Croquembouche

Croquembouche is a French dessert made from choux pastry, cream and caramel. It is a traditional French wedding cake and can be served as a dessert on any special occasion. The literal translation of the word ‘croquembouche’ is “crunch in the mouth,” which aptly describes its texture and flavour.

Brief History and Origin

The origin of croquembouche dates back to the 18th century in France. It was first created by Antoine Careme, who was one of the most influential chefs of his time. He developed many different recipes for desserts and pastries, such as éclairs, crème brûlée, meringue and croquembouche. Croquembouche was originally named “pâte à choux à la crème” or “choux pastry with cream”.

Croquembouche – The Recipe

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 2 hrs
• Chill & Assembly: 3 hrs
• Total time: 5 hrs 30 mins
• Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 185g all-purpose flour
• 175g butter, cut into pieces
• 6 beaten eggs

For the limoncello cream

• 9 egg yolks
• 150g white caster sugar
• 500ml full cream milk
• 50g all-purpose flour, plus 1 tbsp. Finely grated zest of 2 lemons, plus 4 tbsp. juice
• 7 tbsp. limoncello

For the decoration

• 200g white granulated sugar
• 400g white chocolate, melted
• Cream and pink sugared almonds mixture, 175g each
• Crystallized roses

For the cardboard cone

• 60cm length of string
• 1 A1 sheet of card
• Foil and tape for shaping the cone

Instructions

1. Three days in advance: Prepare oven and preheat to 180 degrees C. Also, prepare 3 large baking sheets by lightly greasing them with butter. Sift flour onto a large square of greaseproof paper.
2. Pour 450ml water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, add butter and bring to a boil. Then quickly pour the mixture onto the sifted flour and whisk using a wooden spoon until the mixture comes away from the sides and makes a ball. Set aside for 5 minutes.
3. Add eggs one by one and keep beating until the mixture turns shiny but just elastic. Transfer the batter to the piping bag and cut ½” circle tip.
4. Pipe 2cm diameter rounds in the baking sheets and trim the batter from the bag using a knife, keep space between rounds allowing them to expand. Transfer the baking sheets to the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and risen.
5. Now take out of the oven, make a slit in between to escape steam, transfer back to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes. When done, take them out of the oven, place them on the cooling rack until completely cooled, and then place them in an air-tight container to store in the refrigerator.

For the limoncello cream

1. Two days in advance, in a bowl, add flour, egg yolks, lemon zest, sugar and juice, and beat until a smooth paste. Pour milk into a saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, pour it into the egg yolk mixture and mix well.
2. Then transfer the mixture back to the saucepan over low heat and stir to cook until thick and bubbling. Now pour in limoncello, mix and transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover the surface with clingfilm and allow to sit until cool completely, then place in the refrigerator.
3. When the cream is chilled, fill the puffs with the cream using piping.

Assemble the Cone Structure

1. Cut and roll the A1 sheet into a cone with a 20cm diameter opening and 48cm height using tape and string, line inside with foil and rest it into a vase. Dip the puff into melted chocolate and arrange it at the bottom of the cone; repeat and complete the bottom layer. Then make other layers on top until you reach the tip of the cone.
2. When done, carefully transfer the cone to the refrigerator and leave for overnight.
3. On the day of serving, take the cone out of the refrigerator, invert it on the serving plate and take the cardboard cone and foil away.  
4. Add 5 tbsp. Water in a saucepan over medium heat, add 100g sugar and stir until sugar dissolves completely and becomes smooth syrup; bring to a boil and continue cooking for 4 to 6 minutes until colour turns rich golden. Remove from heat, dip the roses and sugared almond into caramel, and stick them around the cake.
5. Drizzle the remaining caramel around the puffs using a teaspoon until you finish the decoration. Dust some icing sugar on top and serve.

Popular variations

Here are a few ways you can change this basic recipe to adjust it to your liking:

• Black and White Croquembouche: The black and white Croquembouche has the same fluffy puffs with two delicious cream filling and toppings. strawberry pastry cream-filled puffs dipped in white chocolate and vanilla cream-filled puffs dipped in melted semi- and bittersweet chocolate, making them extra special and unique.
• Croquembouche with Maple Cream: the classic fluffy puff filled with Maple cream custard. It is bursting with the flavor of caramel, vanilla, and prune by just adding maple syrup.
• Orange-Anise Croquembouche with White Chocolate: In this recipe, puffs are filled with tangy, creamy, and earthy Orange and Anise cream. We liked the combination of white chocolate topping over the puffs with the cream filling as well.
• Red Velvet Croquembouche: The softness of red velvet cake made into Croquembouche is a genius idea. It has the same notes of flavor with white chocolate cream. And the Best part of the recipe is that it is all vegan!
• Pink Croquembouche: The pink puffs filled with strawberry cream is not just delicious but fresh and light to eat. It is perfect for bachelor parties and any tea party.