Irresistibly puffed choux pastry filled with 2 luscious creme patisserie flavours, orange liqueur, and rich dark chocolate. With a toffee-crusted exterior, they are assembled in a wondrous golden tower and finished with a swirl of spun sugar.
CHOUX PASTRY INGREDIENTS
660g (23.28oz) water
12g (0.42oz) caster (superfine) sugar
12g (0.42oz) salt 260g (9.17oz) unsalted butter
400g (14.11oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
525g (18.52oz) whole eggs
EQUIPMENT
stand
mixer
whisk
spatula
disposable piping bag
choux pastry tip
aluminium
baking tray
Silpat Macaron Mat (optional)
Heat the oven to 170°C (338°F), fan forced. Method Place the water, sugar, salt and butter into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, add the flour and stir to create a paste. Return to the heat and continuously mix until the dough develops an oily sheen on the surface. Transfer into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Whisk the eggs slightly to break them up and transfer into a jug. While mixing on medium-low speed, slowly add the egg to the dough, allowing it to completely incorporate after each addition. Test the mixture intermittently as demonstrated in the video to ensure you reach the correct consistency. Transfer the choux mixture into a piping bag fitted with a choux pastry tip. Pipe rosettes of choux pastry onto a baking tray lined with a Macaron mat as demon- strated in the video. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 12 minutes before reducing the temperature to 150°C (302°F) and bake for a further 15 minutes, or until golden-brown in colour. Turn the oven off and allow the choux to dry out in the oven. Notes • This recipe will make 150-160 profiteroles. • You may not need to add the entire amount of egg.
• If you do not have a macaron mat, use a whiteboard marker to draw circles, approximately 30mm in diameter, onto your baking tray before lining it. • Don’t pipe the choux pastry and leave it on the tray without putting it in the oven. If you do not have enough space in your oven to bake all the choux at the same time, only pipe what you can bake and leave the remaining choux in the piping bag until you are ready to put the next lot into the oven.
CREME PATISSIERE INGREDIENTS
1400g (49.38oz) full cream (whole) milk
10g (0.35oz) Heilala Vanilla Bean Paste
110g (3.88oz) cornflour (corn starch)
380g (13.4oz) caster (superfine) sugar
280g (9.88oz) egg yolks 250g (8.82oz) unsalted butter, room tempera- ture and cubed 50g (1.76oz) Callebaut Mycryo Cocoa Butter
50g (1.76oz) orange liqueur (optional)
300g (10.58oz) Callebaut 811 Dark Couverture 54.5%
EQUIPMENT
whisk
spatula
stick
blender
Method Place the milk and vanilla into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, place the corn starch and sugar into a bowl and whisk by hand to combine. Add the egg yolks and whisk to create a slurry. Gradually pour the hot milk over the slurry and whisk to combine. Return to the saucepan and whisk continuously over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Once boiling, continue to whisk for a further minute. Transfer the creme patissier into a bowl and add the butter, one piece at a time, while emulsifying with a stick blender. Transfer approximately half of the creme patissier into another bowl. Add the chocolate to one bowl and whisk by hand until completely melted and combined. Add the cocoa butter to the other bowl and whisk to incorporate, followed by the orange liqueur. Cover both bowls with plastic wrap touching the surface and allow to cool at room temperature before placing into the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours.
TOFFEE
INGREDIENTS
1200g (42.33oz) water
3000g (105.82oz) caster (superfine) sugar
600g (21.16oz) liquid glucose
EQUIPMENT spatula thermometer
NOTE Do not reheat the toffee if it has set to the point of forming a crust on the top layer.
METHOD Use a small serrated edged knife in a twisting motion to cut a small hole in the bottom of each profiterole, ensuring the hole is large enough to fit an 8mm piping tube. To control the colour of the toffee and to avoid wastage, create the toffee in batches of 300g (10.58oz) water 750g (26.46oz) caster (superfine sugar) 150g (5.29oz) liquid glucose The various batches of toffee will be used to coat the profiteroles and assemble the croquembouche. Fill a bowl, large enough to submerge the base of the saucepan into, with cold water and ice. Create the first batch of toffee by heating the water and sugar into a large saucepan. Once boiling, add the glucose and bring to 170°C (338°F) before removing from the heat and immediately dipping the base of the saucepan into the ice water for a few seconds. Allow the bubbles in the toffee to dissipate, then carefully dip each profiterole in the toffee before transferring onto a sheet of baking paper as demonstrated in the video. The toffee can be gently heated if it begins to thicken, just ensure it does not burn. Continue dipping the profiteroles and create new batches of toffee as required. Assemble immediately.
ASSEMBLY
EQUIPMENT
disposable piping bag
8mm plain piping tube
spatula cake board, 180mm diameter
Method Transfer the prepared orange liqueur and chocolate creme patissier into separate piping bags fitted with 8mm plain piping tubes. Fill half of the profiteroles with the orange liqueur creme patissier and half with the chocolate creme patissier. Use a cake board or plate as a guide on where to position the first row of profiteroles. Dip each filled profiterole in toffee and use it to adhere it to the serving plate or other profiteroles. Build the croquembouche by insetting each new row of profiteroles by approximately 3-4mm, as demonstrated in the video. If finishing with spun sugar, create it immediately.
SPUN SUGAR
Transfer the prepared orange liqueur and chocolate creme patissier into separate piping bags fitted with 8mm plain piping tubes. Fill half of the profiteroles with the orange liqueur creme patissier and half with the chocolate creme patissier. Use a cake board or plate as a guide on where to position the first row of profiteroles. Dip each filled profiterole in toffee and use it to adhere it to the serving plate or other profiteroles. Build the croquembouche by insetting each new row of profiteroles by approximately 3-4mm, as demonstrated in the video. If finishing with spun sugar, create it immediately
