Vanilla caramel Saint-Honoré recipe

Puff pastry: In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, work the butter with the flour for about 10 minutes. Roll out the butter mixture into a rectangle measuring 40 x 115 cm and 10 mm thick. In the mixer fitted with a dough hook, make the dough by mixing all the ingredients for about 15 minutes, until you achieve a homogeneous dough.

Roll out the dough into a square measuring 38 cm on each side and 10 mm thick. Place it in the center of the prepared butter, then fold it over from each side to enclose it. Create a four-turn puff pastry. Start by rolling out the resulting dough, then fold it over itself to make the first turn. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Repeat this process a second time. Then complete the next two turns by rolling out each time with a mixture of brown sugar and panela sugar. Make sure to respect the hour of rest in the fridge between each turn. Roll out the puff pastry to a thickness of 4 mm.

Pastry cream: Soak the gelatin in cold water. In a saucepan, heat the milk with the cream and infuse the split and scraped vanilla bean pods for 20 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, flour, and egg yolks until pale. Strain the vanilla milk-cream mixture, then pour it boiling over the pale mixture. Return everything to the saucepan and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the cocoa butter, then the squeezed gelatin, followed by the butter and finally the mascarpone. Blend with an immersion blender and let cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Choux pastry: In a saucepan, bring the milk, water, sugar syrup, salt, and butter to a boil. Remove from heat and add the flour all at once. Return to the heat and mix vigorously with a spatula, then dry out on the heat. Pour everything into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, then gradually add the eggs. Let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature.

Caramel: In a container, mix the sugar and dry nougat. Then pour into a saucepan, add the water and glucose, and cook until you achieve a dark caramel. Take the puffs with a small knife, then dip them three-quarters into the hot caramel. Set them aside on a rack.

Whipped vanilla cream: In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and then blend everything with an immersion blender.

Assembly and finishing: On the pastry, cut out a circle with a diameter of 16 cm. Pipe pastry cream in the center, then place dollops of whipped cream on top. Arrange the caramelized cream puffs on top.

To conclude, "Opera" published by Ducasse Edition on November 7, 2019. Author: Cédric Grolet. Photographer: Philippe Vaurès Santamaria. Available in bookstores for the price of €45.