{"id":1442,"date":"2026-04-25T18:04:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T18:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/?p=1442"},"modified":"2026-04-25T18:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T18:04:28","slug":"paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris-Brest (The French Pastry That Looks Impossible)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Paris-Brest. Named after a bike race. Shaped like a wheel. Tastes like heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A giant, puffy choux ring. Filled with silky praline cream. Topped with crunchy almonds. It looks like a French patisserie masterpiece. But it’s just choux pastry, patience, and a little confidence. You’ve got this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Serves 8-10.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Choux Pastry:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • \u00bd cup (120ml) water<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u00bd cup (120ml) whole milk<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u00bd cup (115g) unsalted butter<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 1 tablespoon sugar<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u00bc teaspoon salt<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 4 large eggs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • \u00bc cup (30g) sliced almonds (for topping)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    For the Praline Cream (Cr\u00e8me Mousseline):<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • 2 cups (480ml) whole milk<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 4 egg yolks<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • \u00bd cup (100g) sugar<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • \u00bc cup (30g) cornstarch<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • \u00bd cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • \u00bd cup (75g) praline paste or hazelnut spread<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Step-by-Step Instructions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Step 1: Make the Choux Ring<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Preheat oven to 400\u00b0F (200\u00b0C). Trace an 8-inch circle on parchment. Flip over.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      2. Make choux: boil water, milk, butter, sugar, salt. Add flour. Stir until dough forms a ball.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      3. Cool 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until glossy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      4. Pipe dough in a ring following the circle. Top with sliced almonds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      5. Bake 25-30 minutes until puffed and golden. Cool completely.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Step 2: Make the Praline Cream<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        1. Heat milk until simmering. Whisk yolks, sugar, cornstarch.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        2. Temper eggs with hot milk. Return to heat. Whisk until thick.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        3. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Cool completely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        4. Beat softened butter and praline paste. Add cooled pastry cream. Whip until fluffy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Step 3: Assemble<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          1. Slice the choux ring horizontally like a hamburger bun.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          2. Pipe or spoon praline cream onto the bottom half.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          3. Place the top half back on. Dust with powdered sugar.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Step 4: Serve<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            1. Chill for 30 minutes before slicing. Serve cold. Watch jaws drop.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

              Prep Time:<\/strong> 40 minutes | Bake Time:<\/strong> 30 minutes | Chill Time:<\/strong> 2 hours | Total Time:<\/strong> ~3.5 hours<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Yield:<\/strong> 8-10 servings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Difficulty:<\/strong> Medium (trust the choux)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Storage Notes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

              Fridge:<\/strong> Store assembled Paris-Brest in the fridge for up to 2 days. The choux softens but stays delicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Freeze (unfilled):<\/strong> Freeze the baked choux ring for up to 2 months. Thaw, recrisp in 350\u00b0F oven for 5 minutes, then fill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Make ahead:<\/strong> Make the cream and choux separately a day ahead. Assemble the day of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              A giant choux ring filled with praline cream and topped with toasted almonds. This French classic looks like it came from a patisserie. But it’s just choux pastry, nuts, and a dreamy cream. You can make this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[832,828,830,164,827,831,829],"class_list":["post-1442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baking","category-desserts","tag-choux-au-craquelin","tag-choux-pastry-ring","tag-french-dessert-recipe","tag-french-pastry","tag-paris-brest","tag-paris-brest-recipe","tag-praline-cream"],"yoast_head":"\nParis-Brest (The French Pastry That Looks Impossible) - Gentle Simmer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paris-Brest (The French Pastry That Looks Impossible) - Gentle Simmer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A giant choux ring filled with praline cream and topped with toasted almonds. This French classic looks like it came from a patisserie. But it's just choux pastry, nuts, and a dreamy cream. You can make this.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gentle Simmer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T18:04:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-25T18:04:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.goodlighttravel.com\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/hf_20260425_151539_832859fe-b4e4-4751-a1ae-85421eeffe53-1024x1024.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"user\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"user\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/\",\"name\":\"Paris-Brest (The French Pastry That Looks Impossible) - Gentle Simmer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.goodlighttravel.com\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/hf_20260425_151539_832859fe-b4e4-4751-a1ae-85421eeffe53.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-25T18:04:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-25T18:04:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#\/schema\/person\/78f636c95d988b2b9537664912d72014\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.goodlighttravel.com\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/hf_20260425_151539_832859fe-b4e4-4751-a1ae-85421eeffe53.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.goodlighttravel.com\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/hf_20260425_151539_832859fe-b4e4-4751-a1ae-85421eeffe53.png\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":2048},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Paris-Brest (The French Pastry That Looks Impossible)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/\",\"name\":\"Gentle Simmer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#\/schema\/person\/78f636c95d988b2b9537664912d72014\",\"name\":\"user\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4c9a289323b21a01c3e940f150eb9b8c542587f1abfd8f0e1cc1ffc5e475514?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4c9a289323b21a01c3e940f150eb9b8c542587f1abfd8f0e1cc1ffc5e475514?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"user\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/author\/user\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Paris-Brest (The French Pastry That Looks Impossible) - Gentle Simmer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Paris-Brest (The French Pastry That Looks Impossible) - Gentle Simmer","og_description":"A giant choux ring filled with praline cream and topped with toasted almonds. This French classic looks like it came from a patisserie. But it's just choux pastry, nuts, and a dreamy cream. You can make this.","og_url":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/","og_site_name":"Gentle Simmer","article_published_time":"2026-04-25T18:04:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-25T18:04:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":1024,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.goodlighttravel.com\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/hf_20260425_151539_832859fe-b4e4-4751-a1ae-85421eeffe53-1024x1024.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"user","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"user","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/","url":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/","name":"Paris-Brest (The French Pastry That Looks Impossible) - Gentle Simmer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.goodlighttravel.com\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/hf_20260425_151539_832859fe-b4e4-4751-a1ae-85421eeffe53.png","datePublished":"2026-04-25T18:04:27+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-25T18:04:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#\/schema\/person\/78f636c95d988b2b9537664912d72014"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.goodlighttravel.com\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/hf_20260425_151539_832859fe-b4e4-4751-a1ae-85421eeffe53.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.goodlighttravel.com\/sites\/15\/2026\/04\/hf_20260425_151539_832859fe-b4e4-4751-a1ae-85421eeffe53.png","width":2048,"height":2048},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/2026\/04\/25\/paris-brest-the-french-pastry-that-looks-impossible\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Paris-Brest (The French Pastry That Looks Impossible)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/","name":"Gentle Simmer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#\/schema\/person\/78f636c95d988b2b9537664912d72014","name":"user","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4c9a289323b21a01c3e940f150eb9b8c542587f1abfd8f0e1cc1ffc5e475514?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b4c9a289323b21a01c3e940f150eb9b8c542587f1abfd8f0e1cc1ffc5e475514?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"user"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com"],"url":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/author\/user\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1442"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1547,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442\/revisions\/1547"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.cherrychapters.com\/gentlesimmer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}