Puits d'amour


Puits d'amour
This delicious little cake's charming French name means "well of love". It is made up of layers of puff and choux pastry, assembled with a light caramel and filled with vanilla confectioner's custard.
136 K 4/5 (24 reviews)
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Last modified on: August 23th 2015
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For 6 pieces, you will need:

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Times for this recipe
Preparation: 60 min.
Cooking: 45 min.
All in all: 1 hour 45 min.
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Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - ⌛ 5 min.
Puits d'amour : Stage 1
Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).

Roll out the puff pastry thinly, cut out circles 6 cm (2 inches) in diameter and put these on a baking sheet.

Prick all over with a fork, then lay a second baking sheet or wire rack on top to prevent them puffing up too much.

Stage 2 - ⌛ 15 min.
Puits d'amour : Stage 2
Bake for about 15 minutes, until nicely browned.

Set aside.

Turn the oven down to 360°F (180°C).

Stage 3 - ⌛ 5 min.
Puits d'amour : Stage 3
Place a sheet of cooking parchment on a baking sheet and draw circles 6 cm (2 inches) in diameter.

A cutter of the right size is ideal for this.

Stage 4
Puits d'amour : Stage 4
Cover the sheet, but be sure to leave space between the circles.

Stage 5 - ⌛ 10 min.
Puits d'amour : Stage 5
Turn the sheet over and pipe rings, using a forcing bag with a size 6 nozzle, over the circles you have drawn.

Stage 6 - ⌛ 3 min.
Puits d'amour : Stage 6
Tidy up the circles if necessary by pushing the choux pastry into place with a small spoon dipped in milk.

Stage 7 - ⌛ 20 min.
Puits d'amour : Stage 7
Bake for around 20 minutes, until golden.

Stage 8 - ⌛ 10 min.
Puits d'amour : Stage 8
Prepare a light caramel with 150 g caster sugar. Stand the caramel pan on a folded cloth within easy reach.

Stage 9
Puits d'amour : Stage 9
Begin assembling the puits d'amour: place a circle of puff pastry in front of you (tip: work on a sheet of cooking parchment; then, if the caramel runs over the edge, it won't stick).

Stage 10
Puits d'amour : Stage 10
Dip a choux-pastry ring into the caramel (use tongs if you can to make this easier).

Stage 11
Puits d'amour : Stage 11
And stick this quickly onto the puff pastry.

Stage 12
Puits d'amour : Stage 12
Do this with another ring and stick it on top of the first one...

Stage 13
Puits d'amour : Stage 13
...then add a third and final ring.

Stage 14 - ⌛ 30 min.
You can see how to do it in this short video.

Build all your puits d'amour "wells" like this.

Stage 15 - ⌛ 5 min.
Puits d'amour : Stage 15
Finish by filling the wells with confectioner's custard.

Stage 16
Puits d'amour : Stage 16
Refrigerate until needed, but do not serve too cold.
Remarks
Puits d'amour do not keep. To eat them at their best, while they still have both crisp and soft textures, they should be eaten the day they are made, ideally within 2 hours.
Keeping: An hour or two, not much longer.
Source: After Gaston Lenôtre.
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe300 RDI=110 %1,500 RDI=140 %990 RDI=150 %2,580 RDI=130 %10,800 RDI: 130 %
Per 100 g30 RDI=10 %170 RDI=20 %110 RDI=20 %290 RDI=10 %1,200 RDI: 10 %
Per piece50 RDI=20 %250 RDI=20 %160 RDI=30 %430 RDI=20 %1,800 RDI: 20 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman
Possible allergens in this recipe: Gluten, milk, Sulfites, egg
How much will it cost?
  • For 6 pieces : 2.85 €
  • Per piece : 0.50 €

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Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Choux pastry (pâte à choux)
Choux pastry (pâte à choux)

You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Mini Mont-Blanc choux puffs, Profiteroles, Saint Honoré cake, Pets de nonne, Valay-Brest, ... See them all 8

Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)

You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Fraisier (French strawberry cake), Frangipane, Paris-Brest, Pear and lime meringue pie, Yvetot Douillons, ... See them all 19

Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée)
Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée)

You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Tart Tatin, Avocado "tarte fine", Quick flaky pizza, Verbena flan, Millefeuille, ... See them all 72

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