This cake is named after a famous street in Paris: le Faubourg Saint-Honoré. A Chiboust cream is the traditional filling for the cake but a Chantilly cream can be used instead.
Ingredients
For the pastries
- 250 g puff pastry (Or 250 g sweet shortcrust pastry)
- 350 g choux pastry
- 1 beaten egg, to glaze
For the choux filling and For the caramel
- 450 g crème pâtissière
- 75 ml water
- 250 g caster sugar
For the French meringue and For the Chiboust cream
- 3 egg whites
- 50 g caster sugar
- 6 small gelatine leaves (9 g)
- 450 g hot crème pâtissière
- 150 g French meringue
How to Make It
- Make the puff pastry or sweet shortcrust pastry, and the crème pâtissière for the choux filling and place them in the fridge. These steps can be done the day before.
- Make the choux pastry and fill a piping bag fitted with a medium-size nozzle.
- Roll out the pastry base in a 20 cm circle, 3 mm thick, and place it on a baking tray. Prick it with a fork. Pipe a ring of choux pastry all the way around the pastry base, 0.5 cm from the side.
- On a non-stick baking tray, pipe 25 small choux (2 cm), in staggered rows, leaving enough space between them to spread. Brush with beaten egg.
- On a non-stick baking tray, pipe 25 small choux (2 cm), in staggered rows, leaving enough space between them to spread. Brush with beaten egg.
- In a large bowl, whisk the crème pâtissière and fill a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle. With a knife tip, make a hole at the bottom of each choux and fill with crème pâtissière.
- Make a clear caramel. Dip the tops of 8 choux into the caramel and set them upside down on a tray lined with baking paper. Dip the tops of 8 more choux in the caramel and then in the nibbed sugar and set on the baking paper. Dip the bottom of each choux in caramel and place them on the cake, alternating the caramelized choux and nibbed sugarcoated choux.
- To make the crème pâtissière for the Chiboust cream, soak the gelatine leaves in cold water for 10 minutes. Make the crème pâtissière and pass it through a very fine sieve into a large bowl. Whisk in the pressed gelatine leaves. Cover it with cling film in contact with the cream and keep it warm over a bain-marie at 65°C.
- Make a French meringue. Whisk the egg whites using an electric mixer at medium speed. Add the caster sugar at the end to firm the meringue.
- To make the Chiboust cream, whisk the warm crème pâtissière and combine the French meringue, using a whisk, in 3 or 4 additions. Use while it’s still warm.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a Saint-Honoré nozzle with the meringue mixture and decorate the cake base. (Or make some quenelles by making oval-shape balls using 2 tablespoons in opposite directions.) Set in the fridge for 2 hours.