Dear Reader, no doubt at one stage or another, you may have been asked to make a birthday or wedding cake for a friend or family member. I did one a few years ago for Mr NQN’s sister. I swore I would never do another such was the stress. The bride and groom wanted cream cheese frosting on a wedding that was held in the blistering 40+C heat of January in a room without air conditioning. I had panic filled nightmares of it dripping and melting and trying to pass that off as a deliberate effect.
Vincent Gadan
But then my friend The Second Wife asked me to make her wedding cake. The reason why I happily said yes was because she said “I would love absolutely anything you come up with. It can be Halloween themed. It can be made of anything. It can be a batshit crazy as you like!!! “. It was a brief I could hardly refuse! I wanted it to be brilliant (and despite the fact that she had mentioned Halloween, it wasn’t going to be Halloween themed). So when I was offered a place of any of Patisse’s cooking classes I jumped at the French Croquembouche one thinking that I would be able to test out whether I could make one for her wedding or not. I had made choux quite a bit as I am a bit of a choux addict in le Religieuse, St Honore, Croqumebouche cupcakes, and a small croquembouche.
I walk into the Waterloo location at 5.45pm for the 6-10pm class where there are eight other people gathered. Jennifer from Patisse explains how the class will progress. Chef Vincent Gadan is teaching us tonight and he comes out with a flourish and explains the croquembouche to us. Mr NQN was coming along to photograph it but little did he know that I was going to get him to try his hand at making the croquembouche! 
Vincent points out that there are two men in the class and we later learn that one was given the gift from his girlfriend who suggested that it would be more entertaining to watch him in the class than to go out for drinks with her friends. The second guy is there with his girlfriend and up until he walked in, it was surprise that she had arranged-he thought that he was going to a taping of “The Footy Show” or a sports game!
Decorations we can choose from
Vincent brings us the croquembouche we will be making. It has about 50-60 choux balls on it and is about 30 cms / 1 foot high. He also shows us the decorations that we can choose from. There are fresh flowers, tiny choux balls covered with cocoa nibs, crystallised violet, chopped pistachios, pearl sugar and egg shaped silver dragees. I ask if Mr NQN and I can combine our choux balls and make one double that size as I want to test whether I can do a wedding sized croquembouche. They say yes!
The consistency of the choux pastry
We wash our hands and take our places at the bench. In front of us are the ingredients that have been measured out for us. We start with making the choux pastry. He shows us the approximate size of the buns that we need to make which is about an inch in diameter as they will expand slightly. The dough is straightforward, mixing the flour with the milk, water, sugar and salt that has been heated until boiling and we just cook this mixture and taking the steam out of it while stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon for 1 minute. Interestingly, Vincent gives us the measurement of 5 grams of caster sugar as “six pinches”.
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That’s a dough hook (left) and a paddle (right)
Adding eggs gradually
“Dessecher” is the process of taking steam out of it. We then place it in a mixing bowl fixed with a paddle to remove even more steam. The whole eggs are then added to the mixture. This mixture then has to be placed in the fridge for 1-2 hours or overnight until it firms up as you cannot pipe it as it is as the texture is too soft. Never fear, he has made a batch of choux pastry at 5pm that day so that we have some ready for us.
Consistency of the choux batter once the steam is released, ready for refrigeration
Firm choux batter after refrigeration
Piping skills-he has them!
Cut!
Rather cleverly, he shows us a tip-to make sure that your baking paper doesn’t fly away or move on the baking sheet, spray it with some oil spray and then it will adhere! For some present, this is the first time piping anything so he shows us the basics to the choux buns. Pipe with the tip 1 cm above the baking sheet, stop piping and then cut by moving the tip quickly. “Don’t do it like Kerri-Anne” he jokes-apparently when she tried doing it her buns looking a bit penis shaped.
