Pumpkin Religieuse from Epicerie Boulud

Recipe courtesy of Epicerie Boulud (www.epicerieboulud.com)

• Ready In: 4 hrs 20 mins
• Serves: 10-20

Ingredients

• For the Pumpkin Cremeux

• 7  egg yolks
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 3  eggs
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1  tablespoon gelatin powder, bloomed
• 2⁄3 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground allspice

• For the Pate a Choux

• 3⁄4 cup  whole milk
• 3⁄4 cup water
• 2⁄3 cup butter
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 3  teaspoons sugar
• 1 3⁄4 cups flour
• 5  eggs

Directions

1. For the Pumpkin Cremeux.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the pumpkin puree to a simmer. Separately, whisk together the yolks, whole eggs and sugar. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot pumpkin puree into the egg mixture whisking well. Slowly pour the tempered eggs into the saucepan and reduce the heat to low. Continue stirring with a spatula and cook for 5 minutes until thickened. Add the gelatin, cinnamon and allspice. Cool to room temperature then incorporate the butter with a hand-held immersion blender. Transfer the custard to a tray lined with plastic wrap and spread to cool, at least 4 hours.
3. For the Pate a Choux.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
5. In a medium saucepan, boil the milk, water and butter. Remove from the heat and add the flour. Transfer to an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed and add the eggs one at a time. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a medium plain tip. On a silpat or parchment-lined baking tray pipe 2 1/2-inch rounds using 2/3 of the dough. With the remaining dough, pipe 1-inch rounds. Bake the large discs for 20 minutes and the small for 10 minutes. Pierce the bottom with a toothpick and cool on a wire rack.
6. To assemble the religeuse, fill both sizes of choux with the pumpkin cremeux and pipe a dot on top of the large so that the small can sit on top. Pipe whipped cream around the seam to make a “collar.”.
7. They can be topped with fondant, cranberry sauce, or chocolate and decorated as you wish.