These beautifully presented pastries boast a deliciously crunchy cinnamon crumble, apple compote with a hint of cinnamon, and whipped cream. I recommend them not only for the holidays.
Ingredients
Cinnamon Crumble:
- Fine sugar: 80 g
- Unsalted butter (82% fat): 80 g
- All-purpose flour: 80 g
- Cinnamon: 3 teaspoons
- Vanilla sugar for baking and desserts: 1 teaspoon
Choux Pastry:
- Water: 250 ml
- Unsalted butter (82% fat): 80 g
- All-purpose flour: 180 g
- Eggs: 4
- Salt: a pinch
Apple Compote:
- Tart apples: 6
- Fine sugar: 2 teaspoons
- Cinnamon: 2 teaspoons
- Lemon: 1 quarter
Additional:
- Whipping cream (36% fat): 800 g
- Powdered sugar: 3 teaspoons
Preparation
Cinnamon Crumble:
- Prepare the crumble first. Combine all the ingredients for the crumble until smooth. Roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of about 4 mm. Then chill in the freezer.
Choux Pastry:
- In a saucepan, bring water to a boil with butter and a pinch of salt. When the water starts boiling, add the sifted flour. Reduce the heat to prevent burning and vigorously stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up any lumps of flour until the mixture becomes smooth, shiny, and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Set aside to cool slightly.
- When the dough is slightly cooled, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until you get a smooth, uniform mixture.
- Trace circles on parchment paper. I traced circles with a diameter of about 5 cm. Then flip the paper over. Transfer the dough to a piping bag and pipe the choux pastry.
- Cut out circles of shortcrust pastry the same diameter as the choux pastry and place them on top of the choux pastry.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 170°C and bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the pastries in the closed oven for about 5 minutes. Then remove from the oven and let cool. Do not open the oven during baking. Once cooled, slice the choux pastry in half.
Apple Compote:
- Peel and grate the apples using a grater with large holes. Put them in a saucepan, add sugar, cinnamon (you can squeeze lemon juice), and simmer until soft and the juice has evaporated. Then blend with a blender until smooth. Let it cool. When the compote has cooled, spread it on the bottom of the choux pastry.
Whipped Cream:
- Pour the chilled cream into a bowl and whip. While whipping, add sifted powdered sugar and whip until smooth, stiff cream forms. Then transfer the mixture to a piping bag with a desired nozzle, pipe it onto the apple compote, and cover with the top half of the choux pastry.
