I made a little experiment this time. As whipped cream is not stable, it often can’t hold the shape nicely. Hence, I thought I might try mixing it with some shortening. I put the fresh cream and shortening together and then whipped them. Unfortunately it was a complete failure….the mixture “weeps”. Perhaps I should have whipped the shortening first, then add in the cream and whip. Since I put them all together at one go and did the whipping, it’s very difficult to mix them well without over-whip. Or.. it could be that the two can’t go well together… Anyhow, I’ll try it again next time.
Since the fresh cream filling was a failure, I had to use all shortening to do it. I could have used half butter & half shortening (for better flavour), but I was in a rush to finish the whole thing as I was so tired by the time I got to this stage…. So in the end, I just took out a jar of Crisco shortening and whip it (much more expensive then butter… sigh… about $8 for 250g!) Well, actually, this Crisco shortening seems to be healthier than butter as it’s 50% less saturated fat and it’s trans fat free. There’s a similar product called “Crème Cup” which is made locally (you can buy it from some cake decoration / specialty shops) and is a lot cheaper than Crisco, but it’s certainly NOT trans fat free. I only used it once, the texture is very smooth; but for health reason, I dare not to use it anymore.
Paris Brest
Ingredients
For the Choux Pastry:
250ml water
60g unsalted butter (chopped into cubes)
1 tbsp sugar
125g plain flour
3 medium size eggs
some silvered almonds
For the filling:
200g Crisco shortening or softened butter
30g sifted icing sugar
3 tbsp Bushshells Coffee & Chicory Essence
Method
Preheat oven to 200C (Conventional). Line a baking tray with non-stick paper
Place water, sugar & unsalted butter into a saucepan, bring to boil and then remove the pan immediately from the heat & immediately add in all the flour. Mix rapidly with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Add the 1st egg into the pastry and mix completely (note that at the beginning, the pastry looks slimy but as you continue to mix, it will come together eventually). Add the 2nd egg and mix completely. Last, add the 3rd egg and mix completely. When the pastry all comes together nicely, check the moisture content. If it's a bit dry, add an extra 1/2 egg and mix well.
Put the pastry in a piping bag with decorative nozzle and pipe a 20cm diameter circle on the non-stick paper. Brush some egg yolk on top of the pastry ring, decorate it with some silvered almond & sprinkle with some white sugar. Bake in the pre-warmed oven until the pastry is cooked (about 40 mins).
When the pastry is cooked, remove it from the oven and let it cool down completely.
Split the pastry ring into half (sideways) using serrated knife.
Place the shortening or soften butter into a bowl, add the sifted icing sugar and coffee essence. Mix with electric whisk until it's light & fluffy.
Pipe the cream onto the base of the pastry shell, then place the other half shell on top of the cream. Sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.
