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Croquembouche
2 hours 30 mins Prep Time
20 mins Cook Time
Croquembouche translates to "crunch in the mouth" in French. It's tower of pâte à choux, filled with pastry cream with a crunchy layer of caramel on top of each puff. Sounds amazing right? This sweet tower is sure to impress.
In France, croquembouche is usually served in weddings and baptisms and for sure, it's a dessert for special occasions. I am not going to lie, this recipe takes a long time to make and it sure needs some pastry skills but that doesn't mean you can't make it at home.
While working with the caramel, you wanna be as quick as you can but also very careful. Just to make the process easier, you can make the pâte à choux and pastry cream in advance and do the assembly on the day you plan to serve it.
Feel free to multiply this recipe if you want to make a taller croquembouche.
Directions
Pastry Cream
5 Steps
Step 1
Heat up the milk and vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer.
Step 2
In a bowl, whisk sugar, cornstarch, salt and egg yolks together until colour turns light.
Step 3
Add the hot milk to the yolk mixture very slowly and whisk at the same time. Do it very slowly or the yolks will scramble.
Step 4
Pass the mixture through a sifter back to the saucepan. Keep whisking it over medium heat until it starts bubbling and thickens. Take it off the heat and whisk in the butter.
Step 5
Cover the custard with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic directly against the surface of the custard to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours or until completely cooled and thickened.
Pâte à Choux
8 Steps
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 2
Place the milk, butter, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, turn down the heat to simmer and add the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon until flour is fully incorporated. Cook for 2-3 minutes, keep stirring until a dough forms.
Step 3
Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer. With the paddle attachment beat the mixture for 1-2 minutes and allow to cool slightly. It should be still warm but touchable.
Step 4
Add the eggs one at a time. Let the eggs mix completely before adding the next one. After adding all the eggs, the batter should be smooth and glossy. If the consistency is right, when you pull the paddle up, the dough sticking to the paddle should hang down in a V shape ribbon.
Step 5
Transfer the batter to a piping bag with a round tip.
Step 6
Pipe dough into a 1-inch round (you can trace circles on the back of the parchment for extra accuracy). Repeat and make sure to space them 2-inches apart.
Step 7
Bake 20 minutes, then lower heat to 350°F. Continue to bake until puffs are deep golden brown all over for 5-7 minutes.
Step 8
Let the puffs cool completely. Transfer the cooled pastry cream to a piping bag. Poke a hole into the bottom of each puff and gently pipe in pastry cream to fill.
Caramel and Assembly
9 Steps
Step 1
In a saucepan, add sugar and water, bring it to a boil. Once the mixture starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium. Give the pan a gentle swirl occasionally, until it turns golden (be careful not to burn the caramel). Transfer the caramel into a small bowl.
Step 2
Work very carefully and dip each puff into the caramel. Then place the puffs aside and let cool.
Step 3
Repeat with the remaining puffs. If you find the caramel is getting too stiff, microwave it for 10-15 seconds or until it warms up and becomes less viscous.
Step 4
Place a piece of parchment paper on your working surface. Use the 7 largest puffs for the bottom layer of your croquembouche.
Step 5
Working quickly, dip the side of 1 puff into caramel and stick hot caramel side down onto parchment paper, the top of the puff should be facing out. Repeat this process with another 6 puffs to complete a circle. This makes the bottom layer.
Step 6
Use 6 puffs to make the second layer and use caramel to stick them together the same way as the first layer. Place the puffs on the second layer between the bottom puffs.
Step 7
Continue to build croquembouche. Making circles smaller for each layer.
Step 8
Once the croquembouche layer is done, let the caramel cool slightly but still playable. Dip a fork in leftover caramel and quickly circle around the croquembouche.
Step 9
Decorate with edible flour, gold leaf or just leave it as it is and enjoy!
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