential for the milk chocolate ganache. Don’t skimp on the fat content by using milk or half-and-half, or it won’t whip up properly.
- Milk is used for the pastry cream and choux pastry. I recommend using whole milk as fat is important for both flavour and texture, though you could use 2%. I wouldn’t use skim milk for the pastry cream. For the choux pastry, you could use just water, or a combination of milk and water equal to the amount listed in the recipe.
FAQ
How long does a Paris-Brest last?
It’s best eaten the same day it’s assembled, but it will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 2–3 days. After that it will be a bit too soggy to be nice to eat.
Can I freeze a Paris-Brest?
Probably…but I wouldn’t recommend it. I don’t think the texture will be very nice after thawing it out, though it would be safe to eat.
Do I have to use blanched hazelnuts?
No, but your praline paste might have a slight bitter taste and will have lots of little dark brown flecks from the hazelnut skins. If you want to save time, you could just buy blanched hazelnuts but they can be hard to find and tend to be significantly more expensive than regular hazelnuts, so I include instructions in the recipe for how to blanch them yourself so you can save some money.
Can I make this gluten-free?
Yes, just find a gluten-free recipe online for the choux pastry (like this one), and make sure none of the ingredients you use for the other components have any hidden gluten.
Can I make this dairy free?
Yes! Swap out the butter in the choux, pastry cream, and mousseline with a vegan butter alternative. Leave out the whipped chocolate ganache, or try using coconut cream in place of the heavy cream in the ganache recipe. Use dark chocolate or dairy-free milk chocolate in the ganache, and if you’re using chocolate covered nuts make sure they’re dairy-free as well.
Can I make this egg free?
Yes! Find an egg-free recipe for choux pastry online (like this one). The rest of the recipe does not use eggs.
Can I make this vegan?
Yes! See my suggestions above for making this recipe dairy- and egg-free. If you or the person you’re making this for is very strictly vegan, you will also need to pay attention to the type of chocolate you use, and also the type of sugar you use (standard granulated sugar is processed with animal products, and may not be acceptable to some vegans). t
How should I serve Extra Nutty and Chocolatey Paris-Brest?
For the best texture, serve it at room temperature the same day it’s assembled. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
How Can I Make Extra Nutty and Chocolatey Paris-Brest in Advance?
Luckily, all of the components can be made either entirely or partly in advance so this dessert is completely manageable even if you have a very busy schedule. Each component needs to be handled a little differently when being made ahead:
Choux Pastry
Choux can be frozen either before or after it’s baked. To freeze before baking, pipe it into a ring and let it freeze on the baking sheet without covering it. Once it’s solid (after 2 hours or so), wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. You can then bake it from frozen, though you may need to add a few minutes to your bake time.
To freeze after baking, let the choux ring cool down completely then wrap it tightly before freezing for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to assemble your Paris-Brest, just let the choux ring come up to room temperature then slice off the top third and proceed with the recipe.
Praline Paste
This stuff keeps in the fridge for at least one month, so you can make it way in advance. Store it in an airtight container like a glass jar—and while you’re at it, make extra! This stuff is addictively delicious (you’ve been warned), so you’re going to want to spread it on toast, drizzle it on ice cream, and just eat it out of the jar with a spoon.
Milk Chocolate Praline Ganache
Ganache keeps in the fridge for at least a week. Just make sure it’s tightly covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, then let it come to room temperature before you whip it up.
Praline Mousseline
The best way to make this (partly) in advance, is to make the pastry cream up to 2 days in advance, then cover it with plastic wrap directly on the surface and leave it in the fridge. When you’re ready to assemble the Paris-Brest, whip up the butter and proceed with the recipe. It’s best to whip the mousseline up within an hour or two of when you plan on piping it so it’s at its best temperature—if you make the whole thing in advance and store it in the fridge, it will firm up and will need to be brought back to room temperature and whipped again. That’s doable, but less foolproof than making just the pastry cream in advance and proceeding from there.
Chocolate Butterflies
These can be made and assembled several weeks in advance, but they’re very fragile so be careful how you store them (either way, store them in an airtight container so the chocolate doesn’t pick up any other flavours). Make extra just in case a lot of them end up cracking—you can always re-melt any cracked or leftover butterflies later, so nothing will go to waste.
