Wreath Choux Pastry — Perfect for Christmas

Separate the egg yolks into a mixing bowl, add the caster sugar and stir until evenly mixed (no need to whip).

Mix the cornstarch and cake flour, then sift into the mixture from Step 1.

Stir until smooth and well combined.

Split the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds with the tip of a knife, and put both the seeds and the pod into a saucepan with the milk.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and continue heating for 20 seconds.

Immediately pour the hot milk into the yolk mixture in the mixing bowl.

Pour while stirring constantly.

Strain the mixture in the bowl back into the saucepan.

Place the saucepan over the heat and cook, stirring constantly with a spatula, until the custard thickens and becomes smooth. Note: While heating, keep scraping the mixture off the sides of the pan back into the center with the spatula.

Once thickened, remove from the heat and add the butter, letting the residual heat melt it.

Stir until completely combined.

Immediately pour the custard into a baking tray or a larger container and spread it out. Place the tray over a bowl of ice water to cool it down quickly.

After cooling, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at 2–6℃.

Choux pastry: Sift the cake flour; beat the eggs and set aside (eggs should be brought to room temperature in advance). In a saucepan, add the milk, water, softened butter, sugar, and salt, and heat over low heat.

As soon as the butter has melted and the mixture comes to a full boil, turn off the heat immediately.

Add all the sifted cake flour at once and use a spatula to stir the dough from a lumpy state into a smooth dough that doesn’t stick to the pot or your hands. Note: From the moment the mixture boils, to turning off the heat and adding the flour and stirring it smooth, the whole sequence should be continuous and quick.

After mixing, put the pan back over low heat and, using a heatproof spatula, keep pressing and stirring the dough against the bottom of the pan for about 1–2 minutes, until a thin film of dough forms and sticks to the bottom due to the heat.

Remove from the heat, transfer the dough to a mixing bowl, and break it up with chopsticks to help it cool. When the dough is still warm but not too hot, gradually add the beaten egg in several additions.

Add the beaten egg in four to five batches. Each time, mix thoroughly before adding the next batch. The finished batter should be glossy; when lifted with a spatula, it should fall in an inverted triangle and not drip easily.

Preheat the oven to 190℃. Transfer the batter into a piping bag.

Use a 15 cm chiffon cake pan as a guide and dust some dry flour onto the baking tray to outline a circle. Using a 1 cm round or star piping tip, pipe the batter onto the tray along the outline.

Place in the preheated oven on the middle rack. Use convection (fan) mode or top-and-bottom heat at 190℃ for about 28 minutes. Adjust according to the color: the cracks should also be evenly golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Take out the chilled custard and stir it smooth with a spatula, pressing it against the sides of the container.

Whip the cream at a steady speed to about 70% (soft but holds its shape).

Add the custard to the whipped cream.

Mix on low speed until just combined.

Fit a piping bag with your preferred piping tip and fill it with the Chantilly cream.

Slice the choux ring horizontally through the middle.

Pipe in the Chantilly cream and decorate with fruit.

Done.