Serves 1
Directions
- 1Combine the cherries, sugar and 1 tablespoon water in a saucepan.
- 2Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 3 minutes on low.
- 3In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and lemon juice.
- 4Pour the cornstarch and lemon juice slurry into the boiling cherry liquid, then cook, stirring occasionally, until thick and shiny, 1 to 2 minutes.
- 5Pour the cherry compote into a clean container then leave to cool.
- 6Whisk together the egg, egg yolk, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan until well combined.
- 7Whisk in the milk, taking care to make sure it is smooth, paying extra attention to the edges of the saucepan.
- 8Cook the custard over medium heat, whisking continuously, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- 9Once boiling, turn the heat down to low and whisk for 30 seconds longer.
- 10Whisk in the cold butter pieces 1 at a time, waiting until each piece is almost completely melted before adding the next.
- 11Pour the custard into a heatproof container and press plastic wrap or parchment paper directly against its surface to prevent a skin from forming.
- 12Once cool to the touch, refrigerate the custard to cool completely.
- 13While the custard chills, make the choux by heating the oven to 425 degrees.
- 14Line the bottoms of two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
- 15In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, salt and ½ cup/120 milliliters water.
- 16Heat over medium until all the butter has melted and the mixture is just simmering.
- 17Adjust the heat to low, then sift over the flour and baking powder.
- 18Immediately stir to form a very thick paste.
- 19Raise the heat to medium and continue stirring for 30 to 60 seconds until the mixture is dry and leaves a crusty film in the pan.
- 20Transfer the choux mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and leave to cool for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every now and again to help the steam release.
- 21Using the paddle attachment, beat in the eggs one by one, mixing until completely smooth and combined each time.
- 22Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared pans and spread with an offset spatula or spoon, leaving the tops slightly rough and wavy.
- 23Bake for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 400 degrees and bake until well peaked, golden and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes more.
- 24Leave the choux to cool completely in the pans on a cooling rack.
- 25Once cool, remove the less wiggly choux from the pan.
- 26If you have an 8-inch springform pan, use it for assembly, lining the bottom and sides with parchment. Otherwise, use the pan from which you removed the choux.
- 27Place the choux in the lined pan bottom side down. If it doesn’t have a flat bottom, gently press the choux down flat against the pan to form the base.
- 28In a large bowl, beat the cooled custard with a spatula until smooth and shiny.
- 29In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks.
Ingredients
- 275 g ripe sweet cherries, halved and pitted
- 3 tbsp granulated or caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 100 g granulated or caster (superfine) sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
- 360 ml whole milk
- 126 g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 120 ml heavy cream
- 55 g unsalted butter
- 1 tsp granulated sugar or caster (superfine) sugar
- 0.25 tsp fine sea salt
- 90 g all-purpose flour
- 0.5 tsp baking powder
- 3 large eggs
Equipment
saucepansmall bowlclean containerstand mixerpaddle attachment8-inch round cake pansparchment paperoffset spatula or spooncooling rackspringform pan
Tips
- When making the custard, whisk continuously until thickened.
- When adding butter to the custard, add one piece at a time, waiting until each piece is almost completely melted before adding the next.
- Press plastic wrap or parchment paper directly against the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming.
- When whipping cream, aim for soft peaks where the cream just about holds its own weight.
Related recipes
Iced Coconut Limeade
Drink20m
Fall Spiced Vodka
Drink
Organic Lemon Soda
Drink
Easy Fruit Punch
Drink
Baking Substitutions
Drink
Original 1965 Gatorade Formula
Drink
Holiday Aperol Sour
Drink
Salted Brown Butter Maple Coffee Syrup
Drink
Key Lime Pie Martini
Drink
Limoncello Sangria
Italian · Drink
Aperol, lime, and Corona cocktail
Drink
Creamy lemon pasta
Drink