Passion–berry choux buns

“These might seem fiddly, but they’ll make your party one to remember. The burst of berries balances the richness of the cream and pastry perfectly. ”

125 ml double cream

125 ml Greek yoghurt

4 large passion fruit

250 g fondant icing sugar

RASPBERRY CURD

300 g raspberries , plus extra to serve

3 tablespoons caster sugar

1 lemon

25 g butter

1 large free-range egg

3 large free-range egg yolks

½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

CHOUX PASTRY

50 g butter

75 ml whole milk

100 g plain flour

1 teaspoon caster sugar

3-4 medium free-range eggs

Method

1. For the raspberry curd, tip the berries into a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of the sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and a little splash of water.
2. Cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes, until the fruit is very soft, then push it through a fine mesh or sieve into a heatproof bowl.
3. Mix the remaining sugar into the raspberries, then add the butter and sit the bowl over a pan of simmering water.
4. Stir for about 2 minutes, or until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
5. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, yolks and vanilla bean paste, whisk in 2 to 3 tablespoons of the warm raspberry mixture to loosen, then mix it into the remaining raspberry in the bowl.
6. Cook the curd over the simmering water for about 10 minutes, until thickened and it coats the back of a spoon, stirring often.
7. Strain the mixture into a clean bowl, cover the surface with clingfilm (to stop a skin forming) and set aside to cool.
8. For the choux, preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas 4.
9. Dice and add butter to a pan with the milk and 75ml of water. Place it over a low heat until the butter has melted, then increase the heat to bring the mixture to a rolling boil.
10. Remove the pan from the hob (turn down the heat to low). Sift and beat in the flour, along with the sugar and a pinch of sea salt.
11. Keep beating until the mixture is smooth, glossy and comes away from the sides of the pan.
12. Flash the pan on the hob for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, to dry out the mixture a little. Take it off the heat, tip the mixture into a clean bowl and leave it to cool for 5 minutes.
13. Beat the eggs, then gradually add them to the choux mixture, mixing well between each addition. You may not need all of the egg – just enough so the mixture drops reluctantly from the spoon.
14. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, then drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the choux batter onto it, leaving space between each to allow for expansion.
15. Bake them on the middle shelf of the oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden and doubled in size.
16. Pierce the bottom of each bun with a skewer to release the steam and return them to the oven for a further 2 minutes.
17. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
18. In a bowl, whip the double cream and Greek yoghurt until it holds firm peaks, then fold in the raspberry curd until it holds soft peaks – don’t over-fold as this will make it hard to pipe into the buns.
19. Scoop the filling into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. Cut a small hole underneath each choux bun and fill with the raspberry cream.
20. To make the glaze, scoop the passion fruit pulp into a sieve set over a bowl, pushing as much juice though as you can.
21. Whisk the fondant icing sugar into the juice until smooth and the icing holds a ribbon trail.
22. Carefully spoon the passion fruit icing over each bun and leave to set for 5 minutes before topping with a fresh raspberry and a few rose or raspberry sprinkles, if you like.

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