Description
Mary’s Christmas choux wreath is a festive, impressive dessert featuring delicate choux buns filled with spiced crème pâtissière, layered in a decorative wreath formation and finished with a smooth chocolate ganache, white chocolate snowflakes, and caramel-glazed hazelnuts. Perfect for holiday celebrations, this recipe masterfully combines baking, pastry cream preparation, caramel work, and decorative touches to create a show-stopping centerpiece.
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 and Prepare Baking Sheets: Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Line three baking sheets with baking parchment for easy choux bun baking.
- Make the Choux Paste: Place butter and 250ml water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Heat until butter melts and mixture boils, careful not to burn the butter. Remove from heat.
- Add Flour and Cook Dough: Add sifted flour all at once, stirring vigorously with wooden spoon until it forms a soft ball. Return pan to low heat and cook dough for 3–5 minutes, stirring constantly to dry out mixture. Let it cool slightly.
- Incorporate Eggs: Transfer dough to bowl of a food mixer with whisk or use electric hand whisk. Gradually add lightly beaten eggs, whisking well after each addition until mixture is smooth and shiny paste.
- Pipe Choux Buns: Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 1½cm plain nozzle. Pipe 12 small mounds on each baking sheet (36 total). Dip finger in water and smooth tops gently.
- Bake Initial 10 Minutes: Bake at 200C for 10 minutes to start choux rising and setting.
- Reduce Heat and Continue Baking: Lower oven to 190C/170C Fan/Gas 5 and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
- Dry Choux Buns: Pierce each bun with skewer to release steam. Return to oven for 5 minutes to dry out shells. Cool completely on wire rack.
- Prepare Crème Pâtissière: Heat milk in heavy pan to boiling and remove from heat. Whisk egg yolks and caster sugar until pale, then whisk in cornflour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour warm milk gradually into egg mixture whisking continuously, then return mixture to pan.
- Cook Pastry Cream: Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until boiling and thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, transfer to bowl, cover surface with cling film to avoid skin forming. Cool completely.
- Make Chocolate Ganache: Break chocolate into bowl. Heat cream until simmering, pour over chocolate, stir until smooth. Cool until thickened but still drizzleable.
- Create Chocolate Snowflakes: Spoon melted white chocolate into piping bag with writing nozzle. Pipe 12 snowflake shapes on baking parchment. Let set.
- Fill Choux Buns: Whip double cream to soft peaks and fold into cooled crème pâtissière. Spoon mixture into piping bag with long thin nozzle or jam syringe. Fill buns with cream.
- Prepare Caramel: Boil caster sugar and 5 tablespoons water in pan until golden or 170C on sugar thermometer. Remove from heat, cool slightly by placing pan in cold water bath.
- Assemble Choux Wreath Base: On a cooling rack or work surface, arrange 14 choux buns in a touching circle, then 10 inside forming two circles. Dip one side of each bun into caramel and stick to adjacent bun to join circles.
- Add Top Layer: Dip bases of remaining 12 choux buns into caramel and stick them atop the two circles, completing the wreath shape.
- Caramel Hazelnuts: Return caramel to gentle simmer, add small amount of red food colouring paste. Stir in hazelnuts, quickly lift each onto silicon paper-lined baking sheet. Cool completely.
- Finish Decoration: Drizzle one quarter of chocolate ganache over wreath. Transfer to serving plate and decorate with white chocolate snowflakes and caramelised hazelnuts.
Notes
- Use free-range eggs for best flavor and consistency.
- When piping choux, smoothing tops with wet finger prevents cracking.
- Cooking the choux paste on stove before adding eggs helps dryness and volume.
- Be cautious when working with hot caramel to avoid burns.
- Crème pâtissière needs to be cooled completely before folding in cream to maintain texture.
- Chocolate ganache should be cooled until thick enough to drizzle but still pourable.
- Allow caramel hazelnuts to cool fully on silicon paper to harden properly.
- This wreath serves as an impressive centerpiece, best assembled shortly before serving to keep choux crisp.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/12th wreath)
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 35 g
- Sodium: 85 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated Fat: 16 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 38 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Cholesterol: 155 mg