Extra Nutty and Chocolatey Paris-Brest
Ingredients
Method
- Fill a medium bowl with ice water. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Carefully add 1 tbsp baking soda (it will bubble up furiously), then add 140 g hazelnuts. Boil for 3–5 minutes. Test one nut at 3 minutes, if the skin comes off easily proceed with the recipe—if not, give it a couple more minutes.
- Drain, then pour the hazelnuts into the ice water and leave for a few minutes. Drain again, and pour just the hazelnuts (without any remaining ice) onto a baking sheet lined with clean kitchen towels. Pat dry and begin squeezing and rubbing the skins off. This part can be fairly tedious so you may want to get comfortable and put some Netflix on.
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F (175˚C). On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, spread out 120 g sliced almonds and 120 g blanched hazelnuts evenly. Bake for 8–10 minutes until fragrant and lightly golden—but keep a close eye on this because nuts can burn quickly! Prepare a second baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper or silicone baking mat and set it on a heat-proof surface near your stove—you'll need a safe place to pour the caramel out as soon as it's ready.
- Add 180 g granulated sugar and ¼ cup water to a small saucepan. Give it a stir with a rubber spatula. If any sugar granules got stuck to the side of the pan brush them down with a pastry brush dipped in water (making sure there are no stray sugar crystals will prevent the caramel from crystallizing). Set it on medium heat and keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Once dissolved, stop stirring. Let it keep bubbling away until it reaches a nice deep amber colour. The darker the caramel the more complex and delicious flavour it will have, but keep a very close watch on it because it can quickly go from nice and dark to burnt and disgusting. Aim for the colour of an old copper penny.
- Immediately remove from the heat, and carefully stir in the toasted almonds and hazelnuts. Pour it all out onto your prepared baking sheet and either leave at room temperature for a few hours or place in the fridge for 10–15 minutes until hardened and completely cool.
- Break all of the nutty caramel into pieces that will fit easily in the bowl of a food processor. Begin processing high speed, stopping every minute or so to scrape down the bowl as it's going to want to clump up around the sides and away from the blades. It's going to be very noisy at first, while the large hard caramel pieces are banging around the bowl but it will quiet down once the pieces start breaking down.
- Keep going until the paste is very smooth and almost pourable—this can take up to 10 minutes depending on your food processor. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one month. I highly recommend making a double or even triple batch so you have lots extra left over to enjoy after making the Paris-Brest. This stuff is seriously addictive and you're going to want to put it on everything, and it's not a lot more effort to make extra.
- Preheat the oven to 375˚F (190˚C). Add 170 g whole milk, 56 g unsalted butter, 1½ tsp granulated sugar, and ½ tsp fine sea salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- As soon as it's boiling and the butter has completely melted, dump 96 g all-purpose flour in all at once, and stir until it forms a uniform mass that resembles mashed potatoes. Keep stirring and cooking over medium heat until a film forms on the bottom of the pan (about 2–3 minutes).
- Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can do the rest of this recipe by hand by stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula, but it will be a workout). Beat on medium speed until the dough stops steaming, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the beaten 3 large eggs a little bit at a time—once you've added about ¾ of the eggs, start checking the consistency. You're looking for the choux to hang off the mixer paddle or your spoon or rubber spatula in a smooth V. If it's still chunky and thick, add more egg a little at a time, mix until combined, and test again. If your batter is flowing quickly off the paddle and not holding a V shape you've added too much egg (and unfortunately there's no fix for this, you'll have to start over—so it's better to add a little at a time and test often).
- Transfer the choux pastry to a piping bag fitted with a large French star tip. Trace around a large dinner plate on a sheet of parchment paper, then flip it over onto a baking sheet so the markings are on the bottom. Pipe one circle of choux right on top of the line. Pipe a second circle of choux directly to the inside of the first circle. Finally, pipe a third circle of choux right on top of where both of the two choux circles meet. If your piping breaks up or is uneven anywhere, you can either dip a finger in some water and smooth it out or just cover that spot with sliced almonds before baking (or cover it with decorations later).
