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Hazelnut Praline
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Start by preheating the oven to 350u00b0F. Arrange the nuts on a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes until fragrant and a pretty golden color.
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When done remove as much of the nut coat as you can (I rub the cool nuts between my palms). Don't fuss over this step too much. Some coating on the nuts isn't the end of the world.
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Spray a shallow heat proof bowl or a plate with a little nonstick spray and put the nuts in it. Now you're ready to start making the candy
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Over medium heat, combine the remaining praline ingredients into a small heavy bottomed sauce pan. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and then allow it to boil untouched.
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To avoid a smoky burned sugar mess, stare at your sugar for a good15 minutes (don't rush it by turning up the heat). The water is going to boil away concentrating the syrup and then the sugars will begin to caramelize. This last step occurs quickly, so don't be tempted to step away from the stove. When the sugar turns a medium amber color pull it off the heat and immediately pour it over the nuts in the bowl.
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Once cooled, you can break it into chunks. Place those chunks into a sturdy zip top bag and smash them into smaller bits with a rolling pin.
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Then grind the bits in your blender or food processor. Set the praline powder aside for the moment. This recipe will not require all of this powdered hazelnut praline; store any excess in an air tight container in your freezer. I think it might be good on ice cream!
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For the Pate a Choux (sounds complicated, but it was surprisingly simple):
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Bring the butter and water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, and stir in all of the flour at once with a wooden spoon. It will quickly turn from a sticky mess into a glossy lump of dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
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Transfer the dough to a mixing bowl and beat on low just to cool the dough a bit. Then add the eggs, one at at a time, beating on high speed to incorporate each one separately. Once the dough goes from wet and slippery to sticky, you can add the next egg.
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Once you've added all the eggs you can add the dough to a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off.
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Preheat your oven to 425u00b0F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. You'll want to pipe about 8 circles of the Pate a Choux dough onto the sheets, no larger than three inches in diameter, and remember to pipe it so it looks like a bagel.
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Once the oven is preheated, place the pan inside and reduce the heat to 350u00b0F. Bake for 30-35 minutes. When a light golden brown, remove from the oven and transfer the Pate a Choux to a wire rack immediately to cool.
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Hazelnut Praline Cream:
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Combine 1/4 cup of milk and sugar into a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add the butter and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
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Meanwhile, whisk the cornstarch with the 2 Tablespoons of milk. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until completely smooth.
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When the milk and butter mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately and pour a third of the hot milk into the bowl with the eggs and cornstarch while mixing with the whisk (this will temper the mixture). Then return this mixture to pan with the remaining hot milk and set over medium heat stirring constantly with the whisk.
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Cook the mixture until it comes to a boil, has thickened and the whisk leaves a trail in the mixture.
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Pour the mixture into a stainless steel bowl set into an ice bath and allow to cool, stirring occasionally.
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Once the mixture is cool, beat the heavy cream to soft peaks and then gently mix one third of the whipped cream into the pastry cream along with about 1/2 cup of the praline powder, continue to add praline powder to taste. Fold the remaining cream in until no streaks remain.
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Cut the cooled pastries in half horizontally, and either pipe the cream onto the bottom of the pastry or just apply with a spatula. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and a sprinkling of the praline powder. Top with the other half of the pastry.
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These are light and airy, cool and creamy, and utterly delicious!