Cross hatch pattern with egg dipped fork to flatten the tips
He then shows us a little trick to help to flatten the tips from the piping bag. Beat a couple of eggs with a fork. Using a little of the beaten egg and the back of a fork, gently press down in a cross hatch pattern. These buns are then baked for 190C for 30-40 minutes and then the oven is reduced to 160C and then baked for an additional 10 minutes to dry them out.
Consistency of creme patissiere (NOT custard )
Onto the custard-oops I mean creme patissiere. Vincent vehemently insists that creme patissiere and custard are two totally different things (and they are really) and says “I don’t want you to call it custard ok? I don’t want to hear the word custard. It’s creme patissiere or “creme pat”. Well of course you know that this means that everyone calls it custard, even accidentally!
Removing the vanilla seeds from the bean
He shows us the best way to remove the seeds from a vanilla bean. You firstly flatten the bean with a knife. Then you cut off both ends, slit it down the centre and then scrape out the beans. We whisk the yolks and sugar together while the milk and vanilla bean are boiling. Once the eggs are light and fluffy we whisk in the flour until there are no lumps and we then pour 1/3 of the boiling milk into the egg mixture and whisk it.
Adding one third of the boiling milk to the egg, sugar and flour mix
The secret ingredient: Grand Marnier!
We add this to the rest of the milk and return it to the heat and keep mixing until it becomes thick. And the final piece de resistance? A splash of Grand Marnier! I admit I’m not a huge fan of Grand Marnier but it tastes fantastic in this custard-oops I mean creme pat We then cover it with cling film resting right on the very top. If you don’t have cling film, you can always pat a little butter on top to form a skin.
The consistency of the creme pat once rewhipped
Now the thing that I didn’t know is that this also goes into the fridge for a few hours until it is hard and you can slice it and this is then whipped. If it is too soft it will spill out of the choux bun and make it soggy. He cuts the custard like a firm jelly slice and then whips it and he tells us that it will firm up again.
Poking hole in the bottom of the choux bun
Filling with the creme pat
Time to fill the chouxs! We take the end of our pens and poke a hole in the bottom of the choux and then wriggle the pen around to break up any walls. We then take our piping bag filled with whipped creme pat and fill them (I find it much easier to do this when holding the bag sideways as shown above). These are set down on baking sheets lined with oil sprayed baking paper. This is to prevent the custard bottoms from sticking to the paper.
The bottom of a filled choux
Everyone’s filled chouxs
Before we break for dinner, he shows us how to make the caramel. We use glucose to prevent crystallising from occurring and a wet brush to brush down any stray sugar crystals because if they fall down into the caramel, it may crystallise.
Onion tart
Beef Pie
Dinner time! I am starving as I hadn’t eaten beforehand and it is now about 8pm. Jennifer sets down a plate of either caramelised onion tart, bacon and egg quiche or beef pie in front of us and we swap if we don’t like it. I end up trying a bit of everything due. The bacon and egg quiche is particularly good and all of the pastry is lovely and crisp. We also try a polenta muffin which is filled with vegetables like spinach and pumpkin. Wine and soft drinks are also served.
Dipping and then “cutting” the strand by pressing against edge of saucepan
Dinner eaten, we return to the kitchen where Vincent has been baking some extra choux just in case we need them. The caramel is boiling away while we fill in the rest of our choux buns. He warns us that the caramel will continue to keep cooking so remove it from the heat when you feel like it is almost at the right colour.
Have a large lined baking tray ready. Then very, very carefully dip the top of the choux buns in the caramel and then cut the strands by pressing it against the side of the pot. He warns us to make sure not to drop any in there or get any custard into the caramel as we won’t be able to use it again. Once the caramel starts to get hard, then you need to return it to a low heat to soften it. This process has to be done by hand, even when you order them for a wedding which is why croquembouche is such an expensive cake to order.
Our white witch’s hat!
Now comes the assembly. The hardest bit and the bit where I wonder if I can do it for my friend’s wedding. We take a foam cone which can be bought at Spotlight and similar places. They place non stick paper around it and then sticky tape it together. This is then sprayed with an oil spray to cover the sticky tape and to ensure that it slides out.
