Am so happy to have tried making this Choux Au Craquelin. Choux pastry is a nemesis of mine. Basically this is a puff with cookie dough topping (craquelin) and chocolate custard cream filling. Warm pastry with cold filling. We all loved it!

There are 3 parts to the recipe, the cookie dough topping, the choux or puff pastry and then the filling. I followed the recipe from here to the dot for the choux pastry, it’s a great and detailed recipe.

I used my own chocolate custard recipe to suit our tastes, and this is shared below.

The topping is crispy when freshly baked and just cooled. But it softens in half a day. You can toast for a few minutes and it will crisp up again. Keep the filling in the fridge and pipe into the puff only just before serving.

Recipe (about 12 to 13)

Chocolate Custard Cream

• 2 eggs
• 100g chocolate milk
• 45g sugar
• 30g plain flour
• 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 20g salted butter
• 20g chocolate chip

Cookie dough topping (Craquelin)

• 45g salted butter
• 30g powder sugar
• 50g cake flour

Choux pastry

• 85g fresh milk
• 40g salted butter
• 5g sugar
• 55g cake flour sifted
• 2 eggs at room temperature, beaten

1. Start with preparing the custard cream first. Place milk, egg, sugar and salt into a small pot. Stir well with hand whisk.

2. Add in flour and cocoa powder and mix. There will be small lumps but that’s fine. Finally add in butter.

3. Place onto stove, low heat and stir continuously. The custard will slowly form. About 5-8 min.

4. When you can lift off some of the custard with hand whisk, custard is ready. Off heat, add in chocolate chips and stir.

5. Cool, scoop into piping bag and keep in the fridge.

6. Next for Craquelin. Mix butter powder sugar with spatula till no sugar is visible.

7. Next add in sifted cake flour and mix with spatula till no flour is visible.

8. Wrap in cling wrap, roll to about 3 to 4 cm in diameter. Store in freezer.

9. Now for choux pastry. Place milk, sugar and butter in a pot. Heat till it boils

10. Take pot off heat and add flour in one go. Stir rapidly with spatula till a paste is form.

11. Return to stove at low heat for 2 to 3min stirring constantly, till dough is drier, with powdery coating seen on pot. (However, this coating will not be formed when using a non stick pan)

12. Transfer to another bowl, spread out and allow to cool till warm.

13. Add about half the eggs and mix in with spatula.

13. After this, add in eggs in smaller amounts and check pastry after every add. Pastry is ready when it is smooth and when lifted with spatula forms a triangle with smooth edges. I was left with about 1tbsp of egg when done.

14. Spoon into piping bag. Snip of the tip for a 1 cm opening. Pipe onto baking tray lined with baking paper to form pastry of about 4cm.

15. Slice Craquelin into 2 to 3 mm. Place on top of choux.

16. Bake at 190 deg C for 15min, 175 deg C for 10min and 150 deg C for 10 min. It is done when golden brown.