So, this is my first Daring Bakers' Challenge. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but trying to find time to devote to this with a baby is next to impossible. We don't do deadlines anymore. We always "try" to make it somewhere. We don't know if we're going to be there until we are actually out the door and in the car, but sometimes that doesn't necessarily mean we'll make it there either. We'll see you when we see you. Ya know?
But! Success of all successes. I completed this, with time to spare. It helped that we worked on pate a choux in culinary school for a very. long. time. I love choux. It's such an easy dough. There is no folding and turning and folding and turning. You cook it on the stove top, you add some eggs, and then you pipe it. And then you bake it.
This particular piece montée, or mounted piece, is a croquembouche, which we were taught means "crack in the jaw", or alternatively, "crunch in the mouth". This crack refers to the hard caramel glaze that glues the individual choux pastries together. Each individual choux ball is filled with your choice of flavors, and in my case, vanilla, coffee, and chocolate pastry cream. I didn't stray from the suggested filling flavors this time around, because they all just sounded so good and right to me.
The croquembouche is traditionally a wedding cake, but as delicious as this is, I'll stick to regular cake with buttercream frosting, thanks.
My overall thoughts on this process:
- I'm used to using the mixer for adding the eggs to the cooked dough, so I got a good arm workout from using a wooden spoon this time around. It is nice to not be so lazy once in awhile. But I'm also used to making much larger batches - adding only four eggs for a recipe? I can do that with a spoon. Adding a dozen or more eggs? No way. Bring me my stand mixer.
- I feel like the dough, when making it, could have benefited from one more egg. I learned to use a range of eggs for this dough, because as precise as pastry can be in some aspects, sometimes you really just have to have a good feel for something. Like learning to use a clutch in your car. Or to keep with the pastry references, boiling sugar...you don't need a thermometer, if you learn how to watch the bubbles during the process. Anyways, I digress. I like to look the hook and trench - the dough should fall over slightly off of your spoon or beater, and if you run your finger through the dough, it should fill the trench in a matter of seconds.
- Once baked, the choux was a little flatter than I'm used to. Perhaps it was from needing another egg? I don't know. I'll have to do some research on that one. But, they still puffed, and tasted just as they should.
- Make sure the choux is a uniform color - there shouldn't be white cracks. If so, it's not ready. But don't overbake them either! Too crunchy and burned is just not appetizing.
¾ cup (175 ml.) water
6 Tbsp. (85 g.) unsalted butter
¼ Tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup (125 g.) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
For Egg Wash: 1 egg and pinch of salt
Pre-heat oven to 425◦F/220◦C degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Preparing batter:
- Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.
- Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.
- Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny.
- As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes.
- It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.
Piping:
- Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide.
- Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.
- Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).
Baking:
- Bake the choux at 425◦F/220◦C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.
- Lower the temperature to 350◦F/180◦C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.
Pastry Cream (from Martha Stewart) I like this one, it's simple and easy. So I just stuck with it instead of trying a new one.
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
Pinch of salt
4 large eggs
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Procedure:
- In a medium saucepan, combine milk, 1/4 cup sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, and salt. Cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour about 1/2 cup of the hot-milk mixture into the egg-yolk mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, until it has been incorporated. Pour mixture back into saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 minutes. Remove and discard vanilla bean.
- Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter, and beat on medium speed until the butter melts and the mixture cools, about 5 minutes.
- Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Just before using, beat on low speed until smooth (you can also whisk by hand).
For chocolate pastry cream: Bring ¼ cup (about 50 cl.) milk to a boil in a small pan; remove from heat and add in 3 ounces (about 80 g.) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, and mix until smooth. Whisk into pastry cream when you add the butter and vanilla. (I cheated on this...I just threw the chocolate chips right into the blazing hot pastry cream and let them melt before stirring.)
Hard Caramel Glaze:
1 cup (225 g.) sugar
½ teaspoon lemon juice
Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan with a metal kitchen spoon stirring until the sugar resembles wet sand. Place on medium heat; heat without stirring until sugar starts to melt around the sides of the pan and the center begins to smoke. Begin to stir sugar. Continue heating, stirring occasionally until the sugar is a clear, amber color. Remove from heat immediately; place bottom of pan in ice water to stop the cooking. Use immediately.
Assembly:
Practicing before gluing the pieces together is highly recommended, although I usually just wing it. I did separate the parts into groups though, dividing by number of choux per level, which roughly resulted in 7 choux for the bottom ring, and then 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 up to the tippy-top.
I dipped all of the tops of the choux in the glaze first, and let that harden. Some of them went straight from the glaze into the sparkling sugar and then set aside to cool and harden. Once all parts were decorated, I then started the assembly. Dip each choux, one at a time, into the hot caramel glaze and place on your base. Each choux should be connected both to the base and to the choux right next to it. Once a layer is complete, repeat, but nestling them in between the choux on the layer below. Make sense? Just try it...you'll understand. You may have to keep reheating (watch it though...you don't want it to burn!) the caramel if it becomes too cool before you finish your piece.
Feel free to decorate however you wish. I did a drizzled caramel glaze design, and propped it on top. Then I decided that it looked like an abstract pineapple and did away with the design. Sometimes simple is best.
