Rhubarb & Lemon Mascarpone Cream Choux Buns
It somehow feels like nature intended forced Rhubarb season to collide with Valentines Day. The vibrant pink hue of forced Rhubarb just calls out to be used for cutesy little Valentines bakes.
I can’t resist Rhubarb when it’s in season. I feel such a sense of urgency to get hold of it. I hate that it’s only here for a short period of time, but I suppose that adds to its beauty. Rare, sharp but sweet and the colour of pure joy. I’ve cooked it down in a compote with a handful of raspberries to enhance the pink.
I’m not a big believer of Valentines day so it’s quite a chill affair in my house. I do, however, believe in spreading love with food. So these sweet lemony cream choux buns with their punchy compote nestled inside are just that. My little love buns.
Ingredients - Fills 6 large Choux Buns (Choux Pastry makes approx. 12)
Rhubarb compote:
175g forced rhubarb, roughly chopped
25g frozen raspberries
40g caster sugar
squeeze of lemon juice
Lemon Mascarpone Cream:
300ml double cream
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
pinch of salt
100g white chocolate
150g mascarpone
Craquelin Topping: (Choux/Craquelin recipe originally by Ravneet Gill)
75g unsalted butter, softened
75g demerara sugar
75g plain flour
Choux Paste:
100ml whole milk
100ml water
100g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp caster sugar
100g strong white flour
200g eggs (approx. 4 medium eggs)
Icing sugar/Rose petals/Gold leaf, to garnish
Method
The day before:
For the rhubarb compote; place all the ingredients into a pan over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb has softened into a thick compote. Pour into a container, cover and chill overnight.
For the lemon cream; place the cream, lemon zest, vanilla and salt into a saucepan over medium heat until it starts to simmer. Break the white chocolate into a bowl and pour the hot cream over the top. Leave it for a few minutes to allow the chocolate to melt. Stir the cream and chocolate together before emulsifying with a hand blender until smooth. Pour into a container, place clingfilm on the surface and refrigerate overnight.
For the craquelin, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl until you have a dough. Roll the dough in between two sheets of greaseproof paper to 3-4mm thick. Place the rolled craquelin onto a tray and into the freezer until needed.
The next day:
For the choux pastry; pre-heat your oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with either a silicone baking mat or baking paper.
Bring the milk, water, butter, salt and sugar to a boil in a pan over medium heat. Once boiling, add in the flour and quickly mix it together, still on the stove, until you have a dough. Continue to cook the choux pastry for a further two minutes or so, until it forms a smooth-ish ball and no longer sticks to the pan. Take the pan off the heat and tip the pastry into a bowl. Leave the pastry to cool for 5 minutes before beating with a spoon whilst gradually adding in your eggs.
The amount of egg you will need will depend on how much you have cooked out your choux pastry. You may not need all of it or you may need a little more. You want to add enough so that it becomes glossy and forms a ‘V’ shape when you let it drop off of the spoon. Be careful, you can always add more egg but you can never take it out.
Spoon the pastry into a piping bag fitted with a medium-sized plain piping nozzle. Pipe out your choux buns in blobs 3-4cm big, leaving plenty of space between them as they will triple in size. Take the craquelin from the freezer and peel off both pieces of parchment. Leave it to soften slightly before cutting out discs that are the same size as your piped choux buns. You can always push the dough back together and re-roll it if you need to.
Bake the choux buns for 15 minutes before turning the oven down to 180°C and baking for a further 10-15 minutes. Don’t open the oven until you think they’re ready or they will deflate. They should be golden and crisp to the touch. Leave to completely cool before assembling.
To finish the lemon cream, pour the chilled lemon cream into a bowl and add in the mascarpone. Whisk until you reach soft peaks. Place the cream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.
To assemble the choux buns, slice the top third off of each bun and cut into a heart shape. Dust these with a generous layer of icing sugar and set aside.
Pipe a bit of the whipped lemon cream into the bottom of the choux buns and, using a spoon, push it up and into the sides of the choux bun. Spoon in the rhubarb compote and pipe a large swirl of lemon cream on top. Using a warm spoon, indent the top of the lemon cream swirl and fill it with rhubarb compote. To finish, garnish with a rose petal, the heart craquelin top and some gold leaf. Best eaten on the day they’re made.