Put two together at first joining together with caramel on the side
Finish the bottom layer
Then place layers on top but use caramel dipped on the bottom of the choux to adhere it to the layer underneath it!
Because ours is large, they’ve made a custom sized one. He shows the important part: the bottom layer of the croquembouche. Once this is in place, then the rest of the layers are relatively easy (relatively I did say ). The choux buns are dipped in the caramel but on the side of the bun. You stick two together and place them flat against the bottom of the cone. You may need to gently press your fingers on them for about 20 seconds for the caramel to full set to keep them flat against the cone as gravity will mean that they want to fall down.
Mr NQN does his part-he’s taller so he can reach the higher parts
This bottom layer does take the longest but it’s important to have this done well as it is the foundation of the croquembouche. And we are creating a tower of these choux so structural engineering is important. If there are any flyaway sugar strands, these can be removed with a dry brush.
Dipping in caramel while holding a glass of wine-an advance manoeuvre
We begin the painstaking process of placing the buns. I do the bottom layers while Mr NQN does the top layers. He’s having lots of fun and I notice how much fun the other guys in the class are having building their own creations. Could this be the start of Mr NQN cooking? A girl can dream can’t she? Vincent has bowls of ice water on the table in case we burn our fingers. “I’m not hearing anything” he says surprised that there are any yelps of pain. And then on cue, like we had been jinxed, the yelps come.
Pouring extra caramel to reinforce weak joins
Removing a perfect smallchoux tower!
Ours takes a bit longer than everyone else’s as it is bigger but we watch with bated breath as everyone’s are unmoulded with some nifty knife work by Vincent and they take shape. Before he removes them he takes them with both hands and moves them around to see if they are solidly put together. Then he applies additional caramel on the areas where they need a bit more reinforcement. He does the small choux towers and then ours. We breathe a sigh of relief as ours slides off!
Spinning sugar over the sink
Ta-da!
In the corner there is some sugar spinning action taking place. With what looks like a whisk with the round end taken off at the end he flicks it back and forth on the sink. Mr NQN is eager to make some and he makes a huge amount of the stuff! “Well it was just going to go to waste” he says.
Everyone starts decorating their towers
With different flowers…
Some with spun sugar at the base…
While others wrap the spun sugar around it
Everyone’s croquembouches are just stunning. While they pack up we decorate ours as we have taken a little longer. Everyone gets a batch of choux to work with at home. I put some of the crystallised violet and pearl sugar mini chouxs as well as some purple flowers and some of the silver dragees-and of course Mr NQN’s spun sugar.
While other decorate it with spun sugar all over it
“Do you have a big fridge?” Vincent asks.
“Big fridge?” we look alarmed? Errm not really. If you know me, you’ll know that my fridge is medium sized but also pretty packed with food all of the time. Hmmm we should have thought of that. We make plans to take this to Mr NQN’s work tonight as he rides a bike to work.
He sees that I have already become attached to my croquembouche and are reluctant to let it go “Are you ok with me taking it to work?” he asks.
“Hmmn I don’t want to say goodbye to it” I say looking at it longingly.
And will I be making this for The Second Wife’s wedding? It is certainly doable-as Vincent suggested, I could make the choux buns at home and simply mix up the caramel and construct it there. I’ll see how confident I feel and what the kitchen facilities are like!
So tell me Dear Reader, what is your favourite type of cake?
Our croquembouche!
Croquembouche recipe
Recipe courtesy of Patisse
Def: A croquembouche is a French cake, a kind of pièce montée often served at weddings, baptisms, and first communions. It is a high cone of profiteroles (choux filled with pastry cream) sometimes dipped in chocolate bound with caramel, and usually decorated with threads of caramel, sugared almonds, chocolate, flowers, or ribbons.
