Maria Goretti’s Paris-Brest

My earliest memory of food
Sitting down with my family for a lavish Christmas lunch.
When I think of the word ‘food’
I am engulfed with a sense of craving and hunger pangs!
My mum’s cooking
Is unparalleled. No matter where I go and what I eat, nothing can beat her cooking.
I miss mum’s
Fish and prawn curry the most. She also used to make the most delicious vindaloo.
My all-time favourite dish is
Believe it or not, dal chawal, mango pickle and papad. Maybe, I like these simple flavours because I did not grow up as a rice eater.
I started cooking
For my kids, much later in life. But since then I have loved it.
If I had to cook a meal for my family I would
Bake them some herb and cheese bread and serve it with a platter of baked chicken and lots of vegetables. Piping hot!
One food that I am addicted to right now
Has to be the Paris-Brest. It is a French dessert made of choux pastry and a praline - flavoured cream.
When I am travelling, I prefer to try
The local cuisine and explore different flavours.
I am not dietconscious
I am health-conscious. As a mother, I have to be a little particular about what I eat because my kids will pick up my habits.
The one cuisine I love is
Italian. They have some delectable yet simple flavours.
Maria Goretti’s Paris-Brest
Ingredients
Flour: 90 gm I Eggs: 3, Milk: 3/4 cup, Water: 3/4 cup, Butter: 60 gm, Toasted silver almond: 25 gm, Caramel and hazelnut cream: 50 gm, Whipped cream: 50 gm, Powdered sugar and cinnamon powder for garnishing
Method
Put the pan over medium heat, bring the milk, water and butter to a boil
Take it off the heat and add flour to the boiling mixture, stirring continuously for 3 minutes till it is mixed well
Put the entire mix in a flour kneader. Now, add the eggs in it
Put the entire dough in an icing bag and pipe out in concentric circles. Make two separate sets of these discs
Now, use a beaten egg as a wash for the pastry and sprinkle some toasted silver almonds over it.
Preheat the oven to 90-95 degree Celsius and bake them for 15 minutes till it turns golden brown. Then turn down the temperature to 75 degree Celsius and bake for another 25-35 minutes. Finally, let it cool on a wire rack
Smear a generous coat of caramel and hazelnut cream and whipped cream on one disc and top with another like a sandwich. Sprinkle some powdered sugar and cinnamon powder over it and serve.