A tradition cake for weddings and christenings . Croquembouche
comes from the French "croquant" meaning crackling and "bouche" for mouth. Thus
croquembouche refers to the crackling in your mouth when eating this
traditional dessert. The croquembouche is often the dessert at a French
wedding or christening. It features profiteroles (small creampuffs).
Profiteroles are filled with pastry cream (creme patissiere) and held
together with a delicate cobweb of caramel to form a breathtaking centerpiece.
The basic process is to prepare caramel syrup, coat the puffs with some of
the syrup and then arrange them to form a pyramid. It is then decorated
with "angel hair" spun from the same caramel syrup. Although traditionally
decorated with sugared almonds, the croquembouche also looks stunning with tiny
fresh flowers, a drizzle of dark chocolate, or a web of spun sugar. The
croquembouche is transportable and does not need refrigeration.
.
This impressive tower of small cream puffs (profiteroles)
and caramelized sugar is well worth the effort. Be sure to start the dessert
well in advance, taking advantage of all the useful do-aheads. Last minute
assembly is a must for the caramelized sugar so allow several hours and have
all ingredients ready
FOR CREAM PUFF CHOUX PASTRY
3 cups water
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2
teaspoon salt 12 large eggs
Bring water and butter to boil in heavy
large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and salt all at once and stir until
mixture pulls away from sides forming mass, about 2 minutes. Transfer mixture
to heavy duty mixer fitted with wire beater. With mixer running at medium
speed, beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat
until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic and let stand until cool. Preheat
oven to 400 degrees F. Spoon half of dough into large pastry bag fitted with
plain 1/2-inch round tip. Pipe 3/4 to 1-inch mounds onto baking sheets,
spacing apart. Press peaks down onto mounds using moistened fingertip. Bake
until golden and puffed, about 20 minutes. Turn off oven. Pierce side of each
puff with small sharp knife or a toothpick to allow steam to escape. Return
puff to oven for 10 minutes to dry interior. Repeat with remaining pastry.
(Puffs can be prepared ahead. Store in freezer bags at room temperature up
to 2 days or freeze up to 2 weeks. If frozen, thaw carefully in single
layer on paper towel lined baking sheets to avoid any moist spots.)
Bring cream, milk and vanilla
bean to boil in heavy large saucepan. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, flour and salt to
blend in large bowl. Gradually beat in hot cream mixture. Return mixture to
saucepan and whisk over medium heat until mixture becomes very thick and boils.
Transfer to bowl and remove vanilla bean. Cool completely, stirring
occasionally. Cover with plastic and refrigerate until well chilled. (Can be
made up to 4 days ahead.) Spoon some of pastry cream into pastry bag fitted
with plain 1/4-inch tip. Insert tip into score on each puff and fill with
cream. Repeat until all puffs are filled. For CARAMELIZED SUGAR:
4
to 5 cups sugar 1 to 1 1/4 cups corn syrup 1 to 1 1/4 cups water
CARAMELIZED SUGAR AND ASSEMBLY: Select a croquembouche pastry
cone available at pastry supply stores (see picture below) for assembly of
cream-puff balls into a croquembouche pyramid. Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup
corn syrup and 1/4 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Boil without
stirring until mixture turns amber in color, brushing down any crystals that
form on sides of pan with moist pastry brush, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat
and place on cold surface to stop cooking. Using tongs, carefully dip cream
puff into caramel and place around base of cone. Repeat dipping and placing
puffs on cone's surface fitting puffs evenly onto sides. forming concentric
circles until caramel is used. If caramel begins to harden, reheat briefly
over medium heat to liquefy. Croquembouche will hold up several hours at room
temperature. Serve by cracking caramel with back of sharp knife and removing
individual cream puffs.