Blood Orange Choux au Craquelin

Hi, my name is Vicki and I’m addicted to blood oranges.

I’m so glad I got that off my chest. Not only are blood oranges my favourite citrus fruit, but I’m pretty sure they’re my favourite fruit of all time. Where Boyfriend holds a special place in his heart for blueberries, I do for blood oranges. A regular orange won’t do; it’s got to be bruised a deep blush on the outside & the insides have to be at least 75% red. I snap up every single one I can get my hands on.

All of this is to say: thank you for letting me share my addiction with you in the form of baked goods. I am eternally grateful.

Last year I shared how to make my Blood Orange Bundt Cake with you, and this year we’re upping our skills & learning to make Blood Orange Choux au Craquelin… Which is basically a fancy name for a choux bun topped with a sweet layer of cookie dough for added crunch. I’ve fancied ours up a bit by incorporating last week’s Blood Orange Cream into the fillings & drizzling the finished product with a quick chocolate ganache.

They sound impressive, look impressive, taste impressive, and most importantly: they are super simple to make. Let’s bake together, shall we?

Blood Orange Choux au Craquelin, part i

The baked choux au craquelin come out of the oven risen & deeply golden brown. A little poke in the side with a chopstick does wonders for letting out additional steam.

When they’ve cooled completely, use a sharp knife to cup the tops off – about ¾ of the way up. A few little crumbies will fall off the craquelin tops & that’s okay. Keep these little craquelin tops to the side for later.

part ii

This is where the Blood Orange Cream we made last week comes into play.

Using a piping bag, squirt a generous layer of the blood orange cream into the bottom of each choux. This layer will act as the shelf for our whipped cream, so it needs to go right up to jussst under the cut.

part iii

Any blood orange cream that didn’t get piped into the bottom of the choux buns gets laced through a big ole’ bowl of whipped cream. We use what little piping know-how we have to pipe two swirls of the cream onto each choux. They’re generous swirls, but it’s really a more is more situation.

Warning: you’ll want to eat the entire bowl of whipped cream before piping it into the choux, but please try to be strong for the sake of the finished product.

part iv

Each of the choux buns gets reunited with their top halves.

It’s best to give each a little squish to make sure there’s no sliding accidents in the near future.

part v

The blood orange choux au craquelin were quite frankly good enough at the last stage, but let’s go that last mile & add something decorative in the form of a quick dark chocolate ganache. Everyone knows chocolate & orange go hand in hand, duh.

I topped mine off with a light sprinkle of dried rose petals – a very thoughtful gift from Boyfriend’s mom – because I was feeling a little extra.

Happy baking, friends!

Blood Orange Choux au Craquelin

Seasonal Choux au Craquelin. Filled with blood orange curd, blood orange whipped cream, and topped with a drizzle of chocolate, and a scattering of rose petals.

Yield: 12 choux buns

Author: Vicki

INGREDIENTS

for the craquelin:

• 50 g salted butter, at room temp

• 60 g plain flour

• 60 g light brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract*

for the choux dough:

• 63 g full fat milk

• 63 g water

• 55 g salted butter, cubed

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract*

• 1/2 tbsp caster sugar

• 83 g plain flour

• 120 g eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 quantity blood orange cream**

for the whipped cream:

• 180 g cream, cold

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract*

• 125 g blood orange cream**

for the chocolate drizzle:

• 33 g dark chocolate, finely chopped

• 70 g cream

to finish:

• dried rose petals, for decoration

DIRECTIONS

for the craquelin:

• Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl & mix together until uniform and smooth. Place between two sheets of parchment paper & roll out to 1/8-inch in thickness.

• Use a 2-inch circular cookie cutter to cut out 12 circles. Place the circles into the freezer until ready to use.

for the choux:

• Preheat the oven to 180˚C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using the same cookie cutter as you did for the craquelin, trace 12 circles on the baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches between each. Flip the baking sheet over so the drawings are on the underneath. Set aside.

• Fit a large piping bag with a large round piping tip. Set aside.

• In a medium pot, combine the milk, water, butter, vanilla extract, and sugar. Place the mixture over a medium heat & stir continuously until the butter has melted & the mixture has begun to boil. Remove the pot from the heat & add the flour all at once, mixing quickly with a wooden spoon into a thick paste.

• Return to the heat, and, stirring constantly, cook the mixture for 2 minutes to help dry it out – there will be a fine layer on the bottom of the pot when it’s ready. Transfer choux dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment & mix on medium speed for 1 minute to help cool down.

• With the mixture running on low, slowly stream in the eggs. Mix on medium speed for 4 minutes, or until the egg is fully incorporated. The batter is ready when you dip the paddle into the mixture and it forms a v before breaking off.

• Transfer the choux to the prepared piping bag & pipe out 12 circles onto the parchment. Flatten down with any points of dough with a damp fingertip.

• Remove the craquelin from the freezer & carefully place each on top of a mound of choux.

• Bake the puffs for 35 minutes at 180˚C, then turn the oven to 160˚C, and bake for a further 10 minutes, until deeply golden in colour. Remove from the oven and poke a small hole in the side of each – I used a chopstick. Place on a cooling rack to cool completely.

for the whipped cream:

• In a medium bowl, use an electric whisk to mix together the cream & vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Use a spatula to fold through the blood orange cream. Transfer the cream to a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Set aside.

for the chocolate drizzle:

• Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl; set aside.

• In a small pot, heat the cream on the hob until simmering – do not let come to a boil.

• Pour the cream over the chocolate & leave to sit for 2 minutes, before stirring together until smooth. Set aside.

to assemble:

• Transfer what’s left of the blood orange cream to a piping bag fitted with a round tip.

• Using a sharp knife, cut the tops off the cream puffs, about three quarters of the way up. Do not discard the tops.

• Pipe a layer of blood orange cream into about the bottom third of the cream puff, then top with two swirls of the blood orange whipped cream. Top with the lid of the choux earlier cut off, like a hat.

• Top the puffs with a spoonful of the chocolate drizzle & top each with a couple of rose petals.

• Chill until ready to serve.

NOTES

* I always use homemade vanilla extract.

** I used homemade blood orange cream, but feel free to use store bought. 

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment & a rating below.