Religieus

Religieus variety
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About Religieus

Religieuse ルリジューズ is the common pastry that you can find easily in every cake shop in every Paris street corner.
The big and small stacked choux puff beautifully coated with a layer of smooth shining Fondant Glaze, and decorated with a lace-like buttercream frosting, is one of the attractive little confectionary if you see through the shop window and they are always arranged next to the Choux cream and Eclair, the Religieuse. However, there is also a bigger version which serves like a whole cake with more luxury decoration, although most of the version of the Religieuse we saw are small as a dessert. The colors of the fondant or glaze which is coat on the cream puff, such as chocolate, coffee color, pink and pale green, are usually the same flavor with the filling which is stuffed inside the choux puff, so the buyer could choose their favorite flavor. The name of the Religieuse is derived from the "Nun" and the lace pattern depicted by the buttercream is the expression of the monastic clothing collar.

The old version

It is said that there is a pastry shop call Frascati at the street of the Richelieu in Paris, where they make the first Religieus around the year of 1850. At that time, large candy used in a wedding is produced as a Piece Montee. The hem of Religieus clothing is made by long Eclairs which are flavored with coffee and chocolate, luxury decorate with piped buttercream. It was a big candy without the sign of snowman like today.

The Religieus at 160 years ago

Source

Religieus

Source

About the recipe

Here is the simple Religieus recipe, not using fondant but chocolate Ganache for the coating, while basic custard for the filling, you could make something special for your own, about the coating and the filling, as well as the decoration. The choux batter is same with cream puff, for those who never interact with cream puff before.

Making a good cream puff is always depend on the Choux paste, it should not be too soft or too hard. Otherwise, it will collapse if the mixture is too soft, while it will not rise if the mixture is too hard. always check the texture of the choux paste before step into the piping step.

Cook Time

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 50 min

Ready in: 1 hour 20 min

Yields: 6 nos

Ingredients

• 100ml               (A) Water, For the choux paste
• 35grams           (A) Unsalted butter, For the choux paste
• 1 pinch             (A) Salt, For the choux paste
• 1/2 teaspoon    (A) Granulated sugar, For the choux paste
• 40grams           (A) Soft flour (cake flour), For the choux paste
• 15grams           (A) Strong flour (bread flour), For the choux paste
• 2 nos                (A) Whole eggs, For the choux paste
• 30grams           (B) Soft flour, For the custard
• 140grams         (B) Granulated sugar, For the custard
• 4 nos                (B) Egg yolks, For the custard
• 400 ml              (B) Milk, For the custard
• as need            (B) Vanilla Beans/ essence, For the custard
• 10grams           (B) Coffee powder, For the custard
• 1/2 cup             (C) Dark Chocolate, For the Ganache
• 4 tablespoon / 60 grams         (C) Cream, For the Ganache
• 1 teaspoon       (D) Granulate sugar, For the piping decoration
• 1/2 cup             (D) whipping cream, For the piping decoration

Let's cook!

1. Mise en place: Group (C) ingredients for the Ganache. warm the milk to the simmering point, while chopping the dark chocolate into a tiny fragment and put it into a bowl. Stir in the steaming hot milk into the chopped chocolate, continue whisking until it is shining and thick, then leave it in the fridge to chill.
2. Mise en place: Group (D) ingredients for the whipping cream. Simply mix the cream with the sugar and whip until hard peak, then set it in the fridge for further use.
3. Mise en place: Sieve every flour.
4. Making the Choux paste with group (A) ingredients. Mix the water, sugar, salt, and the unsalted butter into a saucepan, apply heat and bring to a boil, seize the fire once it reaches the boiling point.
5. Add the sieved flour into the butter mixture, mix well with a whisk at first to prevent particle, then switch to the spatula and continue stirring while dropping the temperature until warm.
6. Add in the beaten egg a little at a time to adjust the texture into a soft semisolid, which is able to slip easily away from the spatula with a triangular shape.
7. Stuff the Choux paste into the piping bag, arrange a baking sheet on the baking tray.
8. Pipe out the paste on the tray, about 3~4cm diameter for each puff. Then repeat the piping at another tray, about 2cm diameter for each puff. The recipe should get enough 8 each for both big and small size puff.
9. Set the big size puff into the oven to bake at 200°C for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 160°C and bake for another 160°C.
10. Set the small size puff into the oven to bake at 190°C for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 160°C and bake for another 15 minutes.
11. Making the custard with group (B) ingredients. Fill the bowl with soft flour, egg yolk, vanilla beans, coffee powder and a little milk , mix well until the flour is diluted.
12. Put the rest of the group (B) ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil, remove from heat immediately when it reach the boiling point.
13. Quickly stir the Hot milk into the egg yolk mixture in the stream.
14. Sieve the mixture to remove the vanilla beans.
15. Put the saucepan back to the stove and cook the mixture until thick, then cool it with ice bath with a layer of cling film on the surface of the custard.
16. Poke a small hole at the bottom of the cream puffs.
17. Pipe the custard into the choux.
18. Coat the choux with a layer of Ganache and stack the small one on the big one.
19. decorate with the whipped cream.

Cooking with picture

Making the Choux paste

Check the texture

Pipe the paste on a baking sheet.

Making the coffee custard.

boil the milk

Stir in quickly, sieve, and cook until thick.

Poke a hole, pipe in the hole, and stack on big one :).

decorate with the whipped cream as you like.

Religieus.