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Recipes > Croquembouche

Croquembouche

This gorgeous French dessert makes a dramatic and unforgettable centerpiece to your holiday table. While the process to make this showstopper is lengthy, the individual steps are simple. Note: The recipe below makes one small croquembouche. To make the large one pictured, double the recipe for the pastry cream, pâte à choux and caramel.

Prep

1 hr

Bake

25 - 30 mins

Total

2 hrs

Yield

Small croquembouche serves 7; large croquembouche serves 14

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Ingredients

Vanilla Pastry Cream Ingredients:

  • Milk — 2 cups (480 mL)
  • Vanilla Bean — 1, cut in half and scraped
  • Egg Yolks — 4
  • Sugar — 1/2 cup
  • Cornstarch — 1/4 cup (32 g)
  • Butter — 2 Tbsp

Pâte à Choux Ingredients:

  • Water — 1 cup (240 mL)
  • Butter or Dairy-Free Butter — 6 Tbsp (84 g)
  • Sugar — 1 tsp
  • Salt — Pinch
  • Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour — 1 cup (136 g)
  • Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour (optional alternative) — 1 cup (148 g)
  • Eggs — 3

Caramel Ingredients:

  • Sugar — 1 cup (201 g)
  • Corn Syrup — 1 Tbsp
  • Water — 1 Tbsp

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UHT FULL CREAM MILK 3.5% 1L (#103602)

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VANILLA BEAN POD (VANILLA STICKS) 10CM/13CM (10STICK) (#52750)

VANILLA BEAN POD (VANILLA STICKS) 10CM/13CM (10STICK) (#52750)

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FINE SUGAR 1KG (#1416)

FINE SUGAR 1KG (#1416)

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CORN FLOUR 500G (#1201)

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Instructions

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Vanilla Pastry Cream

  1. In a small saucepan, heat milk and scraped pod and seeds over medium heat. Once it comes to a boil, remove from heat and set aside, allowing to steep for 15 minutes.
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar until fluffy and pale yellow. Add cornstarch and whisk until no lumps remain. Whisk about ¼ cup of the milk mixture into the egg mixture until fully combined. Repeat this step 4 times, then slowly whisk in the rest of the milk.
  3. Pour through a wire mesh strainer back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it comes just to a boil and has thickened. Remove from heat and add butter, whisking until fully combined. Pour into a heat proof container and cover with plastic wrap, making sure the wrap is directly on the surface of the cream to keep a skin from forming. Allow to cool and chill until completely cold.

Pâte à Choux

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Combine water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir to combine. When butter is dissolved, add flour and stir to bring together into a ball over low heat. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring vigorously. A film will form on the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and allow the dough to sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Next, add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously until completely combined and the dough forms a paste-like mixture. You can do this by hand, or you can transfer the dough to your stand mixer using a paddle attachment.
  3. Using a piping bag fitted with a ½-inch-wide plain tip, pipe mounds that are 1 inch high and ¾ inch in diameter onto the prepared baking sheets, placing them about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets. Using a wet finger, tap down any points on the pastry to make a smooth surface.
  4. Place the pans in the oven and immediately turn up the oven to 400°F.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes. Then turn the temperature down to 350°F and bake for an additional 10–15 minutes, or until the pastries are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Turn off oven and allow pastries to cool inside with the door slightly open for 20 minutes (prop the door with the handle of a wooden spoon if needed).
  6. Remove from the oven, poke a hole in the bottom of each pastry and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cooled, fill with pastry cream.

Caramel

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water. Cover the pan, bring to a boil over medium high heat, until steam dissolves the crystals, without stirring. Uncover, and boil 5 more minutes, or until syrup is a light amber in color. Watch closely. Remove from heat.

To Assemble

  1. To fill puffs, fill a piping bag fitted with a Bismarck tip (a special tip with a pointed elongated tip ideal for filling pastry) or a ¼-inch round tip with pastry cream. Holding the puff in your hand, insert the tip into the hole and gently squeeze the bag to fill with pastry cream. Repeat until all puffs are filled.
  2. Working quickly, dip the bottom of each filled cream puff into the caramel, and arrange puffs in a pyramid shape on a platter.
  3. Once the pyramid is complete, dip a fork in the caramel and wrap caramel ribbons around the croquembouche. Serve immediately!

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Shop This Recipe

CORN FLOUR 500G (#1201)

2.50

FINE SUGAR 1KG (#1416)

2.40

VANILLA BEAN POD (VANILLA STICKS) 10CM/13CM (10STICK) (#52750)

54.60

HI-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP 510ML (#54037)

6.10

FINE SEA SALT 1KG (#58415)

3.60

UNSALTED LACTIC BUTTER 250G (#68328)

6.00

GF ALL PURPOSE FLOUR 22OZ (#100499)

10.70

UHT FULL CREAM MILK 3.5% 1L (#103602)

3.10

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