Paris-Brest with Summer Fruits and Creme Moussaline

This classic Paris Brest is a ring of delectable pate-a choux that is filled with creme moussaline, a combination of creme patisserie and butter. Lots of butter. Topped with mixed berries and peaches to lighten up the Frenchest bite for summer in red, white, blue, peach, and cream.

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The Four-teenth- of July

Not a fan of July. Not a fan of humidity. Less a fan of July 4th. It is not that I am purposely unpatriotic. It likens itself to the way that many people, like myself, adore cilantro. We add it to anything from Persian to Mexican and appreciate its little green zingy flavor. Others, meanwhile, cannot stand one leaf finding its way into their mouth. Not a preference or a like, but a genetic and specific predisposition.

Well, that seems to be me with America. America is my cilantro, if I did not like cilantro. It feels random and harks back to being first generation Croatian, born to immigrants who were very American is some ways, but mostly not. Regardless of our cultural norms, like bands of visiting Croatians to our house in my youth and drinking wine and Sljivovica in tiny shot glasses with ice since kindergarten.

Old Worlds

I have mostly felt disinterested in the goings on politically, for my family came from a much older world, where politics, rules, societies, and worlds changed from decade to decade, not to mention the laundry list of empires that came before. We distrust, perhaps, or accept the mutability-and sometimes frivolity–of countries and of patriotism. We know where it came from and where it could go tomorrow.

Or something like that. I feel like the girl in high school that had no school spirit and who just wanted to go home and listen to dark and moody rock n roll when cheerleaders were cheering on the team…well, because I was that girl. I feel like I did every July 4th. Who does not love fireworks? We blew up our share growing up. The rest of it feels off to me. I realize this is me. I realize I should move to Croatia, or France, or England, or Ireland, where I was lucky enough to go to school here.

Perhaps one day A Quarrel of Feasts will be Une Querelle de Fetes. My boyfriend, whose parents came from Turkey and France, always says he felt like he got off the plane with them. I feel the same. I guess that is why we hang out together in our house so much.

Bastille Brest of Paris

For he and his French memories, I want to spend an extra time this year celebrating Bastille Day on July 14th and even more so, celebrating the endless parade of French patisserie, headed up by the elusive and surprisingly pleasurable to make Pate-a-Choux in the form of a Paris Brest.

The Paris Brest was named after a bicycle race that ran from Paris to Brest, in the town of Brittany. The pate choux is crisp and soft, made up of the same components that you would taste in an eclair or a cream puff. The moussaline cream is like the most evil buttercream you could imagine–but you cannot imagine it. Only the French can. That, along with free healthcare and bottles of wine at lunch. It is made up of a creme patisserie with endless knobs of butter thrown in for good measure. The result is not great for cholesterol, but is a cascade of velvet and silk together. No wonder they need that healthcare.

One French Step at a Time

The traditional Paris Brest is made with a praline cream in the center. Oddly enough, the first version of a Paris Brest I had was in Malverne, Long Island, NY. It happens to be where my boyfriends dad and his wife live. One of the best, if not the best, bakery in Long Island called Malverne Pastry Shop, is in their town, and they typically have a version of the Paris Brest made with a lighter creme patisserie in the center and berries. For the heat waves of July, I went with this version, using a traditional moussaline creme.

The Paris Brest is made up of two components: Pate-a Choux, Creme Moussaline, itself made up of creme patisserie and butter, along with the ready made summer fruits.

For Pate-a-Choux: The milk, sugar, butter, and salt is added to a pan and the liquid is just pre-boil, when you take the pan off of the heat and add in the flour, all at once. You then add eggs in one at a time, slowly, and return the mix to the heat to continue until it looks like a paste like texture, all together, leaving no trace of its ingredients on the sides of the pan or the bowl. It comes together pretty quickly, so keep your heat in check and keep mixing. Seriously, keep whisking when instructed and then keep mixing with a wooden spoon.

A great tip for Pate-a-Choux is after the flour is added. Many traditional recipes instruct you to add the eggs by hand, one at a time, and mix. Mix MIX. I did this by hand this time, to understand the process through and through, but, an alternative is to add the flour and then place the hot mixture in the bowl of a mixer. You can put the mixer on low and let it go for about 2-3 minutes. It will keep the mixture soft, and cool it off as you begin to add the eggs.

The Creme Moussaline: This part feels similar to making the Pate-a-Choux. Unfortunately for me, standing over the steamy stove whisking and mixing vigorously in July was not my favorite part, but the result was worth the perspiration. Again, milk is brought just to a boil, while the sugar,eggs, and flour are whisked separately. Like creme pat, the egg mixture is added to the milk, while whisking of course, and cooked over medium heat, while whisking, for about five minutes until thickened. Now, the butter dices are dropped into the creme clouds and the thing becomes something else…moussaline!

The fun does not end there. Now, it’s time to pipe the pate-a-choux into a ring (draw a ring onto the back of parchment paper laid out on a baking sheet for a guide). I did not have wide enough tips, so ended up using the extra large, bulbous piping tip likely not meant for pate-a-choux. I have a lot to learn where piping is concerned. A first circle is drawn, then another next to it on the inside, and then one more on top and in between the two. The ring is then brushed with egg, decorated with flaked almonds, and dusted heavily with confectioners sugar.

The Paris Brest bakes to a crisp golden brown and, once cooled, it is sliced in half with a bread knife and piped full of moussaline cream. The top sits on the cream like a hat, and in this case, berries and peaches are daintily set onto the cream and in the middle of the ring once complete. Dust once more with confectioners sugar and celebrate July 4th with red, white, and blue if that’s your thing, or Bastille Day with blue, white, and red. Either way, peaches make it all a sweet day.