with Mango Ganache and Chantilly Garnish
These mango ganache choux puffs are a composed French pastry built from three distinct preparations: crisp craquelin-topped choux puffs, a white chocolate mango ganache filling, and a rosette of stabilised creme chantilly piped on top. The result is tropical in flavour and classical in finish – a dessert that is simultaneously familiar and surprising, and technically rewarding to build.
These puffs are best assembled and served the same day, making them ideal for an afternoon baking project, a small dessert course, or a confident gift for someone who appreciates real pastry.
What you will need:
Pate a Choux (Classic)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
| Plain Flour | 88g |
| Milk | 82g |
| Water | 82g |
| Butter | 69g |
| Eggs | 176g |
| Salt | 2.5g |
Choux au Craquelin
| Ingredient | Quantity |
| Plain Flour | 71g |
| Butter | 58g |
| Brown Sugar | 71g |
Mango White Chocolate Ganache
| Ingredient | Quantity |
| White Chocolate | 297g |
| Heavy Cream | 31g |
| Mango Puree | 145g |
| Sugar | 17g |
| Glucose | 10g |
Stabilised Creme Chantilly
| Ingredient | Quantity |
| Heavy Cream (35% fat min) | 393g |
| Condensed Milk | 79g |
| Full-fat Milk Powder | 24g |
| Vanilla Extract | 4g |
| Fine Salt | 1g |
Equipments:
- Digital Scale
- Stand mixer with paddle and whisk attachments
- Medium saucepan
- 2 piping bags
- 14 to 16mm plain round nozzle (for choux batter)
- Closed star piping tip – Wilton 1M or 2D (for chantilly rosette)
- Filling tip or long narrow nozzle (for injecting ganache)
- Baking tray lined with parchment or silicone mat
- Rolling pin and parchment paper (for craquelin)
- Round cutter matching choux diameter
- Digital thermometer
- Serrated knife (if slicing puffs to fill)
General Details:
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 to 35 minutes
Total Time: 3 to 4 hours
Yield: 6 to 8 filled and topped choux puffs
Difficulty: Advanced
Cuisine: French
Category: Pastry
Storage: Best eaten on the day of assembly. Unfilled baked shells keep airtight at room temperature for 2 days or frozen for 1 month. Ganache refrigerates for 5 days. Chantilly refrigerates for 24 hours.
Instructions:
Prepare the Components
- Make the Mango White Chocolate Ganache first – refer to this recipe. Allow it to set at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or refrigerate overnight, until it reaches a soft, pipeable ganache consistency.
- Make the Pate a Choux batter – refer to this recipe.
- Make the Choux au Craquelin dough – refer to this recipe. Roll to 2mm, freeze flat on a lined tray.
Shape and Bake the Choux
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius (conventional) or 175 degrees (fan-forced).
- Transfer the choux batter to a piping bag fitted with a 14 to 16mm plain round/star nozzle.
- Pipe 6 to 8 mounds of batter onto a lined baking tray, each approximately 5 to 6cm in diameter, spacing at least 5cm apart.
- Cut the frozen craquelin into discs matching the diameter of each mound and press one gently onto the top of each.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until deeply golden and completely dry; do not open the oven door in the first 20 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before filling, at least 1 hour.
Fill with Mango Ganache
- Check ganache consistency – it should hold a soft peak when spooned; if too firm, microwave in 5-second bursts and stir; if too soft, refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Transfer ganache to a piping bag fitted with a long filling nozzle.
- Pierce the base of each choux puff with the filling nozzle and inject ganache slowly until you feel resistance and the shell feels heavier.
- Alternatively, slice each puff horizontally with a serrated knife through the lower third, pipe ganache into the cavity, and replace the top.
- Place filled puffs on a clean tray and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes to set before topping.
Pipe the Creme Chantilly Rosette
- Prepare the Stabilised Creme Chantilly – refer to this recipe.
- Fit a piping bag with a Wilton 1M or 2D closed star tip.
- Position the tip at the outer edge of each choux top, apply steady pressure, and pipe in a continuous inward spiral, finishing with a small peak at the centre.