Choux Pastry
INGREDIENTS
200g butter
250g water
250g milk
10g caster sugar
6g/4 pinches of salt
300g plain flour
10 eggs
METHOD
Place the butter, milk, water, sugar & salt into a saucepan to boil
Add flour and then DESSECHER the mix with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes
Remove from heat
Place mix into a mixing bowl
While beating the mix with paddle, gradually add the eggs
Store overnight in the refrigerator
Pipe mixture into small balls on a baking tray lined with silicon/baking paper about an inch apart from each other.
Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 190C/380F. Then reduce temperature to 160C/320F and bake for another 10 minutes to dry out.
Creme Patissierre
INGREDIENTS
1000g milk
8 Egg yolks
120g caster sugar
50g plain flour
50g corn flour
1 vanilla bean
METHOD
Boil the milk and add vanilla essence
In a mixing bowl whisk the eggs and sugar
When egg mix is light and fluffy add the two flours
Mix until well combined (no lumps)
Sift the milk and then return to the saucepan
Put 1/3 of the milk mix into the egg mix and combine
Then put everything back onto the stove with the milk mix
When it starts to boil cook for 5 minutes
ASSEMBLY
Once cooled from the oven you need to puncture the choux ball to make a
hole. Insert piping bag and add the crème filling.
Caramel Topping
To coat approx 10 to 15 choux
300g Castor Sugar
80g Glucose
60g Water
Method
Cook to 170c for coating
Assembly
Dip the choux balls into the caramel as assembled with either cone mould or as arrange as desired.
NQN and Mr NQN attended the Pastisse French Croquembouche class as guests of Patisse
Patisse
Shop G01, PYD Building
197 Young Street, Waterloo, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9690 0665
http://patisse.com.au/
Information on the cooking classes can be found here: http://patisse.com.au/page/cooking_classes.html
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95 Comments | Add your own
Simply stunning, Lorraine though I admit all the steps are kind of intimidating, especially the caramel. But the end result looks to be so worth it
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Your finished croquembouche looks lovely and would be a perfect wedding cake.
Oh my goodness! What a spectacular creation! I’d be incredibly proud to make something like this and I’m sure the Second Wife would love it as a wedding cake. You’d be crazy not to do it!
I love lots of different types of cake but at our wedding we had chocolate mud and flourless orange. They were divine!
What a great class! Croquembouche is something I’ve wanted to attempt for the longest time. Maybe now I’ll go for it this year for the holidays.
Good luck Lorraine in making the wedding cake – with such detailed instructions I have no doubt the cake would turn out amazing.
Lorraine…I’ve gotta tell you that I love the way you keep challenging yourself.
Did anyone mention Grand Marnier…now the secret is out, thanks.
It’s great the way all this came together and that you got to share it with your love. ;o)
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
Bravo, Lorraine! What a stunning final result!
I’m sure your friend would only be too happy to have something as pretty as this at her wedding.
Superb, every single one of them! What a big job though! Did you actually get to eat any of it, or did it all go to Mr NQN’s work in the end?
What a masterpiece, Lorraine! I will definitely be attempting this one at home…it’s too gorgeous not to!
LOL I wonder if that poor guy would have preferred the footy show!
My favourite cake is black forest or carrot
This is so beautiful! The purple flowers look stunning. I’m so impressed!
My favourite cake, hmmmmm, I actually couldn’t say. I dont think I have done enough research yet
Heidi xo
Wow all I can say is you are a great friend!!!
Bravo! Your croquembouche is superb. Thanks for passing on all the tips. My favourite is the simplest – attach your baking paper to the tray with spray oil – you don’t know how much trouble I have had with bent biscuits etc when the paper slides when you put trays in the oven.
squuuuuuuuuuuuuueal – this is so very very swesome! Great job!
Wow Lorraine, this looks amazing! And the perfect wedding cake. The Second Wife is a lucky lady!
Oh WOW! Lorraine that looks amazing! I would be VERY happy if that were my wedding cake haha
Ooh and my favourite cake is the hummingbird!
