Paris Brest

Paris Brest is definitely the Queen of French pastries! A crispy ring of pâte à choux filled with silky hazelnut praline crème mousseline and decorated with roasted hazelnuts and flaked almonds. My classic French recipe for Paris-Brest has extra praline paste and roasted hazelnuts in the filling, adding extra crunchiness. Trust me, Paris-Brest is one of the most impressive desserts!

This recipe has been on the blog since 2020, and so many readers have had huge success making it. Since then, I have updated the recipe with more tips and additional filling ideas based on your questions, making it the most comprehensive recipe available. It's a challenge worth trying!

Katalin's key take on why you should trust this recipe

A great Paris-Brest ("pah-ree-breast") recipe delivers on three things at once: the choux ring, the filling, and the finish.

The choux pastry ring needs to be golden brown with no cracks, an even rise, and a generous air pocket inside, and it must hold its shape after baking. I've loaded this recipe with tips to help you avoid every classic beginner mistake, so keep reading.

The filling needs to be both silky and stable. My hazelnut praline crème mousseline is light enough to melt in your mouth but structured enough to pipe beautifully and hold its shape when you slice into the ring.

And finally, the presentation. Paris Brest is round by design — it was created in 1910 by pastry chef Louis Durand to commemorate the Paris–Brest–Paris bicycle race, and its circular shape represents a bike wheel. That iconic look is what makes it so showstopping on a table.

I'll walk you through every step, from making the pâte à choux to the praline mousseline cream, so that even a first-time choux baker can make this. That said, like all classic French pastry recipes, Paris Brest is a precision game. It has several components, and things can go wrong if you deviate from the method. I'll tell you exactly where to pay attention.

Piping the ring is the part many find the most challenging; getting that clean, even circular shape takes a little practice. But I share all my tips and tricks to get it right the first time.

Think of this as your complete Paris Brest and choux pastry crash course. This professional recipe is adapted for the home kitchen.

Want to go further? I also teach a Ferrero Rocher-inspired Paris Brest online baking class.

My best advice on the ingredients

The ingredients for Paris Best are all quite basic; you likely already have many of them. However, there are a few important things to note.

The flour for the choux ring needs to have a high protein content to achieve the air pocket. Do not use regular, plain all-purpose flour or pastry flour; instead, look for one labeled as 'strong' or 'bread flour'. The flour I use has 12% protein. Make sure you sift it to avoid any lumps!

We use water and milk in the choux with a 50:50 ratio, and the milk must be full-fat. Use white granulated sugar and high-fat, good-quality European-style unsalted butter. It helps if the butter is at room temperature so that it doesn't take too long to melt into the mixture. Don't forget the salt!

I will include special notes on egg quantity later in this recipe. But they must be at room temperature. You will need whole eggs for the choux and egg yolks only for the crème mousseline. Try my pavlova recipe if you want to use up your egg whites!

I use Callebaut hazelnut praline paste for the crème mousseline filling, as it is professional-quality and tastes delicious. You can also make your own hazelnut praline, or even substitute the hazelnut praline with hazelnut butter. However, if doing this, you will need to add more sugar to the pastry cream to compensate for the lack of sugar in the hazelnut butter.

Start with making pâte à choux

Place the water, milk, sugar, salt, and room-temperature butter chunks in a saucepan over medium heat. We need to dissolve the sugar and melt the butter into the liquid. It needs to reach a simmering point, but do not let it boil, as we don't want to evaporate any of the water.

Dump the sifted flour into the saucepan all at once, then stir rapidly with a rubber spatula to form a paste. Now we must cook the dough (known as the panade) for a few minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly.

The cooking process of the panade is ready when some moisture evaporates from the dough and a thin skin forms on the bottom of the saucepan.

How much eggs to mix into the choux dough

Mixing the egg into choux pastry needs a bit of judgment. The number of eggs needed will vary, and we don't want to add too few or too many. So there are markers to look out for, and you may need slightly more or slightly less than the recipe states. Mix them together before you begin, and make sure they are at room temperature.

