Croquembouche

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 185 g flour
• 100 g butter
• 6 eggs, whisked
• 1 kg sugar
• 500 ml milk
• 1 vanilla pod(s)
• 3 egg yolks
• 60 g sugar
• 2 tbsp flour
• 60 ml Grand Marnier
• 375 ml cream

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

with caramel threads

Preheat the oven to 210°C. Sift the flour three times. Bring the butter and 375ml water to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a clean bowl and let cool slightly. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, and beat thoroughly. The dough should be glossy and firm enough to stand upright with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle three baking sheets with water. Place the dough into eight balls of about 2 tablespoons each, spaced well apart on the baking sheets. Shape the remaining dough into smaller balls of varying sizes (the smallest should be 1 teaspoon of dough) and place them on the baking sheets. Sprinkle the balls with a little water and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Remove the finished profiteroles from the oven and pierce a hole in each base. Reduce the temperature to 180°C and leave to dry in the oven for a further 5 minutes. Heat the milk with the vanilla pod almost to boiling point. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and flour until light and stiff. Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Transfer the mixture to a clean saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously. Remove from the heat and stir in the liqueur. Remove the vanilla pod, cover the pudding surface with cling film, and allow to cool completely. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form and fold in the pudding. Transfer the cream to a piping bag fitted with a fine nozzle and pipe into the profiteroles through the small hole in the base. Dissolve 500g of sugar in 250ml of water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Simmer without stirring until the caramel turns golden brown. But be careful: the caramel burns very easily! Stack the profiteroles into a cone-shaped tower. To do this, first dip the bottoms of the large profiteroles into the caramel mixture and arrange them next to each other in a large circle. Place the next smaller profiteroles on top in your slightly smaller circle, and so on. The inside of the cone remains hollow. Process the remaining sugar into caramel as before. Dip two forks into the liquid caramel. Rub the backs of the forks together until the caramel begins to stick. Then carefully pull them apart to form fine threads. If drops form, the caramel mixture is still too hot and needs to cool slightly. Stretch the pulled caramel threads crisscross over the profiteroles, bringing the backs of the forks together again and again. Dip the forks again and repeat the process until the croquembouche is surrounded by a fine network of caramel threads. TIP: The profiteroles can be prepared a few days in advance, baked, and stored in an airtight container. The custard cream can also be prepared one or two days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Croquembouche (“crunchy in the mouth”) is a French specialty and is often served at weddings and First Communions.