Croquembouche (Caramel Cream Puff Cone/Tower) 法式焦糖泡芙塔

Wiki: A croquembouche or croque-en-bouche is a traditional French dessert. The name comes from the French words croque en bouche, meaning 'crunch in the mouth'

 

Pâte à Choux (Cream puff) 

(Yield: About 28 1.5"diameter or 50 small ones 1" diameter)

INGREDIENTS:

• ¾ cup (175 ml) water
• 6 tablespoon. (85 g) unsalted butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• Egg wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally .
3. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.
4. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
5. Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.
6. Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny. As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes.
7. It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.
8. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide. Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.
9. Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).
10. Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.
11. Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool. Can be stored in a airtight box overnight.

Vanilla Crème Patissiere (Vanilla Pastry Cream)INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cup (450 ml) whole milk
• 4 tablespoon cornstarch
• 12 tablespoon (200 g) sugar
• 2 large egg
• 4 large egg yolks
• 4 tablespoon (60 g) unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoon. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup of milk. Set aside.
2. In another pan, combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan; bring to boil; remove from heat.
3. Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture.
4. Pour 1/3 of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.
5. Return the remaining milk to boil. Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.
6. Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil.
7. Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.

1. Pipe batter to baking pan 1" diameter (mini)
2. Finished baking from oven. Cooling down.
3. Vanilla pastry cream.
4. Piping cream into each puff.
5. Puffs filled by Vanilla pastry cream. Prepare Caramel now. Ready to assemble tower.

Croquembouche

Filling:

1. When you are ready to assemble your piece montée, using a plain pastry tip, pierce the bottom of each choux. Fill the choux with pastry cream using either the same tip or a star tip, and place on a paper-lined sheet.
2. Choux can be refrigerated briefly at this point while you make your glaze.

Hard Caramel Glaze:

• 1 cup (225 g.) sugar
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice

1. Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan with a metal kitchen spoon stirring until the sugar resembles wet sand.
2. Place on medium heat; heat without stirring until sugar starts to melt around the sides of the pan and the center begins to smoke. Begin to stir sugar. Continue heating, stirring occasionally until the sugar is a clear, amber color[see picture 1].
3. Remove from heat immediately; place bottom of pan in ice water to stop the cooking. Use immediately.

Assembly of your Piece Montée:

1. Once you are ready to assemble your piece montée, dip the top of each choux in your glaze (careful it may be still hot!) [picture 2], and start assembling on your cake board/plate/sheet [picture 3]. Continue dipping and adding choux in levels using the glaze to hold them together as you build up.
2. When you have finished the design of your piece montée, you may drizzle with remaining glaze or use ribbons, sugar cookie cut-outs, almonds, flowers, etc. to decorate [picture 4-6].

Recipe from: http://anjelikuh.blogspot.ca/2010/05/daring-bakers-croquembouche.html