Chocolate Raspberry Choux au Craquelin

Craquelin
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and salt together until combined. Add the flour and mix until the dough comes together. 

2. Split the dough in half and roll each between two sheets of parchment paper until about 2mm thick. 

3. Place the rolled dough, still between the sheets of parchment paper, in the freezer for about 1 hour or until ready to use.

Chocolate Pastry Cream 
1. In a medium sized pot, heat the milk. In a separate bowl mix the egg yolks and sugar together with a whisk until pale yellow. Add the flour, cornstarch, and vanilla extract and mix until combined. 

2. When the milk barely comes to a simmer, turn the heat off. Temper the yolks by whisking in a small amount of the hot liquid with the yolks. Once thoroughly combined, pour the yolk mixture into the pot.

3. Cook over medium heat while whisking constantly. Once the mixture thickens and almost comes to a boil, remove from heat. Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until fully incorporated. Remove the pastry cream into a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap making sure the wrap comes into contact with the cream. Set aside and cool completely.

Choux au Craquelin 
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. Use a 2″ round cookie cutter to trace circles onto the parchment paper. Draw 12 evenly spaced circles on each sheet. Flip the parchment paper over so that the pen side is touching the baking sheet. 

2. Fit a piping bag with a medium-large round pastry trip (I used #16). 

3. In a medium pot, add the milk, water, butter, sugar, and salt. Place over medium low heat. When the butter has melted and the contents are just starting to simmer, turn the heat off. Add the flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Once it forms into a thick paste, turn the heat back on to medium low. Mix continuously to dry out the dough. Do this for about 2 minutes or until a thin film starts to form on the bottom of the pan and the dough easily pulls off the sides of the pot. Make sure the dough does not start to color. 

4. Remove the dough to a clean bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one by one, mixing inbetween to make sure each egg is fully incorporated. The dough should fall off with a “v” after all the eggs have been added. If it doesn’t fall off with a “v” and the dough feels stiff, add another egg. 

5. Transfer the dough to the prepared piping bag. Pipe into rounds onto the prepared parchment sheets. To avoid a sharp tip on the top of each round, draw an upside apostrophe with the tip while finishing off each pipe. 

6. Once all the rounds have been piped, remove the craquelin from the freezer. Remove the top parchment paper. Using the same 2″ round pastry cutter used to draw the circles, cut out rounds of dough. Place one circle on top of each mound of choux. 

7. Bake for 25-35 minutes rotating the baking sheets in the middle. The choux are ready when the tops are golden and the balls feel firm and hallow, like a wiffle ball. Place on a cooling rack immediately out of the oven. Cool completely.

Chantilly
1. Prepare a pastry bag with star tip. 

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, pour in the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Turn the mixer on and slowly add the sugar. Whip until medium peaks forms. Transfer to the prepared pastry bag and keep in the fridge until ready to use. 

To Assemble
1. Cut the baked choux au craquelin into half. Pipe or spoon in a layer of chocolate pastry cream. Then place a raspberry on top of the chocolate pastry cream. Cover the raspberry with chantilly and crush freeze dried raspberries over the whipped cream. Place the top of the choux back on and sprinkle with powdered sugar and more crushed, freeze dried raspberries. Let the assembled dessserts firm up in the fridge for 15-30 minutes and serve. Leftovers can be kept in the fridge, loosely covered.