The Croquembouche

The happy birthday girl.

When I asked my daughter Una what kind of cake she'd like me to make for her 18th birthday, her response wasn't what I expected.

Her reply: "Could you make a croquembouche?"

Croquembouche is a classic French dessert which literally means "crunch in the mouth." Made of caramel dipped profiteroles that are filled with rich pastry cream, the dessert is commonly served at French weddings and baptisms.

Well, I of course said "yes" to Una and I'm here to tell you that I conquered the croquembouche and so can you.

The ingredients are basic but the result is fantastic so if you want a dessert that makes a statement, the croquembouche is for you.

I also found it easy to serve. For Una's party, we didn't even use plates. The guests just picked profiteroles off the tower and popped them into their mouths. 

I used pastry chef Gale Gand's recipe that I found on the Food Network site.

One addition I made is that I wrapped a 14-inch styrofoam cone with parchment paper and assembled the croquembouche on it so that I would be certain the end result was perfect, straight and stable.

The styrofoam cone I used to assemble the croquembouche. I bought it at a craft store.

Delivering the dessert to the table. Proof that the cone helps keep things stable!

To garnish the dessert, I made a pretty pink flower out of gum paste and used a toothpick to attach it to the top. Also, please remember to keep a bowl of ice water near you when you assemble the croquembouche with the hot caramel.  Hot sugar can badly burn you. Be safe and enjoy!



Croquembouche

Profiteroles:
2 cups water
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 cups flour
8 to 10 eggs

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large
saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt, and sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high
heat.

When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden
spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30
to 60 seconds.

Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds to evaporate
some of the moisture.

Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer).
Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and working 1 egg at a time, add 6 of the
eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should
be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out
of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add 1 or 2 more eggs, and
mix until incorporated.

Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe the dough in big kisses onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Whisk 2 eggs with 3 teaspoons of water. Brush the
surface of the dough with the egg wash to knock down the points (do not use all the
egg wash.)

Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375-degrees and bake until puffed
up and light golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too
often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet. The recipe can be made up to
this point and frozen in plastic bags.


Filling:
4 cups whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
12 egg yolks
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk
and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set
aside to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes.

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until
light and fluffy.
Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Whisk
in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk
mixture, reserving the empty saucepan.

Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high
heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat
and stir in the butter and any flavorings if you want to make a different flavor like
chocolate or coffee.

Let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the
plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours or
until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance.


Caramel:
2 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water

Dissolve the sugar in a saucepan with the water, making an "X" through the
sugar with your finger to allow the water to slowly soak into the sugar.

Boil to make a light golden caramel then remove from heat. Assemble the croquembouche  immediately.



To Fill Profiteroles:
Poke a hole with a plain pastry tip in the bottom of each cream puff and pipe it full of the custard.

Assembly: 
Dip the sides of the puffs in the caramel and stick them together
(approximately 20 cream puffs) in a circle, tops facing out.

Make a second row on top of the first but a bit smaller to draw the circle in and create a tower of cream
puffs.

Check it from all sides occasionally to make sure it's straight. When it's
finished, drizzle it with caramel all over. You can also stick on decorative elements
with the caramel in the crevices, like candied violets, gold balls, gum paste flowers, sugar covered almonds, etc.