Yours looks amazing. I didn’t know you sort of flatten them with a fork!
I can’t believe all of that was done in the evening with a dinner break!
And Mr NQN should definately start cooking & blogging about it – I liked his previous guest posts.
Oh my heavens, that one at the top is beautiful beautiful beautiful! Though the ones you guys made are pretty impressive, too. Definitely Masterchef-worthy
wow they are beautiful!
Awesome Lorraine. I love the tips about chilling the choux before piping and cross hatching with beaten egg covered fork. I remember making a montster batch of choux when I was an apprentice and the 10th egg was bad – I just cried…..had to start all over again! (boy did my arms hurt!)
I must admit I’m particularly partial to all Norwegian cakes and pastries – especially with almonds and cardomom.
The norwegian equivalent of the croq is called Kransekakke and is stacked, baked rings of sweet almond pastry, decorated with royal icing and mini flags. That would be a great challenge for you!
I have made croquembouche before but this has given me hints to make it easier next time.
Lorraine!! that is absolutely stunning!!! well done! … I remember when i “attempted” to make one O.o and those sugar burns are just a killer aren’t they?!
Your croquembouche looks perfect, no wonder you didn’t want to let go of it!
Oh I’m so impressed! It looks absolutely fab hun you both did so well
I must say my favourite cake is probably cheesecake. Although choc mud gives it a good run for its money
What a beautiful effort, Lorraine – well done!
I still bear nasty scars from sugar burns after making some honey buns for the kids after school. They sure did hurt like crazy!!
Fantastic Lorraine and thanks for all the tips! I love all the photos you provide too. My favourite cake is probably the gluten free orange/almond cake
What a great place. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the lesson, I would just want to look around make sure people don’t see me drool. What fun!
CONGRATS! WHAT an accomplishment, TRUE!
You must feel “chuffed” that you ACTUALLY did do!
Thank you for sharing step by step, always enjoy to see!
Put your hand up if you want to make one of these? ME!!!
Lorraine your croquembouche is so pretty. Love how you took Mr NQN along and you both had fun. Thanks for the little tips you passed on.
Super impressive Lorraine, I’m a big old fan of the croquembouche. One of my apprentices is hugely into spun sugar & I love watching her play with it.
That looks like so much fun – the wedding cake is sure to be a success
Amazing job, your friend is so lucky to have you to make this! One day I plan on mastering choux pastry… one day lol.
*kisses* HH
Lorraine that is fantastic – thanks for posting. I am definitely going to buy the foam cone – was going to buy aluminium one but this seems like a great idea!! Definitely going to make this one as my tower last year (free hand) ended up looking very wonky – but tasted delicious all the same!! Do it for the wedding – you can definitely handle it plus you have the perfect sous chef now!!
Oh My! That looks like so much fun! I have always wanted to make one. Must give it a go sometime soon. Yours is just so pretty, I would have become attached to it too
Just gorgeous, and it looks like it was so much fun! I love croquembouches — they always turn out so pretty.
OMG Lorraine, Every time I visit your blog, it is more delicious than ever. I would totaly love one of these, especially with the spun sugar. They look too beautiful to eat.
Also … I never thought I’d read about penis-shaped buns on your blog, so thanks for the laugh!
What a challenge Lorraine ….. umm i would say that old fashioned italian continental cake if my fave … oh the chocolate and vanilla custard is just too divine … like i said is old fashion … but oh so good
Lorraine, your croquembouche is beautiful beyond words! How sneaky- now that you have Mr NQN on board, he will have to help you with your friend’s wedding croquembouche, won’t he?
And your friend is so lucky to have you make her wedding cake!
oh yours is just gorgeous! you really do have the best job in the world! I still want to do the macarons class and now there is this one!
and your teacher is a bit of a honey too – can’t believe no one else has commented on that fact
Thanks for sharing! Those are fabulous. Yours is amazingly beautiful.
