Religieuse à la Bretelle
A French dessert consisting of two stacked choux pastry puffs (one large, one small), decorated with thin icing sugar ribbons.
Ingredients
Butter (for cooking the choux)
80 g
Water (approximately equal to the flour amount)
to taste
Salt
a pinch
Caster sugar (optional)
a pinch
Flour (sifted)
125 g
Eggs (added one at a time)
3-4
Egg yolk (for brushing the surface)
1
Almond slices (toasted golden and chopped)
50 g
Instructions
1
Cooking the dough
Place 80 g of butter, an equal amount of water, and a pinch of salt (plus a little sugar, optional) into a saucepan and heat over low flame until the butter is completely melted. Remove from heat and sift in all the flour at once.
2
Drying out the dough
Return the saucepan to the heat and stir the dough continuously with a wooden spatula until it no longer sticks to the sides of the pan.
3
Adding the eggs
Remove from heat and add the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stir until the batter is smooth, then set aside to cool.
4
Piping the choux
Draw a 20 cm diameter circle on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm tip. Pipe a ring around the outer edge of the circle, then a second ring inside (touching the first), and pipe a third ring crossing over the top to form the choux bridge.
5
Baking
Brush the surface with egg wash and sprinkle with the almond slices. Preheat the oven to 240°C and bake for 15 minutes. Once the choux has risen, lower the temperature to 210°C without opening the oven door, and continue baking for another 15 minutes.