Place the dough into a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. You can also use an electric hand mixer, or even do this stage by hand in a bowl with a spatula.

Start the mixer on medium speed, and add the egg a small amount at a time. Whisk after each addition to let it incorporate, then add a little more. It might seem like it won't incorporate, but give it some time, and it will mix in.

Eventually, the dough will come together and reach a glossy, pipeable consistency. Apply the “V test” to check when you have added enough egg: The dough is ready when it slowly falls from the paddle attachment in a V shape. It should not stay stuck to the paddle or drip off too quickly. It needs to fall slowly in a V shape (see photos).

How to pipe the Paris Brest ring

The recipe makes 3 Paris Brests, measuring 19 cm (7.5 inches) in diameter after baking. Since choux pastry expands in the oven, you will need to pipe circles approximately 14 cm (5.5 inches) in diameter. Or you can make 2 larger ones or one XXL size. Please note that the baking time increases significantly as the size increases.

Transfer the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a French star nozzle tip and press out any air bubbles. Don't use a round nozzle tip; you'll get much better results with a star tip for how the choux puffs up.

Place the piping bag filled with dough in the fridge for 1-2 hours. This will help you to achieve a choux pastry ring with no cracks.

Prepare a perforated “air” baking mat or alternatively, use a large oven tray with parchment paper.

Then pipe a circle of choux pastry, then another one outside, ensuring it touches the edges of the first. Then, one more should go on top. Repeat this twice more for the other 2 Paris-Brest rings. This part takes some practice!

Cover the surface of the choux dough rings with roasted almond slices. This adds texture, flavor, and visual interest, but also helps the choux to bake evenly without bursting all over the surface.

Place the tray with 3 Paris Brest into the freezer for at least one hour.

Now bake the choux pastry and watch the magic

Preheat your oven to 200°C (390°F) without a fan. It's essential to thoroughly preheat your oven when baking choux pastry (or any other baking). Why without a fan? Most home oven fans blow all around the place, and choux pastry does not like that.

Place the tray with the frozen Paris-Brest in the oven, and immediately reduce the temperature to 170°C (338°F).

Bake the choux rings for 40 minutes at 170°C (338°F), and do not open the oven door for the first 30 minutes. Check how one of the choux rings is after 40 minutes. They should be golden in color, nicely puffed up, and not deflate at room temperature. The middle will not be raw, but it will continue to dry out as it cools.

Once the choux pastry rings are well-baked, let them cool on the mat.

What is Crème Mousseline

Crème Mousseline (also known as German buttercream) is a silky, fluffy yet stable cream made of pastry cream and added butter. It can be used as a cream filling for cakes and cupcakes, and it is also very popular in French-style recipes, such as Fraisier cake, Sable Breton tart, and Charlotte cake.

In this Paris-Brest, we add hazelnut praline paste to the crème mousseline to create a delicious filling.

What is hazelnut praline paste

Hazelnut praline paste is a smooth, intensely nutty paste made from hazelnuts and caramelized sugar, blended until silky. It is the flavor backbone of a classic Paris Brest filling and what gives the crème mousseline its distinctive, rich, toasty sweetness. For this recipe, I use Callebaut hazelnut praline paste.

That said, you can make hazelnut praline paste from scratch at home. Toast 150g / 1 cup hazelnuts in the oven at 160°C / 320°F for about 10 minutes until golden, then rub off the skins in a clean tea towel. In a heavy saucepan, melt 150g / ¾ cup of granulated sugar slowly over medium heat, without stirring, until it turns a deep amber caramel. Then stir in the warm, toasted hazelnuts, and pour the mixture onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Leave it to cool completely until hard. Once set, break it into pieces and blitz in a food processor until smooth and pourable. This takes patience and a good-quality, powerful food processor. A weak machine will struggle to fully break down the caramelized nuts, or it might even burn down.

If you cannot find hazelnut praline paste and prefer not to make it yourself, my hazelnut butter is a good alternative. It has the same deep-roasted hazelnut flavor but contains no sugar, so you will need to compensate by increasing the sugar in the pastry cream part of the recipe to balance the filling.

