Passion Fruit Choux Bun

STEP 1: MAKE THE ALMOND CRAQUELIN

Beat the softened butter with the brown sugar until creamy, then mix in the flour, ground almonds and salt to a smooth paste. Tip onto a sheet of parchment, lay a second sheet on top, and roll out thin — 1.5 to 2 mm. This is the key correction: the competition craquelin was rolled too thick, which weighed the buns down. Slide the sheet, still between the parchment, into the freezer to firm up while you make the choux. Once solid, cut discs slightly smaller than your piped buns will be (about 4 to 4.5 cm) and keep frozen until needed.

STEP 2: MAKE THE CHOUX PASTE

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). In a saucepan, bring the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt to a rolling boil — the butter must be fully melted before it boils, so start over gentle heat. Take off the heat, add all the flour at once, and beat hard with a wooden spoon until it forms a smooth ball. Return to medium heat and cook the paste out for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it leaves a thin film on the base of the pan and no longer sticks to the spoon. This drying step is what a flat choux usually lacks: too much residual water and the buns cannot hold their rise.

STEP 3: HYDRATE TO A V-DROP, THEN PIPE

Tip the paste into a bowl or stand mixer and let it cool for 4 to 5 minutes so it will not cook the eggs. Beat in the eggs a little at a time, fully incorporating each addition. Stop adding egg when the paste falls from the spoon in a smooth ribbon that leaves a slowly closing V — you may not need all the egg, or you may need a touch more, so judge by feel rather than quantity. Pipe rounds about 4.5 to 5 cm across onto parchment, spaced well apart. Smooth any peaks with a wet fingertip, then set a frozen craquelin disc on top of each.

STEP 4: BAKE FOR HEIGHT, DRY FOR STRUCTURE

Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 12 minutes to drive the rise, then, without opening the oven, lower to 340°F (170°C) and bake a further 18 to 22 minutes, until deeply golden and firm. Opening the door early is the classic cause of collapse. When they look done, turn the oven off, pierce the base of each bun with a small knife to let the trapped steam escape, and leave them in the cooling oven with the door ajar for 10 minutes to dry the interior. Cool completely on a rack — they should feel light and sound hollow.

STEP 5: MAKE THE PASSION FRUIT CURD (PRESERVE EXACTLY)

Whisk the passion fruit pulp, sugar, whole eggs and yolks in a heatproof bowl. Set over a pan of barely simmering water and stir constantly until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 75 to 80°C (170°F) on a digital thermometer, 8 to 10 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the cold butter a cube at a time until glossy. Pass through a fine-mesh sieve, press cling film onto the surface, and chill. This component was praised as floral and beautifully balanced, so it is reproduced unchanged.

STEP 6: MAKE THE SALTED CARAMEL CRÈME MOUSSELINE (PRESERVE EXACTLY)

First make a pastry cream: warm the milk. Whisk the yolks, the 40 g sugar and the cornflour, pour on the hot milk, return to the pan and cook, whisking, until thick and one big bubble plops up. Meanwhile make a dry caramel with the 100 g sugar until deep amber, then carefully whisk in the warmed cream and the sea salt to a smooth salted caramel. Whisk the salted caramel into the hot pastry cream, pass through a sieve, cover and cool to room temperature. Finally, beat the softened butter until pale, then beat the cooled caramel cream into it a spoonful at a time to a silky, light mousseline. Keep everything at the same cool temperature and beat until glossy.

STEP 7: MAKE THE CARAMEL TUILE

Cook the sugar, water and glucose to a light amber caramel. Pour a thin pool onto a silicone mat or lightly oiled parchment and either leave it flat to set and shatter into shards, or, while still pliable, lift and curl it into a thin tuile or spike for each bun. Work quickly, and keep the finished tuiles in an airtight box away from any humidity, as caramel softens fast.

STEP 8: FILL, CROWN AND SERVE

Make a small hole in the base of each cooled bun. Pipe in a base of passion fruit curd, then pipe the salted caramel mousseline to fill. Too much caramel relative to curd reads as one-note sweet, so let the curd's acidity push back — taste and adjust the ratio to keep the tart-against-sweet tension the judges flagged as the whole point of the dish. Sit each bun craquelin-side up, crown with a caramel tuile, and serve soon after filling so the craquelin stays crisp.