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.
119 K 4/5 (24 reviews)
1 hour 45 min.
Average
6 pieces
4 IngredientsLast modified on: August 23th 2015
For 6 pieces, you will need:
- 1
150 ml puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée) - 2
300 ml choux pastry (pâte à choux) - 3
150 ml caster sugar - 4
300 ml confectioner's custard (crème pâtissière, or french pastry cream)
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 60 min.
Cooking: 45 min.
All in all: 1 hour 45 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 5 min.
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.
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.
Stage 3 - 5 min.
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.
A cutter of the right size is ideal for this.
Stage 4
Cover the sheet, but be sure to leave space between the circles.
Stage 5 - 10 min.
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.
Tidy up the circles if necessary by pushing the choux pastry into place with a small spoon dipped in milk.
Stage 7 - 20 min.
Bake for around 20 minutes, until golden.
Stage 8 - 10 min.
Prepare a light caramel with 150 ml caster sugar. Stand the caramel pan on a folded cloth within easy reach.
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
Dip a choux-pastry ring into the caramel (use tongs if you can to make this easier).
Stage 11
And stick this quickly onto the puff pastry.
Stage 12
Do this with another ring and stick it on top of the first one...
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.
Build all your puits d'amour "wells" like this.
Stage 15 - 5 min.
Finish by filling the wells with confectioner's custard.
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 recipe | 300 RDI=110 % | 1,500 RDI=140 % | 990 RDI=150 % | 2,580 RDI=130 % | 10,800 RDI: 130 % |
| Per 100 g | 30 RDI=10 % | 170 RDI=20 % | 110 RDI=20 % | 290 RDI=10 % | 1,200 RDI: 10 % |
| Per piece | 50 RDI=20 % | 250 RDI=20 % | 160 RDI=30 % | 430 RDI=20 % | 1,800 RDI: 20 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 6 pieces : 2.85 €
- Per piece : 0.50 €
Change currency: 
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)
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Pear and lime meringue pie, Millefeuille, Saint Honoré cake, Strawberry tart, Pear verbena tarts, ... See them all 19
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, Valay-Brest, Chouquettes, Paris-Brest, Gougères, ... See them all 8
Caster sugar
Like these other recipes: Chaud-froid of grapefruit, pineapple and lime custard , Household cake (Gâteau de ménage), Sicilian Epiphany Pie, Jelly-style plum jam, Caramelized apple "moelleux" cake, ... See them all 360
Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Cheese and tomato tart, Chicken pie, Ch'ti mussel tarts, Thin summer tart "à la grecque", How to cook caramelized puff pastry well, ... See them all 71
Other recipes you may also like
Brioche dough
It's a soft and rich dough, with butter and eggs which give a smooth and incredibly tasty brioche. This is the basic recipe for brioche dough, used for all other brioche-based recipes on the site.September 16th 2020528 K 44.2 14 hours 30 min.
Natural leaven
Leaven is a natural raising agent, a fermented mixture of water, flour and the microscopic yeasts which are present in the air. It's a delicate living substance, sensitive to the external environment. The recipe is around 4000 years old and dates back to the Egypt of the Pharaohs, via a beautiful...April 3rd 20201.70 M 304.0 7 days 15 min.
How to glaze a tart
Professional pastrycooks usually say that "a beautiful cake is already half sold", it is one of the reasons why they do not put a tart on sale without glazing it ("abricoter" in Fench), i.e. coating it with a thick apricot syrup. This glaze gives a glossy finish to the tart (see the photographs...February 15th 2016454 K4.4 7 min.
Potted meat (rillettes)
Potted meat (rillettes) is cooked long and slow in fat. Rillettes can be of pork or duck. Here is the pork version.October 3rd 2019444 K 25 6 hours 50 min.
How to cook pasta properly
Here is some advice for pasta that's properly cooked and doesn't stick.July 18th 20191.15 M4.4 25 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-05-18)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe (as 2 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.