Ok, now onto the method of making crème mousseline.

Start with the pastry cream base

Use a hand whisk to whisk the sugar and egg yolks together for 1-2 minutes, until slightly fluffy.

Mix in corn starch, flour, and vanilla extract until thoroughly incorporated, and you have a smooth paste.

Place milk into a saucepan over medium heat. Remove it from the heat as soon as it starts simmering. Make sure it is simmering but not crazy boiling.

Pour the warm milk very slowly over the egg yolk mixture while whisking vigorously with a hand whisk. Don't do this too fast, or you will scramble the eggs with the hot milk and have to start again! The mixture should begin to thicken slightly.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat for a few minutes, until it thickens further. This occurs typically approximately 1 minute after the first boil. It might get lumpy at first, but don’t worry. Just keep whisking, and the cream will get smooth and glossy. It helps to use a good-quality pan for this.

You can strain the pastry cream at this stage if you are concerned about lumps.

Otherwise, continue by adding the chunks of room-temperature soft butter in three stages. Mix with a rubber spatula until each addition is completely incorporated.

Place the pastry cream into a shallow bowl or container and cover the entire surface with plastic wrap to avoid a skin from forming on top. Let it cool to room temperature before continuing.

Make the hazelnut mousseline cream

Once the pastry cream has cooled to room temperature, move on to the final stage.

Place the softened, room temperature butter into your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Cream the butter for a few minutes until it is pale and creamy. Then, add the hazelnut praline paste and whip until well combined.

Now add the room-temperature pastry cream in 4 stages while the mixer is still running. Don't add it all at once.

Continue creaming the mixture until it reaches a fluffy, pipeable consistency. This will take about 1-2 minutes, but don't overwhip it, or it can become runny.

Transfer the freshly whipped mousseline cream into a piping bag fitted with a nozzle. You can use a Wilton 1M piping nozzle tip or a French star nozzle tip.

If you think your hazelnut mousseline is too soft to pipe, chill it for an hour in the fridge. But remember that butter hardens in the fridge, so if you leave it in there for too long, it will be too hard to pipe.

How to fill Paris Brest

Carefully cut the top off each choux ring using a serrated bread knife.

Fill the bottom half of the choux ring with chopped roasted hazelnuts, using about one tablespoon per ring.

Pipe some of the hazelnut praline paste on top of the roasted hazelnuts, as per the picture below.

Then, pipe the hazelnut praline mousseline cream all around the choux ring.

Dust the top part of the choux ring with powdered sugar and place it on top. Decorate with some more roasted hazelnuts and hazelnut skins.

Optional: adding a craquelin topping

Some versions of Paris Brest, particularly those inspired by Philippe Conticini's modern patisserie take, are topped with craquelin, a thin disc of crispy caramelized dough pressed onto the choux ring before baking. It adds a delicate crunch to the exterior and helps the ring expand more evenly in the oven.

Interestingly, the Paris Brest I have eaten in France never had craquelin on top. The classic version is simply finished with flaked nuts, which is exactly how I make mine. But if you would like that extra layer of texture and a slightly more patisserie-style finish, it is a lovely addition.

I already have a full guide on how to make craquelin in my Choux au Craquelin recipe where the technique is identical, just scaled up for a ring shape rather than individual puffs.

Other filling ideas

Paris-Brest is traditionally a hazelnut-flavored dessert, but you can try to use other nuts as a base instead. Try making the filling with pistachio butter, walnut butter, or pecan butter, and increase the sugar in the pastry cream. Or, you can make the cream with Nutella too; check my Ferrero Rocher cake for detailed instructions.

I love the flavors of raspberries and hazelnuts, so why not try adding some fresh raspberries as a garnish or even inside the Paris-Brest?

Troubleshooting Paris Brest

Choux dough is too runny to pipe. This could be down to two issues. Perhaps you mixed your flour in slowly rather than adding it all at once, or you added too much egg. Please note that you cannot add extra flour at this stage; unfortunately, you will need to start the process again.

Choux ring deflated after baking. If you used strong bread flour with a high protein content, it was most likely not baked long enough. Perhaps you took it out too soon, or maybe your oven wasn't hot enough. Bake them longer next time.

