Description
Mary’s Christmas choux wreath is an elegant and festive dessert featuring light, golden choux buns filled with spiced crème pâtissière and topped with silky chocolate ganache, delicate white chocolate snowflakes, and crunchy caramel-coated hazelnuts. This impressive wreath combines classic French pastry techniques with warm holiday spices and is perfect for a celebratory centerpiece dessert during Christmas.
Ingredients
Scale
For the choux buns
- 110g/3¾oz butter, cubed
- 130g/4¾oz plain flour, sifted
- 4 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
For the 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
For the chocolate ganache
- 100g/3½oz milk chocolate, 46% minimum cocoa solids
- 100ml/3½fl oz double cream
For the chocolate snowflakes
- 100g/3½oz white chocolate, melted
For the caramel
- 200g/7oz caster sugar
- Red food colouring paste
- 12 blanched hazelnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare baking sheets: Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)/Gas mark 6. Line three baking sheets with baking parchment to prepare for piping the choux buns.
- Make the choux pastry: Place the butter and 250ml water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts. Bring to a boil careful not to burn the butter, then remove from heat and stir in the sifted flour vigorously until a soft ball of dough forms. Cook over low heat for 3–5 minutes, stirring constantly to dry out the dough. Allow to cool slightly.
- Add eggs to dough: Transfer dough to a mixer bowl and gradually whisk in the lightly beaten eggs until the mixture becomes a smooth, shiny paste. Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a 1½cm (¾in) plain nozzle.
- Pipe and bake choux buns: Pipe 12 small mounds onto each prepared baking sheet (36 total). Smooth the tops gently with a water-dipped finger. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 190°C (170°C fan)/Gas mark 5 and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Dry the choux buns: Pierce each bun with a skewer to let steam escape, then bake for 5 more minutes to dry out. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
- Make crème pâtissière: Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-based pan and remove from heat, letting it cool for 30 seconds. Whisk egg yolks and sugar until pale, then whisk in cornflour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture whisking continuously, then return to pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking, until boiling and thickened, about 1 minute. Pour into a bowl, cover with cling film, and cool.
- Prepare chocolate ganache: Place chopped milk chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat double cream until simmering and pour over chocolate. Stir until smooth and set aside to thicken enough to drizzle.
- Pipe chocolate snowflakes: Fill a small piping bag with melted white chocolate fitted with a writing nozzle. Pipe 12 snowflakes onto parchment and allow to set.
- Fill choux buns: Whip double cream to soft peaks and fold into cooled crème pâtissière. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a long thin nozzle or jam syringe and fill each choux bun with the cream mixture.
- Make caramel and assemble wreath base: Boil caster sugar and 5 tablespoons water until golden (about 170°C), carefully handling hot sugar. Remove from heat and allow to thicken slightly by plunging pan into cold water. On a large cooling rack, arrange 14 choux buns in an outer circle and 10 inside to make two touching rings. Dip one side of each bun into caramel and stick to the adjacent bun, joining the circles.
- Add upper choux bun layer: Dip bases of the remaining 12 choux buns in caramel and place them on top of the two circles to form a wreath shape.
- Make caramel hazelnuts: Return caramel to heat, simmer gently, add a small amount of red food colouring paste and blanched hazelnuts, stir well. Lift each hazelnut out and place on silicone paper to cool.
- Decorate wreath: Drizzle one-quarter of the chocolate ganache over the wreath. Transfer wreath to a serving plate and decorate with chocolate snowflakes and the cooled caramel hazelnuts.
Notes
- Be careful handling hot caramel; boiling sugar can cause severe burns.
- Pipe the choux buns evenly to ensure uniform baking.
- Piercing the choux buns before the final bake helps to remove steam for a crisp texture.
- Covering crème pâtissière with cling film directly prevents skin formation.
- If a sugar thermometer is unavailable, watch caramel closely for a golden amber color.
- This recipe requires some advanced pastry skills and attention to detail but yields impressive results perfect for special occasions.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/12 of wreath
- Calories: 490 kcal
- Sugar: 35 g
- Sodium: 80 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 135 mg
