Croquembouche with Crème Patissiere filling

Choux Pastry for Profiteroles 

Ingredients

250 ml water

75 g butter

150 g flour

approximately 3½ eggs

Method

• Bring the water and the butter to a rolling boil.
• Remove from the heat, add the flour and stir vigorously until all the flour is
• Return to the heat for about a minute, beating continuously.
• Remove from the heat and whisk until cool.
• Once cool, add the eggs slowly, beating until a glossy texture is formed. All the eggs may not be
• Pipe the pastry to the desired shape.
• Bake in a hot oven at 200 °C until golden brown. (Sprinkle a bit of water on the tray before it
  goes in; this will produce steam and aid in the rising process.)

Crème Patissiere Recipe

Makes roughly 700 ml

Ingredients

360 ml milk

113 g sugar

4 egg-yolks

55 g flour

1 vanilla pod

1 ml vanilla essence

15 ml cream

Method

In a saucepan, bring the milk to the boil with the vanilla pod and the vanilla essence.

Mix the yolks, the flour and the sugar.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add some of the hot liquid to the yolk mixture to temper.

Return the saucepan to the heat and cook until the mixture starts thickening. Add the cream and continue cooking until thick and until the flour is cooked out.

If the mixture still tastes floury, add extra milk and continue cooking until thick.

Sprinkle with castor-sugar to prevent a skin from forming.

To assemble

Use the bottom of a wooden skewer to create an opening in the bottom of the profiterole, just big enough for a piping tip to be inserted.

Fill a piping bag fitting with a small round tip with the crème patisserie. Gently fill the profiterole with the crème patisserie.

Working quickly, dip the profiteroles into the caramel and arrange on a serving platter in a circular pattern.

Continue to stack caramel-dipped profiteroles in a tower shape.

Once the tower is completed, dip a fork into the caramel sauce and drizzle it round the tower.