Croquembouche

Ever since the first season of the great British bake off my family have been nagging me to make a croquembouche. However I never found an occasion fitting for such an elaborate pud nor have we ever had space in the fridge to house it!

But, when my sister and her boyfriend were due to return home from their around the world adventure I had the event I had been waiting for!

I've often heard choux pastry labelled as the most difficult to make but I have to say it is the pastry I have always had the most consistent results with and find that it is actually fairly simple.

First things first, don't waste any money buying a mould - it's really not needed. If you don't feel confident in making a structure without a mould you can use things you already have if you are happy to vear away from the striking pyramid shape. Ed Kimber, in his book patisserie made simple suggests using a Pyrex bowl as a mould to make a domed version  instead, which is also more likely to fit in your fridge! Just remember to cover in it in clingfilm before assembling as this will help when removing the bowl.

There is lots of scope for experimenting with differnt flavour fillings for your profiteroles. I used the same lemon and white chocolate filling throughout but if making it again I would be tempted to make a variety of fillings so that it's a surprise when you bite into it which one you're going to get - this would also be a  good game to taste your family, friends or dinner guests as to whether they can identify the differnt flavours.

I would start by making the custard for your filling as this needs to chill for at least 1 hour before you fold in the cream and additional flavours. If you make this first then as soon as your profiteroles are cooked and cooled you can fill and construct rather than then having to wait for the custard to chill.

Right, time to get baking!

You will need:

For the choux pastry (makes 96 profiteroles):

• 220g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 350ml water
• 125g unsalted butter
• 6 eggs

For the filling:

• 4 egg yolks
• 125g caster sugar
• 50g plain flour
• zest of 1 lemon
• 250ml whole milk
• 150g white chocolate
• 250ml whipped double cream

You can add a small amount (1 tablespoon) of lemon or orange liqueur - I didn't bother as we didn't have any at home and I wasn't prepared to buy a bottle just for a small amount. I wasn't able to try this as it has chocolate in it and I have given it up for a year (hurry up July 2015!) but my family didn't think the filling needed anything extra and liked it just the way I made it.

For the spun sugar:

• 400g caster sugar
• 250ml water

To make the filling:

• whisk the egg yolks, sugar, flour, lemon zest and a third of the milk until smooth.
• Heat the remaining milk until almost boiling then poor into the egg mixture whisking constantly.
• Put the entire mixture in a pan to cook whisking until it boils and thickens, simmer for a minute to cook of the flour.
• Cool until lukewarm.
• Melt the white chocolate and cool until lukewarm, then whisk the chocolate and the egg mixture together. At this point if you wanted to you would add the liqueur.
• Put the mixture in a bowl to chill with a layer of clingfilm on the surface to stop any skins forming. 
• Chill for at least one hour.
• When you're ready to fill your profiteroles you would need to fold the whipped cream into your chilled mixture.

To make the choux pastry:

Sift the flour onto greaseproof paper

• Melt the butter into the water in a pan - use a medium sized pan as you will need room to add your other ingredients.
• When the water and butter are combined quickly bring to the boil and put the flour in all in one go. Some recipes recommend sifting the flour onto greaseproof paper before tipping it in. I sometimes do this and have to say I haven't noticed a great deal of difference in my bakes when I do and when I don't so I'm not sure it's entirely necessary.

• When the flour is added take to off the heat and beat with a wooden spoon until combined - return to the heat and cook of the flour, beating continuously until your mixture forms a smooth glossy ball. 
• Tip your pastry into a bowl and allow to cool almost completely before using an electric whisk to mix in the eggs, a little at a time. You may not need to add all of the eggs, you need just enough that with a small shake your pastry will fall off a metal spoon - add to much and your pastry won't hold its shape!
• Pipe out your pastry to the desired size onto lined baking trays and bake at 200c until golden brown.

Leave space for the pastry to puff up

• Open the oven door quickly to let out any steam and continue to bake for another 5 minutes- this dries out the inside of your profiteroles. 
• Remove from the oven and using a sharp knife make a little hole in each profiterole and return to the oven for a final 5 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Now its time to assemble! I found the filling a little difficult to pipe at first until it warmed up a little and loosened up. I have a special nozzle for my piping bag for filling profiteroles which was only a couple of pounds but is definitely worth it. If you haven't got one you can always cut your profiteroles in half and spoon in the mixture and stick the top back on. The overall look will be a little more rustic but it will taste just as good.

You will need to make some caramelised sugar to use as cement for the croquembouche. It's tricky to get right and I had three attempts before I got it just right. 

To make the caramelised sugar:

Dissolve the sugar and water together - DO NOT STIR IT!!! The syrup will become clear, as it boils it will start to change colour - keep going until its the colour you want, a nice light brown colour is just right. Carefully, one at a time dip your filled profiteroles into the sugar and start to construct a pyramid structure onto a cake board. Be really careful doing this - the sugar will be very very hot! If the sugar in your pan starts to stiffen you can pop it back on the heat to loosen it again - but don't stir it! I have a sugar thermometer, but you can tell its ready by its colour. I got my thermometer for Christmas so just wanted to use it! 

I added a final flourish by using a fork to spin some sugar - just dip a fork in to your sugar and move it fairly quickly in circular motions around your croquembouche to creature thin sugar strands. I also stuck on some shop bought sugar flowers just to add a little colour. You could experiment with caramelised nuts such as almonds instead.

And that's all there is too it - a perfect sharing dessert that not only tastes scummy but is a fitting centre piece to any big celebration.

Definitely something I will make again!

The finished result!