Philippe Conticini · 1910, reinvented 2009
The Paris-Brest
The Paris-Brest was invented in 1910 for a bicycle race, a wheel of choux with praline cream; Philippe Conticini rebuilt it as eight choux in a ring, each with a heart of liquid praline, and made it the classic of the new century.
Taste profile
Pair it with
A coffee, or a glass of Banyuls.
Louis Durand, a pastry chef in Maisons-Laffitte, created the wheel-shaped choux with praline cream in 1910 to honour the Paris-Brest-Paris race. It became a staple of every French patisserie: choux pastry with almonds, a praline crème mousseline, icing sugar. In 2009 Conticini rebuilt it at La Pâtisserie des Rêves as a crown of eight small choux, a crisp craquelin on top, and a heart of pure liquid praline hidden in each: the surprise made the classic new.
The Conticini form has been copied in every serious boutique in Paris; the original wheel survives in the neighbourhood bakeries, and both belong to the city.
The home version · serves 6
Ingredients
- For the choux: 125 ml water, 125 ml milk, 100 g butter, 150 g flour, 4 eggs, a pinch of salt
- For the craquelin: 50 g butter, 60 g brown sugar, 60 g flour
- 200 g hazelnut praline paste
- 400 ml milk, 4 yolks, 80 g sugar, 35 g cornflour, 150 g butter for the mousseline
- Toasted hazelnuts
Method
- Make the craquelin: mix butter, sugar and flour, roll thin, freeze, cut into discs.
- Make choux: boil water, milk, butter and salt, add flour, dry over heat, beat in the eggs one by one. Pipe eight balls in a ring, top each with a craquelin disc, bake at 180 °C for 35 minutes.
- Make the crème pâtissière, cool to lukewarm, beat in the soft butter and 150 g praline for the mousseline.
- Cut the crown in half, pipe the mousseline into each choux and drop a spoon of pure praline in the centre of each.
- Replace the lid, dust with icing sugar, scatter hazelnuts. Chill one hour.
Where to taste it
