← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 175 ml whole milk
• 85 g unsalted butter
• 1 pinch Salt
• 115 g plain flour
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 500 ml whole milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 100 g caster sugar
• 45 g Cornflour (cornstarch)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste
• 175 g unsalted butter, soft
• 3 tbsp icing sugar, to dust

Method

1. Make the custard first. Whisk the yolks, sugar, cornflour and a splash of the milk. Heat the rest of the milk until steaming, whisk it in, then return to the pan and whisk over medium heat until it boils and is very thick, 2–3 min. Stir in the vanilla, press cling film onto the surface and cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
2. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, 400°F). Line two baking trays with paper and draw a 23 cm square (or circle) on each, then flip the paper.
3. For the choux, bring the milk, butter and salt to a rolling boil. Tip in all the flour, take off the heat and beat hard until a smooth ball forms. Return to low heat and stir for 1 minute to dry it out, then cool for 5 min.
4. Beat in the eggs a little at a time until the dough is glossy and drops slowly off the spoon. Spread half thinly within each outline.
5. Bake for 25–30 min until puffed into crags and a deep golden brown; don’t open the oven for the first 20 min. Cool on the trays.
6. Beat the soft butter for 3 min until pale, then beat in the room-temperature custard a spoonful at a time to make a smooth, fluffy cream.
7. Put the flatter choux layer on a board, spread the custard cream thickly to the edges and set the bumpiest layer on top, pressing gently. Chill for at least 3 hours, then dust heavily with icing sugar and cut with a serrated knife.

Tips

• The butter and custard must be the same temperature or the cream can split; if it does, warm the bowl briefly and beat again.
• Keep it in the fridge and eat within 2 days.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

King Arthur Baking BBC Good Food