Cream filling is too runny. The pastry cream base needs to be stable. Then, you'll want to follow my tips for properly whipping this kind of cream with butter without the cream curdling. Just like making most other kinds of frosting, the temperature is key, and you mustn't overwhip the mixture. Make sure to stop whipping as soon as the mixture is fluffy and pipeable, because a minute later, it will break and become runny. If the cream feels just a little soft in the piping bag, don't worry; it will set in the fridge, so let it chill briefly.

Make ahead, storage, freezing

Paris Brest has several components and while it does take time to make, the good news is that you can spread the work across a couple of days to make it much more manageable.

The choux pastry rings can be piped and kept in the freezer unbaked for up to one month. There is no need to thaw them before baking, simply place them straight from the freezer into the preheated oven. You can also bake the choux rings up to 24 hours in advance and store them unsliced at room temperature in an airtight container. Do not slice them until you are ready to fill and serve.

The pastry cream base can be made one day ahead and kept in the fridge with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. However I would not recommend making the full crème mousseline in advance. Because of its butter content it sets firm in the fridge and will need to be brought back to room temperature and re-whipped before it is pipeable again, which risks it splitting. It is best made fresh on the day you plan to serve.

Once assembled, Paris Brest is best eaten on the same day. The moisture from the filling gradually softens the choux pastry over time, which is completely normal, but it does mean the pastry loses its crispiness. If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one day.

For the best result, take the assembled Paris Brest out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before serving to allow the mousseline cream to soften slightly.

Do not freeze the fully assembled Paris Brest.

Ingredients substitutes

French patisserie is a very precise science, and the recipe really does need to be followed to the letter. For example, if you use all-purpose flour or pastry flour instead of strong bread flour, there won't be enough protein, and the choux pastry won't work as well.

If you substitute eggs, there will be no rising agent, and the choux pastry will be flat.

Having said that, the only substitute I managed was to replace milk and butter with vegan milk and vegan butter-like high-fat margarine.

In pastry school, we also learned how to make the recipe gluten-free by using rice flour, but every substitution comes with risks and a slight reformulation of the base recipe, and it is generally not recommended.

My final expert tips

1. Make sure your eggs are all at room temperature before you begin the choux pastry.
2. Do not skip sifting flour, as you don´t want to deal with flour lumps while making this recipe.
3. When making choux pastry, the most critical part is mixing in the eggs. Make sure to add the eggs in small amounts at a time, regularly check the dough consistency, and stop adding the eggs as soon as it passes the V-shape test.
4. If you have a cookie cutter or bowl the right size, you can use it to make a piping guide. Dip the edge into powdered sugar and place it on the mat to form a circle shape.
5. Use a closed star nozzle tip so your Paris-Brest puffs up neatly. A round and open star nozzle tip will give you uneven dough rise.
6. Don't skip the two chilling periods for the dough (once in the piping bag and once on the tray). Both are important to achieve neat, crack-free results.
7. The fan setting on your oven will encourage cracks in the choux rings. Don't use it!
8. While making crème mousseline, both the pastry cream and the butter must be at room temperature. Also, make sure you don't over-whip it, as it can become runny.

Useful equipment

Baking is a science, so weigh your ingredients by the gram using a digital scale.

Mix your choux dough in a stand mixer. Use a rubber spatula for other mixing.

Bake choux dough rings on a perforated “air” baking mat so the air can circulate underneath.

I strongly recommend using a French star nozzle tip to pipe choux rings (and also other choux pastry items).

Always make sure you are baking at the right temperature by using a digital oven thermometer.

When making pastry cream, use a small/medium saucepan that has good heat distribution, or you risk burning the milk. 

Try some of my other choux pastry recipes

If you loved making this Paris Brest recipe, try some other choux pastry dessert recipes!

• Eclairs
• Cream puffs
• Choux au craquelin
• Chouquettes
• Profiteroles
• Croquembouche

And check out this round-up of fancy desserts if you are looking for other ways to impress!

Have you tried this recipe?

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