Puits d’Amour
Puits d’Amour are little filled pastries made of puff pastry and pâte a choux, baked, and then filled — like an open-face profiterole.
The name, meaning wells of love, does have a certain connotation in French and caused a few scandals at Louis XV’s dinners as the pastries were traditionally filled with redcurrant jelly. Variations were later developed with vanilla crème pâtissière and topped with a glazed cherry.
There’s a few variations we’ve included: fill them with chantilly cream (whipped cream), crème pâtissière (pastry cream), or combine them for diplomat cream. We’ve also simplified the (very involved) recipe a bit— but if you’re feeling ambitious, here’s the full recipe from Prue Leith of the Great British Bake Off.
Puits d’Amour
makes 8-10
shopping list —
frozen puff pastry
egg wash (1 egg + a splash of cream)
pearl sugar optional
pâte a choux
cherries in syrup
diplomat cream, chantilly, or crème pâtissière (pastry cream)
for the pâte a choux —
250 grams water
125 grams butter
2.5 grams salt
138 grams ap flour
250 grams eggs
for chantilly cream — the simplest version
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2-3 tbsp powdered sugar
vanilla bean or violet syrup for flavoring
for the crème pâtissière — more involved
500 ml whole milk
100 grams caster sugar
1/2 vanilla pod, split, scraped
4 egg yolks
40 grams cornstarch
40 grams unsalted butter
for diplomat cream — combining crème pâtissière & chantilly cream — the most involved
one batch crème pâtissière
one batch chantilly
for cherries in syrup — (or buy them at the store)
1 pound sweet cherries, stemmed and pitted
150 grams granulated sugar
85 grams water
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
lemon peel
equipment —
sheet tray lined with parchment or silpat
4 or 6 qt saucepan (for pâte a choux)
stand mixer with paddle attachment (for pâte a choux)
stand mixer with whisk attachment (for chantilly)
whisk
bowl
rubber spatula
metal spoon, for checking the custard consistency (for crème pâtissière)
fork
chinois or sieve
steps —
for the pâte a choux —
Bring the water, butter, and salt to a simmer. Add all the flour and mix over medium heat with a spatula until it comes together. Keep stirring to dry out the mixture as much as possible. There will be a thin film of residue on the bottom.
Paddle the mixture in the kitchen aid for a minute to release steam. Add the eggs one at a time.
Fill a piping bag full of the pate a choux.
for the pastry —
Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Unwrap the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Using a 3 or 4” pastry cutter, cut out disks of the puff. Lay on a silpat or parchment lined sheet tray.
Brush the puff with an egg wash so it will bind with the pâte a choux. Prick the puff a few times with a fork so it doesn’t puff up quite as much.
Pipe the pâte a choux in a fat ring around the puff pastry so it looks like a donut. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with pearl sugar, if using. Chill in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before baking.
Bake for 20 minutes at 400ºF. Then turn down the oven to 350ºF, and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until golden brown.
for chantilly —
In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add the cream, powdered sugar, and any flavorings you desire - like vanilla bean or violet syrup.
Whip on medium speed until soft peaks. Then, using the mixer whisk, whisk the cream just a little bit more by hand. This way, it won’t over-whip and you can get the consistency you like.
for the crème pâtissière —
Add the milk, sugar, and vanilla bean with the pod to a pot and scald (bring up to a boil and immediately remove from the heat). Whisk the cornstarch and yolks together. Add a 1/4 of the hot milk to the yolk mixture to temper the yolks and whisk. Then add the rest of the hot milk and whisk until combined. Return it to the pan. Cook gently over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens.
*To check the consistency, dip the back of a metal spoon into the mixture to coat. Run your finger through the mixture. If the custard runs into the line you just created, you need more time. If the custard holds, you’re set.
Remove the custard from the stove and immediately pass through a chinois or sieve into a clean bowl. Add the butter and stir until combined. Cover the custard directly with plastic wrap so it doesn’t form and skin, and chill until cold.
for the crème diplomat —
After making the crème pâtissière and allowing it to cool. Make the chantilly cream.
Whisk the chilled pastry cream until smooth.
Add one large spoonful of the chantilly and fold it in using a whisk. Keep adding chantilly in batches until it’s light and fluffy.
for the cherries in syrup —
Add the cherries, sugar, water, vanilla bean, and lemon peel in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the cherries are softened and the syrup is thickened. Cool completely.
assembly —
Using a spoon or a piping bag, fill the pastry center with your chosen filling.
Top with cherries and serve.
Tips if making ahead of time:
Make the pâte a choux and pastry steps up until baking. You can freeze the unbaked pâte a choux/puff pastry “donuts.”
The crème pâtissière can be made at least 3 days before.
Chantilly doesn’t love to be made ahead of time as it usually falls overnight or even after a few hours. It can be re-whipped, but we recommend making it the day of.