- The ideal swirl has 2 to 3 rings before reaching the centre and sits 3 to 4cm tall.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate uncovered for up to 1 hour before serving.
More Variations
- Passionfruit Ganache : Substitute mango puree with strained passionfruit pulp in the same ratio for a sharper tropical flavour.
- Chocolate Chantilly Top : Replace the vanilla chantilly with a stabilised dark chocolate whipped ganache (equal parts cream and 60% dark chocolate, chilled and whipped) for a more indulgent finish.
- Eclairs : Pipe choux as 10cm logs, fill with mango ganache, and glaze with a white chocolate mango mirror glaze instead of chantilly.
- Paris-Brest Format : Pipe choux in a ring shape, fill with mango ganache, and top with chantilly and toasted coconut flakes.
- Mini Profiteroles : Pipe 3cm mounds (no craquelin needed at this size), fill with mango ganache, and top with a small chantilly peak for petit fours.
Serving Suggestions
- Finish with a very light dusting of freeze-dried mango powder or edible gold dust over the chantilly.
- Serve chilled rather than at room temperature – the ganache is creamier and the chantilly holds better when slightly cool.
Applied Techniques
- Steam leavening : Pate a choux relies solely on steam expansion from its high moisture content; no chemical leavener is used.
- Colloid stabilisation : Milk powder proteins reinforce the whipped cream structure, preventing weeping during service.
Nutrition Profile / 100g
| Nutrient | Amount |
| Calories | 387 kcal |
| Total Fat | 28.4 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 28.6 g |
| Sugars | 22.3 g |
| Protein | 5.8 g |
| Fiber | 0.4 g |
| Sodium | 94 mg |
Note: Calculated per 100g of finished assembled puff including ganache filling and chantilly topping. Values are approximate based on recipe formula across all components.
Approximate values based on recipe formula. Actual nutrition may vary.
Tips for Best Results:
Bake choux until completely dry and deep golden. An under-baked shell collapses as it cools and cannot hold filling or topping.
- The craquelin is not optional in this assembly. It ensures an even, level top surface that gives the chantilly rosette a stable platform. Without it, the choux top is irregular and the swirl tilts.
- Inject ganache from the base rather than slicing where possible. It keeps the shell’s structural integrity intact and prevents the top from sliding when chantilly is piped.
- Chill filled puffs before piping the chantilly. A warm ganache-filled shell transfers heat upward and softens the cream at the base of the rosette within minutes.
- A 1M or 2D closed star tip produces the tight, compact rosette swirl seen in the recipe photos. Open star tips give a wider, fluffier look but less height.
- Pipe the chantilly in one continuous motion without stopping. Lifting the bag mid-swirl creates a seam that breaks the spiral.
- The stabilised chantilly holds its shape for 3 to 4 hours at refrigerator temperature, giving a comfortable window for plating and service.
Troubleshooting Guide:
| Issue | Possible Cause | Fix |
| Choux collapsed after baking | Under-baked; steam condensed inside as the shell cooled | Bake until deeply golden and dry; poke a small hole in the base immediately after baking to release steam |
| Craquelin slid off during baking | Disc too thick or not cold enough | Roll to 2mm maximum and freeze for at least 15 minutes before placing on choux |
| Ganache too runny to hold inside choux | Not set long enough or ratio too liquid-heavy | Refrigerate for 30 minutes; if still soft, melt and add 10% more white chocolate |
| Ganache too firm to inject | Over-crystallised or too cold | Microwave in 5-second bursts and stir until just pipeable; do not overheat |
| Chantilly rosette collapsed | Choux too warm, or cream under-whipped | Chill filled puffs for 20 minutes before topping; ensure cream is at firm peak |
| Spiral swirl looks uneven or broken | Bag lifted mid-motion or tip held too high | Keep tip close to the surface and move in one smooth continuous motion; practise on parchment first |
| Cream weeping after piping | Chantilly under-stabilised or too warm | Ensure milk powder is sifted and fully incorporated; refrigerate assembled puffs uncovered |
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