Christmas Cake Week: Gluten Free Christmas Paris-Brest with Cream de Menthe Ganache

Of all the recipes I mastered in my first cookbook, Blackbird Bakery Gluten-Free, my master recipe for gluten free pâte à choux is one of my most beloved accomplishments. I really struggled to get the choux to maintain its lift after baking, because my initial trials would be sheet pan after sheet pan of choux that had risen to the occasion and then promptly collapsed after coming out of the oven. At first I thought it was because I wasn’t baking it long enough, but no matter how long I baked them, the choux fell every single time. By the 30th or so trial, something clicked and I realized I needed to activate the baking powder before it was added to the other dry ingredients, so rather than adding the baking powder to the dry ingredients that were cooked on the stove, I activated it in the eggs and egg white for at least five minutes before adding the eggs to the hot choux paste. Thereafter, every single batch of cream puffs, (yes, you can now make a gluten free croquembouche!) choux swans, St. Honoré cakes, éclairs and Paris-Brests came out flawlessly.

Merry Christmas and by all means, ENJOY!

Christmas Paris Brest with Cream de Menthe Ganache

INGREDIENTS

Pâte à Choux
1 tablespoon sorghum flour
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
5 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon guar gum
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons half-and-half
1½ tablespoons castor sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
¾ teaspoon baking powder

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to
425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

For the Pâte à Choux: In a small bowl, combine the sorghum and
tapioca flours, cornstarch, and guar gum. Stir with a small whisk to blend.

In a heavy, medium saucepan, combine the butter, water, half-and-half,
granulated sugar, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat until the butter
has melted and the mixture comes to a gentle boil.

Add the dry ingredients and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon, using
a scraping motion, for 3 minutes, or until the dough pulls away from the
sides of the pan and leaves a film on the bottom of the pan.

Immediately transfer the dough to a food processor and pulse for
20 seconds to cool slightly. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and
egg white, then whisk in the baking powder. With the food processor
running, gradually add the egg mixture to make a thick, sticky paste,
about 1½ minutes.

Fit a pastry bag with a 1 ½ -inch plain tip and fill the bag with the Pâte à
Choux. Pipe a 9” diameter circle, being sure to use all the dough. Pipe two layers if need be. Smooth the top of the choux with the back of a spoon that has been dipped in water. Bake for 20-25 minutes and the cake is puffed and golden.

Do not open the oven door during this time. Reduce the oven temperature to
375°F and bake for 7 minutes more, and the cake has tanned to a pale brown.

Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing it in half. In the meantime, make the ganache.

The ganache recipe is an adaptation of Nick Malgieri’s, from his cookbook, Chocolate. The genius of this recipe isn’t realized until you have allowed the ganache to cool and you begin to whip it. Suddenly the ganache transforms into this pale, airy delight as the heavy cream gets whipped into an absolute frenzy and just won’t come down. It’s beautiful. The only changes I made to the recipe is I subbed and increased the amount of rum for cream de menthe and I opted to use hazelnut meal (mostly out of convenience) instead of roasting and skinning my own hazelnuts. I always loved a fabulous grasshopper pie when I was little; something about chocolate and mint together that just drives me crazy.

All photos by Knoxy

Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache

1 ½ cups heavy cream
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, cut into ¼ inch pieces
8 ounces milk chocolate, cut into ¼ inch pieces
3 tablespoons cream de menthe liquor
¾ cup hazelnut meal

In a heavy sauce pan, bring the cream to a simmer and add the chopped chocolate. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk the chocolate to smooth. The ganache should be shinny and smooth. Transfer to a very clean glass bowl to set, about 2 hours.

When the ganache has set, transfer to a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip the ganache until it is light and fluffy. Add the hazelnut meal and the cream de menthe. Whip just until combined.

Transfer the ganache to a piping bag fitted with a 1” plain tip.

Slice the cake in half and pipe in the ganache. Place the top on the cake and dust with confectioner’s sugar to serve.

Serves 8