Its plump shape and its small collar of cream make the Religieuse one of the most iconic pastries in France. Here is the recipe !

Ingredients
For the choux pastry :
- 250 ml of water
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 75g butter
- 150g flour
- 4 eggs For the coffee pastry cream
- 40g egg yolks
- 120g caster sugar
- 45g cornstarch
- 500ml whole milk
- 1 teaspoon of coffee extract or a strong espresso
For the coffee buttercream
- 1 egg
- 100g caster sugar
- 30 g of water
- 100g butter at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon Trablit
For the coffee fondant
- 150 g pastry fondant
- 1 teaspoon coffee extract
Instructions
Prepare the choux pastry
- Prepare all weigh-ins.
- In a saucepan, bring the water, powdered sugar, salt and butter to a boil.
- Off the heat, add the flour all at once and stir with a spatula until you get a ball that comes off the sides of the pan.
- Put the pan back on the heat and dry out the panade, stirring it briskly until it leaves a veil at the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the panade into the bowl of the robot and, with the leaf, whip it for a few moments to bring it down in temperature.
- Add the eggs, one by one, letting the mixer run and waiting for them to be well incorporated before adding more.
- Put the choux pastry in a pocket fitted with a 10mm plain tip.
- Reserve in the refrigerator.
- Preheat the oven to 180° (th6) and grease a metal plate.
- When the oven is up to temperature, layer 8 puffs 6cm in diameter for the base of the coffee nuns and 8 puffs 3cm in diameter for the heads.
- Bake for about 30 minutes.
The puffs should be well cooked and their color should be uniform.
Once out of the oven, set aside the puffs on a wire rack at room temperature. Prepare the coffee custard
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks and powdered sugar to whiten them.
- Add the coffee extract and cornstarch and mix well.
- Boil milk and coffee if not using coffee extract.
- Pour the milk in 3 times into the mixing bowl and mix vigorously.
- Pour everything back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until boiling.
- Transfer the coffee pastry cream to a clean dish, wrap in film and set aside in the fridge. Prepare the coffee buttercream
- With a spatula, cream the butter so that it is ointment.
- Whisk the egg to whiten it.
- Bring the water and powdered sugar to 118°C and drizzle this syrup over the blanched egg while letting the food processor run at low speed. Increase the speed of the robot to cool the device.
- Add the softened butter gradually while whisking vigorously.
- Finally add the coffee extract.
- Refrigerate the coffee buttercream.
- Assembly and decoration of the nuns in the cafe
- Pierce a hole under each puff and put pastry cream and buttercream in a pocket.
- Use a plain nozzle or a filling nozzle for the pastry cream pocket and a sultana nozzle or a fluted nozzle for the buttercream pocket.
how to garnish coffee nuns :
- Fill the puffs with coffee pastry cream.
- Reheat the fondant in a bain-marie or in the microwave by adding a few drops of Trablit and do not let it exceed 35°.
Fondant nuns with coffee
- Glaze the fondant puffs by dipping or with a spatula.
- Place the heads on the bodies of the nuns, sticking them with a touch of buttercream.
- Pipe dots of coffee buttercream at the junction of the heads and bodies of the coffee nuns and a dot on top.
- Reserve in the refrigerator before tasting.