Choux au Craquelin Recipe

 

Choux au craquelin may sound fancy, but they're just fancy cream puffs. The craquelin, a simple cookie-like dough made of sugar, butter, flour, and a pinch of salt, is rolled out, sliced, and perched on top of piped choux before being baked together to create pastry puffs with a crackly look, crunchy feel, and a buttery, sweet bite.

 

What to Grab

 

4 ounces (1/2 cup) light brown sugar

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, and softened to about 68°F

4 ounces (about 1 scant cup) all-purpose flour, sifted

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

One recipe Choux Pastry (made with water), transferred to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain round tip

One recipe vanilla, chocolate, or lemon pastry cream, or one recipe crème légère, transferred to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch plain round tip

 

To Make the Craquelin Top by Hand: Mash together brown sugar and butter in a medium bowl with a flexible spatula, then stir until smooth and fluffy, around 3 minutes. Mix in the flour and salt until no dry flour remains and a damp, crumbly meal forms, about 2 minutes. Alternatively, to make the Craquelin top in a stand mixer, follow these steps: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar and butter on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy.

 

Using a lightweight spatula, scrape down the bowl and beater. Add flour and salt, then beat on medium-low speed for 2 minutes, or until no dry flour remains and a damp, crumbly meal forms. Bring the dough together with your hands to form a disc (it will be a bit sticky but do not add extra flour). Set a sheet of parchment paper on a work surface and place the dough on top. Shape the dough into a 6-by-8-inch flat rectangle.

 

Place a second sheet of parchment paper on top. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a 1/8-inch-thick rough rectangle (it should be around 12-by-14 inches in size); reposition all sheets of parchment paper if required to avoid creasing. Transfer the dough, along with the parchment paper, to a rimmed baking sheet and freeze for 5 minutes, or until it is cold (or refrigerate until cold, about 15 minutes). Line a second baking sheet of parchment paper in the meantime.

 

Take off the top sheet of parchment leaf. Stamp 18 bits of craquelin with a 2-inch circular cutter. Working easily, place the craquelin rounds in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and return to the freezer; you will need to slip an offset spatula under the cut-outs to remove them from the parchment paper. Scraps of craquelin dough can be re-rolled, chilled, and cut into fresh rounds if needed (see Make Ahead section for more on holding extra, uncooked rounds).

 

Preheat oven to 375°F (191°C), with one rack in the upper-middle position and the other in the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Under each corner of the parchment leaf, pipe a small amount of choux paste (the dough acts as a glue and keeps the paper in place as you pipe).

 

Apply steady downward pressure to the packed pastry bag when holding it at a 90° angle, and pipe a 2-inch-wide choux (see note). To end piping, release the pressure and swirl the pastry tip free. Continue piping choux about 3 inches apart until you have a limit of 9 choux. Rep for the second tray. Top each choux with a craquelin cut-out, make sure it's parallel to the baking sheet's floor, then gently press down to ensure it adheres to the highest point of the piped choux. Bake all trays for 30 minutes, flipping racks and turning trays front to back after 20 minutes, or until choux au craquelin are puffed, deeply golden brown, and feel hollow when removed.

 

Filling for Sandwich-Style Choux au Craquelin: Switch off the cooker. Enable the trays to sit in the oven for 30 minutes with the oven door partially open. Remove from oven and set aside for 15 minutes to cool fully. Slice each puff in half with a serrated knife to make a top and bottom "bun." Fill a pastry bag fitted with a 3/4-inch star tip with your preferred filling (see notes section below for filling instructions). Start piping with steady pressure to generously fill the bottom half of each choux, one at a time. Top each choux with the top half of a choux. Repeat before all of the choux au craquelin have been completed. Serve right away.