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For those uninitiated with the magic of Paris-brest, let us enlighten you. It is a classic French dessert created in the early 20th century to commemorate the bicycle race connecting Paris and Brest. It’s traditionally composed of a giant wreath made of pâte à choux (the same dough used to make eclairs and cream puffs) and a praline crème mousseline. The ring bakes and expands dramatically in the oven; once it’s removed and cooled completely, the ring is sliced in half and filled with a light and fluffy cream. It’s a showstopping dessert that can’t help but take center stage. This version, an ode to the classic, imbues it with notes of ripe banana and salty-sweet candied nuts for a fun take on banana pudding.
The dessert is essentially three separate recipes: The first, the choux, is a simple yet hardworking dough that gets cooked both on the stovetop and in the oven. The initial stovetop cooking step helps the dough puff in the oven, so don’t skip it. And piping the dough into connected puffs in lieu of one continuous ring allows guests to pull off just the right amount with ease. The banana cream filling gets its bold flavor by steeping the peels (yes, the peels!) in milk before turning it into a pastry cream and lightening it with whipped cream, a concoction known as diplomat cream. To finish it off, candied nuts—made by coating pecans in whipped egg white and sugar, then baking them until crisp—adds a welcomed crunch. (But feel free to use 1 cup store-bought candied nuts to make life easier.) It’s no doubt a project, but you can make one or all of the components at least a day before to get ahead.
Recipe information
Total Time
3 hours (plus cooling)
Yield
12 servings
Ingredients
Banana Cream
2½
4
1
1½
4
5
½
¼
Candied Nuts
1
3
½
½
2
Pastry and Assembly
½
1
1½
1
3
1
Special Equipment
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Banana Cream
Step 1
Combine 2½ cups whole milk, 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium saucepan. Peel 4 very ripe (browned in spots) medium bananas. Place bananas in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag and chill until ready to assemble Paris-brest. Chop peels into about 2" pieces and add to pan. Set over high heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer very gently 10 minutes. (Set a timer. It’s important to be precise. Don’t worry if your milk breaks. This can happen, but it will sort itself out once strained and turned into pastry cream.)
Step 2
Meanwhile, vigorously whisk together 5 large egg yolks, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, and ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch in a large bowl until pale and slightly fluffy, 1–2 minutes. (At first mixture will look too dry, but keep whisking; it will smooth out.)
Step 3
Remove hot milk mixture from heat, set a fine-mesh sieve over bowl with egg mixture, and gradually pour in milk mixture, whisking occasionally; discard banana peels.
Step 4
Transfer mixture back to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly and making sure to scrape bottom of pan, until thickened to a pudding-like consistency, 5–8 minutes. (Mixture needs to bubble for a few minutes to properly activate the cornstarch.) You will know it is done cooking when it is very thick and stops getting thicker (think the consistency of tacky mashed potatoes). Transfer banana cream to a large bowl and let cool. Cover, pressing plastic wrap directly onto the surface and chill at least 2 hours.
Do Ahead: Banana cream can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
Candied Nuts
Step 5
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Vigorously whisk 1 large egg white in a large bowl until light and frothy. Add 3 cups raw pecans and toss until nuts are evenly coated. Add ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ½ cup (packed; 100 g) light brown sugar, and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt and toss with your hands until nuts are evenly coated. Scatter clusters of nuts over a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until deep golden brown, crisp, and fragrant, 16–20 minutes. Let candied nuts cool, then coarsely chop and set aside.
Do Ahead: Nuts can be candied 2 weeks ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.
Pastry and Assembly
Step 6
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425°. Place an 8"-diameter bowl in the center of a parchment-line baking sheet. Trace around bowl with a pencil to make a circle. Remove bowl and turn parchment paper over so pencil mark is on the bottom side. Bring ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 cup water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over high heat, stirring with a heatproof rubber spatula to help melt butter and dissolve sugar and salt.
Step 7
Immediately reduce heat to medium and add 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour all in one go. Quickly stir until most of the flour is absorbed, then cook, stirring vigorously and breaking up pockets of flour as needed, until a thin film forms on bottom and sides of pan and dough comes together into a single mass, 2–3 minutes. (The dough should look glossy and feel buttery and smooth to the touch.) Transfer dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and let cool until still warm but no longer super hot, about 10 minutes.
Step 8
Add 1 large egg to dough and beat on medium speed until incorporated, about 1 minute. Stop mixer, scrape down sides of bowl. Repeat process 2 more times with remaining 2 large eggs. Transfer dough to pastry bag fitted with star tip. (Alternatively, you can fill a large resealable plastic bag and snip off one corner.) Using the drawn circle as a guide, pipe large mounds of dough (like making cream puffs) around the circumference of the circle, piping right next to each other so sides are touching. (You should have about 16 mounds.)
Step 9
Bake pastry 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375° and continue to bake until dark golden brown, 20–24 minutes more. Let cool completely.
Step 10
Using a serrated knife parallel to the cutting board, slice pastry in half through the circumference. Remove top half. (Pastry will have a tendency to separate. But don’t worry; you won’t be able to tell when you reassemble it.) Sprinkle about ½ cup chopped candied nuts over bottom half so they fill the cavities. Slice chilled bananas and arrange in a single layer on top.
Step 11
Vigorously whisk 1 cup heavy cream in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Add about half of the whipped cream to reserved banana cream and whisk to combine. Add remaining whipped cream and gently whisk just until combined. Transfer to clean pastry bag with star tip and pipe over bananas to create a ruffled ring. Scatter about ½ cup chopped candied nuts over filling (save remaining nuts for another use; eat as a snack, throw into a salad, or sprinkle on top of ice cream). Arrange top portion of pastry on top and dust with powdered sugar.
Do Ahead: Pâte à choux can be baked 1 day ahead. Store lightly wrapped at room temperature.