Puits d'Amour (Wells of Love)Makes 9 Pastries

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Ingredients:

For the Rough Puff:

165 gr. all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

115 gr. unsalted butter, frozen

6 to 7 tablespoons cold water

For the Compote:

250 gr. (8 oz.) strawberries, hulled

25 gr. confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

50 gr. (2 oz.) raspberries

For the Crème Patisserie:

1 cup whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3 large egg yolks

3 Tablespoons AP flour

4 1/2 teaspoon turbinado sugar, ground (for Brulee)

For the Choux Pastry:
1 cup water
1 cup flour
4 ounces butter
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. sugar
1 cup of eggs (4-5), beaten

Beaten egg for brushing

Nibbed sugar for sprinkling

Preparation:

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Have available a 10 cm (4 inch) round cutter, large piping bag, 1 cm (0.4 inch) plain nozzle and a kitchen blowtorch.

Make the pastry.  In a large bowl mix the flour and salt together.  Using the course side of a cheese grater, grate long lengths of the frozen butter onto the flour.  Mix with a palette or butter knife. 

Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of the chilled water into the bowl and, using the knife, mix until the dough begins to hold together.  Quickly bring the pastry together with a floured hand.  (Add the remaining water, if necessary, to bring it into a soft, single lump.)  Shape into a flat rectangle of about 4 x 6 inches.  Wrap iin cling wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Unwrap the pastry and place on a lightly floured worktable.  Roll into a narrow rectangle of about 5 x 14 inches.  With the short end of the pastry closest to you, fold up the bottom third of the pastry onto the

middle third. then the top third down, as if you were folding a letter.  Wrap the pastry in cling wrap and chill again for 30 minutes.  Repeat the roll and fold once more, then chill again for at least 30 minutes, or until needed.

For the compote, put the strawberries into a pan with the sugar and lemon juice and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes.  Add the raspberries and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes, until reduced to a thick compote (but not a jam).  Remove from the heat, cool, then chill.

For the crème patisserie, put the milk in a pan with the vanilla pod and seeds.  Bring it to a boil, then remove from the heat.  Whisk the sugar, egg yolks together in a large bowl until mixture is pale yellow and "makes ribbons" 3 to 4 minutes.  Add flour; whisk until smooth.  Whisk a little hot milk into the sugar and egg mixture, then whisk in the rest of the hot milk until well combined.  Return to the pan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly, about 3 minutes.  Boil mixture, whisking constantly 1 minute.  

Remove from the heat and pass through a sieve into a clean bowl if lumpy.  Cover the surface with cling wrap and let cool to room temperature.  Mixture can be chilled covered for up to 3 days.

Heat the convection oven to 425 degrees.  Lightly dust your worktable and roll out the rough puff to a 14 inch square.  Using the 10 cm (4 inch) cutter, cut out 9 discs.  Place on the baking sheets and prick each disc all over with a fork.  Chill for 30 minutes.

For the Choux pastry, bring the water, butter and seasonings to a boil in a 2 quart saucepan.  As soon as the butter has melted, remove the pan from heat, pour in all the flour at once, and vigorously beat it in (with whisk or hand mixer).  As soon as blended and smooth, beat over moderate heat for a minute or more, until the pastry balls up, cleans itself off the sides of the pan.
  
Turn the pastry into a 3 quart bowl and stir with a wooden spatula or spoon for 30 seconds to cool it briefly.  Then make a well in the center of the warm pastry and beat in 1/4 cup of the beaten egg.  When blended (it will look strangely separated at first), repeat with another 1/4 cup egg then another 1/4 cup egg.  For the final 1/4 cup, drizzle in dough gradually so dough is not too moist.  Dough should just hold its shape when lifted in the spoon.  

Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm (0.4 inch) plain nozzle.  Pipe the choux in a circle 1/2 cm (1/8 inch) in from the edge of each disc.  Brush each choux ring with beaten egg and sprinkle with nibbed sugar.  Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until puffed, crisp and golden.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To assemble, spoon the crème patisserie into a piping bag fitted with a 1.5 cm (0.6 inch) plain nozzle.  Spoon the strawberry compote into the pastry shells and pipe the crème patisserie over the top.  Sprinkle half a teaspoon of the turbinado sugar on top and using a blowtorch, brulee the sugar.  Serve immediately!

Variation:

Choose your favorite compote for a change.

History:

Most of this recipe comes from the Great British Bake Off.  I've had to use my own Cream Patisserie and Choux recipes as those included from the Great British Bake Off had too many errors in them.