Carrot Cake Choux au Craquelin

As always my goal is to sweeten the start of your week with one of my recipes, this time, Carrot Cake Choux Craquelin!
When I make Choux Craquelin I always fill them with Creme Patisserie, but isn't it boring to not try new things?

These 2 weeks, Easter and the presence of simple Carrot Cake in EVERY dinner table inspired me to fuse the latter with the Tartlets I shared the previous week and these Choux Craquelin Pastries!
I got bored of simple Carrot Cake everywhere and it is also not what it used to be;
Carrot was originally used in Carrot Cake as a substitute for sugar in the period of World War II when sugar was not available.
Now that sugar is available, the industry decided to remove much of the carrot and add tons of sugar 😅
And as I said before, if I am to eat sugar, I prefer it to be in chocolate goodies or custards 🤤

That's why I am excited to share these Carrot Cake Choux Craquelin Pastries!

My hubby who avoids sugar couldn't resist these. He loved the exploding custard in combination with the frosting and the carrot craquelin!
He ate so many in a go that I felt guilty for ruining his diet 😰
But now I am sure that this recipe is worth the hassle!

The ingredients you need:

For the Carrot Cake Custard
Bring to a boil:
430ml milk
50 gr sugar
Vanilla Pod and Bean
Cinnamon
80gr Carrot
Let it rest for 10 minutes with the vanilla pod inside.

In a bowl mix:
3 egg yolks
50gr sugar
Beat until fluffy, add 70ml milk and beat until incorporated.
Then add:
60gr cornstarch and mix thoroughly

Remove the vanilla pod from the pan and slowly add the hot vanilla milk in the cornstarch mix while whisking.
Transfer back to the pan while whisking and heat on medium heat until the pudding thickens.
Let it cool in the fridge.

For the Carrot Craquelin Disc:
80gr Unsalted butter
80gr Cane sugar
40gr Shredded Carrot
120gr gr AP Flour

Blend them all together.
Transfer the Craquelin on a parchment paper. Cover with another parchment paper and roll it out inside the papers until really thin. Freeze for at least 4 hours.

For 10 Choux Buns:
Preheat oven at 200C.
•Pan Ingredients:
65ml milk
70ml water
67gr cold butter
1gr Salt
4gr sugar

•Later addition:
75gr Flour

•Last Addition:
2-3 eggs

When the pan ingredients start boiling add the 75gr flour
And whisk thoroughly for 2 minutes until the moisture evaporates and the dough sticks to the pan.
Tranfer to your mixing bowl and mix the dough for 2 minutes so that it cools down.
When the dough has cooled add 1 egg and mix until the egg is incorporated and no more.
Add the second egg and do the same.
With a Rubber spatula check if the dough stays on the spatula, creating a V shape. If not, add some of a third, beaten, egg and mix. Keep doing that until the dough stays on the spatula creating a V shape and drops slowly.

Pipe Choux Balls on parchment paper.
Take out the Craquelins and with a circle mould, cut out discs and add them on each of the Choux Balls.
Bake in preheated oven at 200C for 10 minutes. Lower the heat at 180C and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the Choux Buns are golden (you can take one out and see that it does not deflate).
Turn off the oven, but dont remove the choux buns yet. Instead, crack the oven slightly open and leave the Choux Buns there for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes remove from the oven and transfer them on your working surface.
With a knife make holes under the Choux Buns and pipe lots of Carrot Custard inside.
If the Carrot Custard is too thick, blend it until it is smooth again.

Tranfer in the fridge while you make the Cream Cheese Frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
120gr cream cheese room temperature
70gr powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
40 ml cold heavy whipping cream

Beat the cream cheese with your mixer until it softens.
Add a pinch of salt and the powdered sugar in 4 doses mixing after each addition so that the sugar melts.
Add the cold cream and mix until fluffy.
Use immediately, piping it on the tartlets or refrigerate until ready to use.

Optimally, let them cool in the fridge so that the custard thickens again, but I do love a messy, exploding Choux Bun, so you can follow my bad example 🤤

Enjoy and have a delicious rest of the week 😋

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