Recipe

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Croquembouche ~ French Wedding Cake

Croquembouche is a French dessert made from choux puff pastry, a super-delicate pastry dough. Each pastry puff is filled, most commonly with crème pâtissière, and then stacked in a cone shape. To help this confection stand tall, a drizzle of caramel is added to hold it together. 

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Pâte à Choux

Ingredients

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• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into cubes

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 200 grams all-purpose flour (about 1 1/2 cups)

• 8 large eggs
   

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt and bring to a boil.
   Reduce the heat to moderate. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously with a
   wooden spoon until a tight dough forms and pulls away from the side of the pan,
   2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. In a bowl, beat 7 eggs and add to the dough in four batches, stirring vigorously between
   additions until the eggs are completely incorporated and the pastry is smooth.
   The dough should be glossy and very slowly hang, stretch and fall from the spoon in thick ribbons.
   If necessary, beat in the remaining egg.

4. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe 1 1/2-inch mounds
   onto the baking sheets, leaving 1 inch between them.

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Pastry Cream

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk 473mL

• 1 vanilla bean split lengthwise

• 6 egg yolks

• 2/3 cup sugar 135g

• 1/4 cup cornstarch 37g

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter 15g, cold
   

Directions

1. Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise then use a spoon or knife the scrape the seeds out. Add the milk and vanilla bean to a medium saucepan, heat then place over medium heat and bring to a boil.

2. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 15 minutes.

3. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain.

4. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the saucepan.

5. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling.

6. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. 

7. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

8. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using. I whipped some cream up and folded it into my chilled custard to lighten the filling up, this is now technically called diplomat cream.

Notes

• This recipe makes a good amount of custard but you can make it go further and lighten it up by folding in whipped cream. The whipped cream can be sweetened or just plain. This dreamy combination is called diplomat cream and it's quite lovely.

• Try incorporating melted and cooled chocolate for an indulgent variation.

• You can also add passion fruit juice for an amazing tropical flavor, or you can add in some other fruit reduction.

• This custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using. 

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