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.
127 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)
Choux pastry (pâte à choux)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Valay-Brest, Chouquettes, Profiteroles, Saint Honoré cake, Pets de nonne, ... See them all 8
Confectioner's custard (Crème pâtissière, or French pastry cream)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Strawberry Verveine Tart , Pains briochés aux raisins, Paris-Brest, Almond cream or frangipane, Saint Honoré cake, ... See them all 19
Caster sugar
Like these other recipes: Pear and lime meringue pie, Pogne de Romans, Lemon creams, Two-coloured chocolate-orange tart, Blackcurrant, vanilla and lime verrine , ... See them all 361
Puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée)
You can get more informations, or check-out other recipes which use it, for example: Rustic chicken and mushroom pie, Peach and verbena feuilleté, Tart Tatin, Maroilles cheese quiche, Chicken and mushroom pie, ... See them all 72
Other recipes you may also like
Chestnut cake
This delightful cake is doubly chestnutty: it contains chestnut flour, and sweet chestnut purée.May 8th 2020343 K5 1 hour 15 min.
Fruit crumble
A fruit pudding: very easy to do and delicious: just a layer of fruit with a golden crunchy topping.February 21th 2011364 K4.0 1 hour 15 min.
Fresh fruit in sabayon
Fresh grapefruit and / or pears, covered with a sabayon and a pinch of citrus crunch.February 21th 2011293 K4.7 55 min.
European glass
A little dessert that's rather long to make, but which will always impress your guests. Layered in a glass: a jellied red fruit coulis, a layer of pineapple charlotte cream, a layer of kiwi coulis, topped with a peeled clementine segment. It's "european" because it resembles the italian flag, and in...August 15th 2010237 K5 2 hours 30 min.
Bouquet garni
Used very frequently in French cuisine, a secret of French chefs, it adds flavour to a lot of recipes, and it's easy to prepare. The basic principle is to make a small bundle of herbs, bind them in green leek leaves and to tie it up, so that the whole thing can be removed and discarded easily after...March 21th 2017425 K3.5 15 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2025-08-24)
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.