Rose and raspberry choux buns
Makes: 18
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Ant Duncan
Rose and raspberry choux buns
These choux buns are made with craquelin pastry and filled with a delicate rose crème, wonderful for afternoon tea or as an elegant dessert
Makes: 18
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
176Kcal
Fat
12gr
Saturates
7gr
Carbs
14gr
Sugars
7gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
3gr
Salt
0.2gr
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Ingredients
For the craquelin
- 50g soft salted butter
- 50g caster sugar
- 50g plain flour
- pink gel food colouring*
For the choux buns
- 75g plain flour
- 50g salted butter, diced
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs, beaten
For the rose créme filling
- 250ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- 3 medium egg yolks
- 50g caster sugar
- 15g plain flour
- 15g cornflour
- about ½ tsp concentrated rose water (we used Nielsen-Massey)
- 150ml double cream
- 300g raspberries
Step by step
Get ahead
Pipe the choux buns and top with craquelin, then open freeze. Bake from frozen for 23-25 mins. Prep the filling up to 4 hrs ahead; keep chilled. Assemble buns up to 1½ hrs before serving.
- Prepare the craquelin topping first: cream together the butter and sugar then fold in the flour to give a soft dough. Add a few drops of gel colouring until you get a vibrant pink colour. Roll the dough out between two sheets of paper, to around 2-3mm thick. Place in the freezer until firm.
-
For the rose crème filling, put the milk and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Combine the egg yolks, sugar and flours in a bowl then slowly pour in the hot milk, whisking continuously. Return the mixture to the pan and whisk over a medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes, or until thickened. Add the rose water to taste. Pour into a shallow bowl; cover with clingfilm pressed on to the surface. Cool to room temperature, then chill until required.
- For the choux, preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Cut out a separate square of baking paper and fold in half. Sift the flour into the centre of this square.
- Put the butter and sugar in a pan with 125ml cold water and heat gently until the butter melts. Just as the mixture reaches boiling point, fold up the edges of the square of baking paper and shoot the flour into the water. Remove from the heat immediately and beat vigorously until the mixture is well incorporated and coming away from the sides of the pan easily.
- Slowly add the beaten eggs, little by little, beating really well between each addition. When you have a smooth, glossy dough set aside to cool slightly.
- Remove the craquelin dough from the freezer and stamp out 18 circles using a 4cm biscuit cutter.
- Put the choux dough in a piping bag fitted with a 1-1.5cm-wide plain nozzle. Pipe 18 rounds onto the lined tray, keeping them spaced well apart so they have room to rise. Put a disc of craquelin on top of each chouxand bake for 20 minutes. Prick the base of each to release the steam and leave to cool.
- Whip the double cream to stiff peaks, fold through the crème filling and chill again.
-
To assemble, split the choux buns open and fill each with 2-3 raspberries. Pipe a swirl of filling into each bun.
*Use vegetarian food colouring if required.