Cheers,
Rosa
Beautiful!! And thank you so much for sharing these steps with us. Making one of these scary babies is on my list of masochistic things to do, so I’m sure I’ll be returning to this post soon enough
maaaaan you’re so crazy brave for doing that!!! it looks awesome though…let us know what you decide to make!
I think I still odn’t ‘get’ these things! oh well!
What an honour to be asked to make your friends cake.
My sister had one of these for her wedding and I remember having to crouch in the back of the delivery van hanging on to it like grim death around every corner. It was huge and a bit wobbly. By the time we got to the reception I was sticky all over from having to hug the darn thing!
That’s absolutely stunning! Well done! And of course you can make it for her wedding, you’re so talanted!
Cupcakes of course! Wowzers Lorriane that is amazing, well done
I must say, this was a fascinating read, Lorraine! And your croquembouche is the best of the lot…very professional and what fun Mr.NQN was there with you!
I made one years ago but it sure didn’t look like yours! I loved the tip about pressing down the tips on the choux batter….
OMG, dis is super cool and pretty!!!
Fabulous and soooo pretty!! Great work on both your parts!!
Your friend is one lucky lady to have you make her wedding cake. It will be gorgeous I’m sure. Nice tips on the flattening and custard
xoxo Mum
wow, impressive job Lorraine! how tall was your finished croquembouche?
and favourite cake… how is one supposed to choose?
Awesome! I think your friend will be a very happy bride!
So gorgeous. Now, did Mr. NQN’s co-workers eat it? Making a croquembouche is on my bucket list. So far, I have the spelling down.
Oh my goodness – gorgeous! You are a very good friend and I think the couple will be oh so happy with this – much better I think than Halloween themed
Wow your croquembouche is beautiful. I did the ‘dinner party desserts’ cooking lesson at Patisse 2 years ago. It was awesome. I want to go back for another lesson.
Gorgeous! I would have cleaned out my fridge in a heartbeat for that croquembouche
you make it look way too easy! top work and how lucky is your friend!
I love the step-by-step photos and instructions and what a gorgeous result!
Exquisite! I bet Mr NQN is popular with his workmates
What a great idea to do it with a spouse. I bet that would be a fun time. I’m going to have to talk my husband into doing something like that. I’m sure he’d go grudgingly, but then admit it was a blast afterward. You know how men are.
I wouldn’t dare attempt that in a million years!
Remarkable! I really wanted to make this for Daring Baker’s the other month and I remember yours was one of my favourites back then. Having just made a very simple slicing cake and 100 cupcakes for a wedding I do not want to even think about the prospect of making someone a croquembouche… but it might make me very rich if I could do it well!
Oh wow – that looks fantastic. It reminds me of that challenge on Masterchef Australia where they had to make this, and how they all ended up burning their fingers!
Your croquembouche looks great, well done you on making such a beautiful one! You’ll have to let us know if you do end up making it for the wedding…
Oh my god, that is amazing! I would absolutely just eat the spun sugar, that stuff is fabulous. Nice work – I’d be extermely impressed to have that as a wedding cake!
it’s beautiful lorraine! and i’m sure, also very delicious. you have one lucky friend!
You and your husband made up such a BEAUTIFUL croquembouche! I would not want anyone to eat it:) I’m sure it’s DELICIOUS! What a fun class! I wish there were some fun pastry/baking classes around here.
Your friend really is very, very lucky!!!!! (she said, feeling all warm and gooey inside). What a glorious creation! Love you longtime NQN. You are the best!
Always hit and miss with my choux pastries – might have to give it another go and actually construct my own croquembouche next time! Have looked at the Patisse courses and wanted to do one, just never really had the chance to book myself in yet.
Congratulations Lorraine that looks amazing !
Definitely sounds like the perfect wedding cake, can I ask you to make mine at my wedding too? =)
wow, I have never known that we can fridge the choux batter before piping ! Thanks
Wow Lorraine, your croquembouche looks amazing,one of the best I saw.I like any cake can’t really pick whick one.
