The Search for Paris-Brest

       Last summer, my eldest son spent a week with my cousin and her family in Rennes, which is across France from us, in Brittany. Showing remarkable consideration for our language-aquisition needs, my cousin married a Frenchman. They have a young son. I suggested that perhaps Drew could come for a week and do some babysitting in exchange for being spoken to in French. Not only did Drew improve his French during the week in Brittany, he broadened his culinary experience. He tried salted caramel ice cream, buttery galettes, and Paris-Brest. Paris-Brest is a pastry inspired by the Paris to Brest (and back to Paris) bike race, which was held initially in 1891. It may not be as famous worldwide as the Tour de France, but it was been around longer . . . and I have yet to taste a Tour de France pastry. Anyway, the Paris-Brest is shaped like a bike wheel, which is to say, circular with a hole in the middle. I didn't know this interesting fact -- or anything else about the dessert -- until yesterday morning. When Drew returned from Rennes last August, he mentioned the Paris-Brest and asked if I thought the bakeries around here would sell it. I asked my friend, who used to live in Paris, and she said the French bakeries might. Then I forgot the whole thing.
       Then last week, when we were skiing in France, Drew asked if we could stop at a bakery on the way home to check on the Paris-Brest. We said sure, but he fell asleep in the car and we didn't see any bakeries, so the search was delayed. As this past weekend approached, Drew again asked if we could go to Saint-Julien or another neighboring French town. I began to wonder about this pastry that had so captured by son's imagination, so I looked it up. When I saw the picture, I was immediately onboard with the hunt. I wish I could insert a picture here. Unfortunately, I can't find a site that will let me use a photo for free. While I completely support people's efforts to make a living by photographing pastries (as a matter of principle), I don't feel like purchasing an illustration just now. You'll have to look it up yourself to see what I mean. The pastry is round, with toasted almonds on top, and also filled with praline-flavored cream. I decided that we needed to find one. For Drew, of course. Because I love my son.
       Step one was trying to find a bakery that advertised its products online. I found some, but none with the Paris-Brest on the menu. The next part of the plan involved waiting for Johanna to wake up. I then asked her nicely if she would like to call a bakery and ask. Of course I could have done it, but she needs to practice her French, so as a good mom, I gave her the opportunity. Plus, learning how to make international telephone calls is a Valuable Life Lesson. Johanna connected to the bakery and very sweetly asked if they had Paris-Brest. They told her that they could make one, but she would have to preorder, and it was too late to do it today. Strike one. We could have preordered for the next day, but the pastry scavenger hunt was giving some zest to my day, and I didn't want to give up so easily.
       Eric decided that it would be fun to walk into Geneva and check out some bakeries. Lucas and Johanna opted to stay home (we told them that he who does not walk does not eat, but they didn't care). Drew, Eric, and I marched ourselves the three miles into town, checking a few bakeries on the way and ending up at Martel, which is one of Geneva's largest. No luck. We also tried Globus department store, both the food court and the fancy grocery in the basement, without finding the cagey bicycle wheel. We did find a man selling burritos and churros in the courtyard outside, and, as Mexican food is even more elusive around here than specific pastries, we bought a chicken and bean burrito. Then we boarded the tram and rode home. I told Drew that if he wanted to pre-order a Paris-Brest, we could go pick it up another day, but he was feeling disheartened from lack of sugar, so decided to focus on cleaning his room instead. I certainly wasn't going to stand in the way of that excuse.
       In my earlier quest for knowledge about the Paris-Brest, I had come across several recipes. I decided to become a pastry chef. I made a careful list of ingredients, walked to the store, and was completely unable to find the list, which I had a clear memory of putting in my purse (after I returned home, I discovered it in my back pocket). Anyway, I remembered most of what I had written (clearly, of course). I purchased eggs, almonds, cream, and butter, and searched the aisles fruitlessly for something called praline paste. I would just have to make that, too.
       Today was the Big Day. I started with the praline paste, which is kind of like making peanut brittle (except with almonds and hazelnuts) and then pulverizing it in the blender. It's quite nice, and I could have ended there, spreading the paste on apples and enjoying an afternoon of gastronomy, but I was committed to the project.

This is the praline paste in the blender.

       Then I learned about choux pastry, which is also what eclairs are made of, I think. To make this, one cooks milk, water, and butter, adds flour, and then mixes in eggs. The pastry can then be put into a pastry bag and piped into shapes. For a Paris-Brest, several recipes advised drawing a circle on parchment paper and piping three rows of choux onto it, two underneath and one on top. Not having a pastry bag, I used a plastic freezer bag with the corner cut off. This worked surprisingly well. The pastry is then cooked in the oven with a pan of steaming water under it. Don't ask me why. I just follow the directions.

The choux in the oven.

       The next step was to learn about pastry cream, which is just a prettier way of saying vanilla pudding: Eggs yolks, milk, sugar, and flour on the stove. When it was pudding-y, I added the praline paste.

Again, I really could have eaten this part solo.

     Then comes whipped cream. When all the parts were ready, it was time to assemble the creation. I sliced the choux ring in half, spread praline pastry cream on the bottom half, then whipped cream, then the top layer. I dusted the whole thing with powdered sugar, and . . . voila (as the best French pastry chefs always say).

The finished product. A bit flatter than the ones I had seen in the online photos, but not bad.

     
        Does the homemade Paris-Brest taste like the one in the Rennes patisserie? I certainly hope not, given that there, one is paying for years of expertise and a snooty attitude (I can do the attitude, if not the expertise). All I can say is that it was worth the effort.