The Craquelin (for choux pastries)

Do you want to pimp your choux and give them a nice sugary crust, with a smooth perfectly round look? Then just add a craquelin on top of it!

Only eight steps are required for this recipe and it can be done very quickly. By the way, if you have not made your choux pastry yet, check this link to our very own Have a Bite recipe.

Equipment

The recipe below has been written to be done with a stand mixer. However it can easily be done without it. The equipment required is the following:

• A stand mixer with the ladle attachment or spatula if you don’t have a stand mixer.

• A cookie cutter, the size of your choux pastry. The one I use is 4.5 cm wide or 1 ⁴⁹/₆₄” for our American friends.

Ingredients

Only three ingredients are required:

• 60g of all purpose flour

• 60g of brown sugar

• 50g of lukewarm butter

Steps

Our craquelin will be made via eight very easy steps.

1.Softened the butter. To do so, cut the butter in multiple dice size bits and leave at room temperature for a while. When it is soft, put it in your stand mixer with the ladle attachment, or use spatula, an start mixing the butter until you obtain a smooth creamy texture.

2. Add the brown sugar and flour.

3.Mix until the flour and the brown sugar covers the butter, making nice golden brown nuggets.

4. Using your hands, make a rough ball of dough.

5. Empty your bowl on a sheet of parchment paper.

6. Cover the sheet with a second one, then, using a rolling pin, spread your dough evenly until it reaches a thickness of roughly 3mm. Then, transfer it to the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

7. With your cookie cutter, cut holes in the dough. They should a tiny bit bigger than your raw choux. .

8. Put the craquelins on top of the choux before you bake them. They won’t change the baking time of the choux. For more information on how to make your choux, please refer to this recipe.

Conclusion

Thank you for following this recipe with us. You now know everything you need to make super round and crunchy choux pastries. Don’t forget to read our recipe of the choux pastry here. To stuff them with delicious pastry cream you can also read this recipe.