French Baking Foundations: Paris-Brest from Scratch

Learn to make an iconic French dessert from scratch in Boston's South End neighborhood, using foundational French baking techniques.
About this Event

In this French Baking Foundations class, learn multiple techniques that will serve as building blocks for all of your future baking! We will be making a classic pastry cream, praline (using the wet caramel method), choux pastry, and a creme mousseline. These are skills you'll use again and again in the kitchen, long after class.

Paris-Brest is a classic French pastry made from a ring of choux pastry filled with a rich mousseline crème and topped with sliced almonds and powdered sugar. Created in 1910 by pastry chef Louis Durand to commemorate the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race, its circular shape represents a bicycle wheel, with the filling symbolizing the tires. In this three-hour class, each student will learn techniques to properly make and pipe their own elegant choux pastry, create a rich velvety mousseline, and to assemble all of the components.

What we’ll make:

• Choux pastry
• Crème mousseline
• Caramel from scratch
• Hazelnut praline
• Paris-Brest pastries

Techniques you’ll learn:

• Prepping the panade
• Tempering eggs
• Making wet caramel
• Filling a pastry bag
• Piping choux
• Filling choux
• Preparing crème mousseline

What you’ll leave class with:

• Your own set of Paris-Brest pastries pastries
• Recipes for sweet and savory choux pastry and crème mousseline
• Our contact information to ask questions when recreating your recipe at home