Croquembouche

Croquembouche

Croquembouche is the dramatic French celebration tower: crisp choux puffs filled with vanilla crème pâtissière, bound with brittle caramel and threaded with pulled sugar. It is traditionally served at weddings, christenings and grandes occasions in France.

Prep

120 min

Cook

90 min

Total

210 min

Serves

10

Difficulty

Hard

Recipe ingredients

• •250 ml (1 cup) whole milk
• •250 ml (1 cup) water
• •200 g (7 oz) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
• •5 g (1 tsp) fine sea salt
• •10 g (2 tsp) caster sugar, for the choux
• •150 g (1 cup) plain flour, sifted; French T55
• •4 whole (4 large) eggs, for the choux, plus 1 extra if needed
• •500 ml (2 cups) whole milk, for the pastry cream
• •1 whole vanilla pod, split and scraped, or 2 tsp vanilla extract
• •6 g (1 tsp) cornflour
• •20 g (1½ tbsp) plain flour, for the pastry cream
• •100 g (½ cup) caster sugar, for the pastry cream
• •4 whole (4 large) egg yolks, for the pastry cream
• •30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter, for the pastry cream
• •75 g (⅓ cup) ground almonds, almond meal, for dusting
• •200 g (1 cup) caster sugar, for the caramel
• •60 ml (¼ cup) water, for the caramel
• •15 ml (1 tbsp) lemon juice, prevents the caramel from crystallising
• •100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar, optional, for pulled-sugar decoration

Steps

1. 1 Make the choux: bring 250 ml milk, 250 ml water, 200 g butter, salt and 10 g sugar to a brisk boil in a heavy saucepan. Tip in 150 g sifted flour all at once and beat hard with a wooden spoon over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until the dough forms a smooth ball that leaves the sides of the pan and a thin film coats the base.
2. 2 Transfer the dough to a stand mixer with the paddle (or keep beating by hand) and beat for 1 minute to release steam. Add 4 eggs one at a time, beating fully between each, until the paste is glossy and falls in a slow V from the spoon; beat in part of a 5th egg if the dough still looks tight.
3. 3 Pipe small rounds about 2.5 cm wide onto two buttered and lightly floured baking sheets. Dust with ground almonds. Bake at 200 °C (400 °F) for 12 minutes, then lower to 170 °C (340 °F) and bake another 10-12 minutes until deep golden, puffed and dry; do NOT open the oven early or they will collapse. Cool on a rack.
4. 4 Make the crème pâtissière: bring 500 ml milk and the scraped vanilla pod (and seeds) just to a simmer. Whisk 6 g cornflour, 20 g flour and 100 g sugar with 4 egg yolks until pale. Pour a third of the hot milk into the yolks, whisk, then return everything to the pan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 2-3 minutes until very thick.
5. 5 Off the heat, whisk in 30 g butter until smooth. Press cling film directly onto the surface and chill until completely cold, at least 2 hours. Whisk until spreadable before using.
6. 6 Fill the puffs: pipe a small hole into the base or side of each cooled choux and fill generously with the cold pastry cream using a 5 mm plain nozzle.
7. 7 Make the caramel: combine 200 g sugar, 60 ml water and the lemon juice in a clean heavy pan. Stir only until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and cook over medium heat until the syrup turns a deep amber, about 150-155 °C (300-310 °F).
8. 8 Assemble the tower: lightly butter a tall cone-shaped mould or use a 1-litre metal measuring jug lined with baking paper. Working quickly and safely (the caramel is extremely hot), dip the top of each filled choux into the caramel and arrange in a tight circle on a buttered cake board, starting from the base (about 8-9 puffs) and working up in slightly smaller rings to form a cone, holding each in place a few seconds for the caramel to set.
9. 9 Drizzle the remaining caramel over the whole tower in thin threads. If using pulled sugar, pour any extra caramel onto a buttered marble or sheet pan, let it cool just until pliable, then pull into thin ribbons and loops to drape over the top.
10. 10 Serve within 2 hours of assembly so the caramel stays crisp and the pastry cream is still cold. Any leftover pastry cream should be chilled and used within 24 hours; do not leave filled puffs at room temperature for more than 2 hours as the dairy filling is perishable.