Saint-Honoré revisited Jivara Passion

This Saint-Honoré pastry, reimagined with passion fruit, features a carefully whipped ganache made with 40% Jivara milk chocolate. For a perfect whipped ganache, it's important to use cream with 35% fat content. The choux pastries are filled with a passion fruit cream made with Valrhona's Inspiration Passion chocolate.

For this Saint-Honoré recipe, the main ingredient in this reimagined version is Valrhona's Inspiration Passion fruit couverture. However, as stated in the recipe, you can easily substitute Inspiration Passion with Inspiration Yuzu, Inspiration Strawberry, or Inspiration Raspberry. The chefs at Ecole Gourmet have adjusted the quantities for this variation. It's also important to adjust the fruit pulp according to your chosen fruit couverture: strawberry, yuzu, or raspberry. For a more classic Saint-Honoré, opt for vanilla or caramel flavors, which harmonize perfectly with the choux pastry.

The Saint-Honoré consists of a puff pastry base topped with caramelized cream puffs arranged in a ring, while the Paris-Brest has a unique ring shape made of choux pastry. Traditionally, the Paris-Brest is filled with praline cream, whereas the Saint-Honoré features vanilla flavors, complemented by a caramel drizzle over the cream puffs.

This modern variation of the famous Saint-Honoré transforms the classic dessert into a tart. Instead of the traditional circular puff pastry base , this version uses a dark shortcrust or puff pastry base in a tart tin.

The Saint-Honoré tart retains its iconic elements: small filled choux pastries arranged around the edge, golden caramel, and a smooth cream in the center. This adaptation greatly facilitates serving and sharing. The rectangular or round shape allows for easier slicing than a traditional Saint-Honoré.

Pastry chefs appreciate this approach because it simplifies the preparation while retaining the spirit of the original dessert. The vanilla bean often perfumes the cream, while the caramel-dipped choux pastries provide that characteristic contrast in textures.

In this recipe, most of the steps need to be done the day before, as some preparations require several hours of resting time. It's a recipe that requires planning and is made in several stages: whipped ganache, choux pastry, passion fruit gel, Inspiration cream, etc. However, assembling the Saint-Honoré cake should be done on the day you plan to serve it!

Carefully follow the specific tempering curve for Jivara chocolate: melt the chocolate between 40°C and 50°C, then cool it to 27-28°C on your work surface, stirring constantly. Next, reheat it to 29-30°C to achieve the ideal working temperature. Check each step with a thermometer to guarantee a glossy and crisp result.

This iconic cream is named after its inventor, Auguste Julien Chiboust , a Parisian pastry chef who established himself on Rue Saint-Honoré around 1840. This master craftsman revolutionized pastry-making by simultaneously creating the Saint-Honoré cake and its signature cream. Chiboust drew inspiration from a Bordeaux dessert called "Swiss flan" to develop his original recipe. His cream harmoniously combines classic pastry cream with Italian meringue, creating its characteristic airy texture.

The traditional Saint-Honoré recipe demands considerable technical skill and several hours of preparation. This iconic pastry combines four distinct components: puff pastry, choux pastry, Chiboust cream, and caramel. Each step requires meticulous attention to avoid mistakes. The process often takes two days, as the Chiboust cream requires optimal chilling. Working with the caramel to secure the choux pastry demands speed and precision, while piping with a Saint-Honoré nozzle requires a steady hand. Contrary to appearances, no technique is insurmountable for a motivated amateur pastry chef, but coordinating all these elements remains a delicate art.