I was so flattered when Karen Mordechai asked me to make a croquembouche for her Sunday Suppers, and even more thrilled that I get to teach you all how to make one! It’s a somewhat tedious task so I have opted to break it apart into two weeks worth of Cakery Fridays {in hopes of not scaring you away}.
A croquembouche is a French wedding cake. The name comes from the French words croque en bouche which means “crunch in the mouth”. Broken down, the croquembouche is made up of pate a choux, which can be used to make cream puffs, profiteroles, eclairs and many other things. The dough is filled with pastry cream and assembled into a large cone shape using hot caramel as the glue. Today we are going to focus on making the cream puffs {tune back next week for pastry cream, caramel and assembly}!
Gather all of the ingredients.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with a Silpat mat or parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan combine 1 stick of unsalted butter, 1/2 cup of whole milk and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil.
Remove from heat, and whisk in 1 cup of flour.
Return the pan to the heat, and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan {about 4 minutes}.
Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed to cool slightly {about 1 minute}.
With the machine running, add in 5 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch round tip.
Begin piping 1-inch puffs onto the prepared baking sheets.
Dip your finger into warm water and gently press down the “Hershey kiss like” tip. To create a smooth surface.
Bake until puffs rise and are golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool on wire racks.
Click here for a printer-friendly version of this recipe: Pate a Choux
Check back next Friday for the finished product!
Happy Baking!
xoxo,
Ali
2 Comments »
This recipe will make between 45-50 puffs (depending on how large you pipe them). The tower also varies depending on how large your circumference is but I would estimate around 8-10 inches.
As for decoration, you could make miniature (baby themed) sugar cookies and attach them to the croquembouche with the caramel. Or dip a few of the puffs in light blue chocolate melts for a touch of color.
Congratulations to your daughter!
How many puffs will this recipe make>? How big will the tower be? I would like to make this for my daughters baby shower, she is having a boy, any decorating ideas.
I am hosting in a 1800 Victorian Restaaraunt. Using vintage teapots, with touches of light blue for my accents.
Love your site.
Thank you,
Ellen