Description
A delightful recipe for a classic French dessert, the Caramel Cream Croquembouche Tower, featuring cream-filled choux puffs stacked into a cone and bonded with caramel.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- Pinch of salt
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 cup sugar (for caramel)
- ¼ cup water (for caramel)
- 1 tbsp corn syrup (optional, for caramel)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream (for decorations)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (for decorations)
- 1 tsp vanilla (for decorations)
- Optional: gold sprinkles or decorative pearls
- Optional: chocolate square (for topping)
- Optional: powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F / 200°C. In a saucepan, heat water, butter, and salt until boiling. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook on low until mixture forms a ball and pulls from sides (1–2 min). Cool for 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until smooth, shiny, pipeable dough forms. Pipe small rounds onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 400°F / 200°C, then reduce to 350°F / 180°C and bake for 15 more minutes. Let cool completely.
- Heat milk until steaming. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Slowly add hot milk while whisking. Return to pot and cook until thick. Stir in vanilla and butter. Chill completely. Optional: Fold in whipped cream for a fluffier Diplomat cream.
- Pipe pastry cream into each puff through the bottom or side. Keep chilled until assembly.
- Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup in a saucepan. Simmer on medium heat without stirring until deep amber golden. Remove from heat immediately.
- Dip the tops of each puff quickly into caramel and place aside to set. You can also dip the sides to help them glue together when stacking.
- Assemble the tower by arranging puffs in a freestyle pyramid or around a cone form. Place a circle of puffs on the plate, add a second layer on top, slightly inward, and add swirls of whipped cream between layers for height and stability. Continue stacking 4–5 layers and top with a swirl of cream and a chocolate square.
- Whip heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Pipe generous rosettes between caramel puffs and decorate with gold sprinkles.
- Dust with powdered sugar, add a chocolate square on top, and serve immediately or refrigerate for 1 hour. Croquembouche is best eaten the same day for crisp caramel and soft cream.
Notes
- Best served the same day for optimal texture.
- Use a cone form for easier assembly.
- Whipped cream can be folded into pastry cream for extra fluffiness.
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking and Assembly
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 10g
- Sodium: 50mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 20g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 70mg