FOOD NEWS
Croquembouche Is The Decorative French Treat For When You're Tired Of Cake
BY NIKITA EPHANOV
While cakes are a tasty dessert, their rich, dense, and sweet consistency is not for everyone. If you're not a fan, look to France for inspiration and craft a croquembouche.
This dessert is made of caramel-dipped cream puffs formed into a pyramid. It creates a crunchy and creamy contrast of textures, hence its name, which means "crunch in the mouth."
Traditionally consumed for weddings, this pastry dates back centuries, with early forms emerging in the 16th century. Back then, it was only enjoyed by royalty and aristocrats.
The cone shape only took hold later, sometime in the 20th century. All the while, croquembouches continued as an all-out, go-to sweet for festive events, especially weddings.
To make the dessert, craft cream puffs from choux pastry, which is made on the stovetop with butter, flour, sugar, and water. Then, add eggs before piping them into spheres.
Bake the puffs for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F, then 35 minutes at 375 degrees F. Fill each puff with a pastry cream, then dip them in caramel and drizzle with sugar syrup.
The cone structure is then achieved using a rolled parchment sheet. There are many croquembouche deviations, as the cream and drizzle are often modified.