- Brush all over with 1 large egg, beaten, and sprinkle the ½ cup sliced almonds all over (or you can leave a blank spot without any almonds to add decorations to later).
- Bake until very puffy and golden brown, about 30–40 minutes. You may want to turn the pan halfway through the bake time to ensure even baking. Leave to cool completely on the baking sheet.
- Add the 100 g chopped milk chocolate to a medium heat-proof bowl. Heat the 200 g heavy cream until steaming either in the microwave or on the stovetop, then pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 1-2 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Whisk until smooth.
- Add the 50 g praline paste and 20 g unsalted butter and whisk until smooth. Finish with an immersion blender to ensure it's completely combined. Transfer to a bowl covered with plastic wrap or airtight container, and chill in the fridge until it's set (about 2 hours). It should still be somewhat flexible (you should be able to poke your finger into it and easily leave an indentation) but not be completely fluid.
- When you're ready to assemble the Paris-Brest, transfer the ganache to the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large bowl if using a hand mixer, and beat on high speed until much lighter and about doubled in volume. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
- Add the 65 g granulated sugar and 25 g cornstarch to a medium heat-proof bowl and whisk together until no clumps remain. Add the 4 large egg yolks and whisk until smooth.
- Add the 268 g whole milk to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Carefully and slowly pour over the egg yolk mixture while whisking constantly, then return it to the saucepan. Keep heating over medium while stirring constantly until thickened.
- Pass through a strainer to remove any accidentally-cooked egg bits, then add 55 g unsalted butter and stir until melted and smoothly combined. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cool and set (about 2 hours).
- Whip 150 g unsalted butter using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer (or use the beaters of a hand mixer) until light and fluffy—about 5 minutes.
- Add 150 g praline paste and beat until combined. With the mixer running on medium, add 1 batch pastry cream one dollop at a time, waiting until each addition has been fully incorporated before adding the next. Switch to the whisk attachment (or keep using the beaters if using a hand mixer, but increase the speed to high) and whip on high speed until very light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a very large star-shaped tip. For the most dramatic swirls of mousseline, use the largest tip you can find!
- Draw a bunch of pairs of mirror-image capital B's onto a sheet of parchment paper as templates for the butterfly wings, then flip it over so the markings are on the bottom. Place it on a baking sheet. I recommend making the B's in lots of different sizes for more visual interest on the finished Paris-Brest (but each mirror-image pair of B's should be about the same size so they'll match up when you assemble each butterfly.
- Transfer the 1 cup tempered dark chocolate or melted chocolate-flavoured candy melts to a piping bag fitted with a tiny round piping tip, or snip a little tiny bit off of the end of a disposable piping bag or ziploc bag. Pipe around each wing template and fill in the middle with random scribbles. Place the baking sheet in the fridge until the chocolate sets, about 20 minutes.
- To assemble, make a bunch of stands in the shape of capital M's using pieces of recycled cardboard and line the middle of the M with a piece of folded parchment paper. Place a wing on each side of the middle of the M, and pipe a line of tempered chocolate or candy melts down the middle between the wings to attach them to each other. Place back in the fridge (still on the M-shaped stand) until completely set, about 20 minutes.
- Place the 1 cup Nutella into a piping bag fitted with a small or medium round tip. Roughly chop the 2 cups chocolate-covered nuts and set aside. Carefully cut the top ⅓ off of the choux ring as evenly as possible, and set aside.
- Pipe 3 rings of Nutella around the base of the choux ring.
- Pipe 3 rings of whipped chocolate ganache on top of the Nutella, and sprinkle it all over with the chopped chocolate-covered nuts.
- Pipe big dramatic swirls of praline mousseline to cover over the nuts, whipped ganache, and Nutella. You'll likely have to stop multiple times to push the mousseline down into the bag toward the tip—try to stop piping at the bottom of a swirl if you can, then pick up where you left off.
- Sprinkle more chopped chocolate-covered nuts over the mousseline, then cover with the top of the choux ring.
- Pipe dollops of your leftover mousseline, whipped chocolate praline ganache, and Nutella on top of the choux ring anywhere you think it will look nice, and nestle some chocolate butterflies into the dollops wherever you like.
- Paris-Brest is best enjoyed the same day that it's assembled, but leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
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