A refined assortment of miniature French sweets featuring choux puffs, lemon tartlets, and raspberry macarons with fresh garnishes.
# Components:
→ Mini Choux Puffs
01 - 1/4 cup water
02 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
03 - 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
04 - 1 large egg
05 - Pinch of salt
→ Chocolate Ganache Filling
06 - 3 oz dark chocolate, chopped
07 - 1/3 cup heavy cream
→ Mini Lemon Tartlets
08 - 1 sheet shortcrust pastry
09 - 2 large eggs
10 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar
11 - 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
12 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
13 - Zest of 1 lemon
→ Raspberry Macarons
14 - 1/2 cup almond flour
15 - 3/4 cup powdered sugar
16 - 2 egg whites (about 50 g)
17 - 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
18 - Pink food coloring
19 - 1/4 cup raspberry jam
→ Garnishes
20 - Fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)
21 - Edible flowers
22 - Mint leaves
23 - Powdered sugar, for dusting
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. In a saucepan, combine water, butter, and salt; bring to a boil. Add flour, stirring vigorously until dough forms and pulls away from the pan, about 1–2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 2 minutes. Beat in egg thoroughly until smooth. Pipe 16 small mounds onto parchment-lined baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and puffed. Cool completely.
02 - Heat heavy cream until just boiling. Pour over chopped dark chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Stir until smooth and glossy. Allow to cool slightly, then pipe ganache into cooled choux puffs.
03 - Cut shortcrust pastry into 8 rounds and press into mini muffin tins. Prick pastry with fork. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes until lightly golden. Whisk eggs, sugar, lemon juice, melted butter, and lemon zest until combined. Pour mixture into baked tart shells and bake another 10 minutes or until set. Cool completely.
04 - Sift almond flour and powdered sugar together. Beat egg whites to soft peaks, gradually adding granulated sugar until stiff, glossy peaks form. Gently fold dry ingredients and a drop of pink food coloring into egg whites. Pipe 16 small rounds onto parchment-lined trays. Let sit for 20 minutes to form a skin. Bake at 300°F for 12 minutes. Cool completely, then sandwich with raspberry jam.
05 - Artistically arrange choux puffs, lemon tartlets, and macarons on a large serving platter. Garnish with fresh berries, edible flowers, mint leaves, and dust lightly with powdered sugar to evoke the floating spirit of a Montgolfière.