Oh, it’s so beautiful! I love the purple contrasts against the toffee brown caramel and pastry. Tres elegant!
That looks fantastic!! Well done
Your one looks amazing Lorraine. You did an amazing job. When I went to Patisse for the French Classics class we made a tiny croquembouche, it was a great course though and lovely staff.
Make me one? My stomach just exploded – literally – and I demand you make me one of these and personally deliver it to make me feel better.
On a bike.
Heh.
(actually I would just settle for the creme pat… ommmm nommm nommm)
Mister wants a home made Croquembouche for his birthday.
WOW…..that’s a beautiful Croquembouche, I’ve always had a soft spot for them
I love St.Honore which are made from choux pastry as well.
What an amazing experience!
SSG xxx
I was the guy who attended this class as a present from my girlfriend. It was fantastic and I have tried another one since then. This recipe is great. Suggest all give it a try
Wow that is a beautiful croquembouche. Mr NQN sure is sweet to go along with you on all your classes
Hi Lorraine, wow amazing croquembouche! I like saying the word croquembouche, it’s really cool!
Just one question for Creme Pat – I am wondering if the milk should come in powder form or is it supposed to regular milk? The recipe calls for 1000g, is that 1000 gram? If so, then how about the liquid to make the powder milk liquid?
well, i certainly don’t anticipate making a croquembouche any time soon, but it’s good to know the method. also, i need to find a chef to marry, and if he’s easy on the eyes, well, all the better.
Hi this is the first time i came across your website, wow.. amzing description i felt like i was in the class, u know i have read so many books to do cromquembouche, bu now after seeing your blog i know all the knots to get it right, thankyou.. heaps..
Lorraine, I don’t think I commented at the time but your beautiful croquembouche and the explanation in this post inspired me to make a choux tower of my own! Thank you
http://whiskandwhimsy.blogspot.com/2010/10/towering-achievement-my-croquembouche.html
Girl – I am SO jealous! I have made croquembouche before, but to be hand held by a master? NICE! And your finished product was incredible! I have you bookmarked so that I can refer back to this post again and again – you did such a great job with the step by steps that it feels like I was there! Thanks!
I just received this class as a birthday gift from a friend and had such a good time making something that I used to think was incredibly difficult. I was surprised at just how do-able it actually is! Chef Vincent was great giving lots of tips and showing us the right way to do things. Did you know you can freeze unfilled choux balls for up to 2 months and refresh in the oven before using, and the creme pat can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to 7 days. So just make caramel and assemble on the day! I left feeling very proud of myself. By the way, the Grand Marnier in the creme patissiere is AMAZING!!!
What a wonderful blog post you’ve got here! Not only is the recipe so flawless-ly great, I love how you’ve explained the intricacies of making a croquembouche! I’ve never attempted making anything so finesse as this french delicacy, but thanks to you I easily made a pur-fect croquembouche in my very first try! Hope to see more of your recipe’s!
Here’s how it looked like
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/296985_10150341012004265_505374264_7850127_297746694_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/315708_10150341016514265_505374264_7850140_857351975_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/294497_10150341019264265_505374264_7850145_43569715_n.jpg
how do i get myself into croquembouche class? how many days does it go for and what is the cost please…
hey there
Thanks for this detailed post. although I make the croquembouche very often I took couple advices myself.I also mentioned you in my post.Take a look… http://loveaffair29.blogspot.com/2012/05/croquembouche.html
Greetings,
Mirela
I love croquembouche, reminds me of special occasions at home. We have this cake for wedding, christening, communion, anniversary etc. In France we refer to it mainly as “Piece montee”. I’m thinking of having one at my upcoming engagement party and looking for a supplier in Brisbane. Any recommendation?
Hi! This was really helpful. Could you please tell me if its tricky/difficult to get the mould out?
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