Croquembouche
MasterChef New Zealand - Croquembouche
Recipe by MasterChef kitchen
Serves 20-30 people
Preparation time: 3 hours
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
Custard
1.3 litres milk
3 vanilla pods
320g egg yolks
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup cornflour
125g unsalted butter, chopped
Choux pastry
400g unsalted butter, chopped
955ml water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
3 1/2 cups plain flour, sifted
16 eggs
Caramel
400ml water
6 cups sugar
500ml glucose
white sugar crystals for dipping
fresh raspberries for serving
1. To make the custard, split the vanilla pods in half
lengthwise and place them with the milk in a saucepan over a low
heat. Bring it gently to the boil, then remove from the heat. Take
out the vanilla pods.
2. Beat the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a bowl until
thick, and gradually whisk in the milk. Heat the mixture over a
medium heat. Stir until the custard gets thick. Put it in a bowl,
add the butter and then leave the custard to cool. Put it in the
fridge while you make the choux pastry.
3. Preheat the oven to 210 C.
4. To make the choux pastry, first grease the oven trays.
Place the butter, water, sugar and salt into a large saucepan and
bring the mixture to the boil. Remove from the heat and quickly
beat in the flour. Continue beating the mixture over a low heat
until it pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cook for a further
minute over a low heat.
5. Beat the pastry with a mixer. Gradually add the eggs, one
at a time. Beat well until the mixture is smooth and thick.
6. Using a piping bag, put rounds of the mixture onto oven
trays, spacing them well apart. Bake for approximately 30 minutes,
or until they are hollow-sounding when you tap them. Leave them to
cool.
7. Use a piping bag to fill each puff, through its base, with
custard.
8. To make the caramel, combine water and sugar in a saucepan
and bring to the boil. Add the glucose and cook until the mixture
is amber in colour. Remove from the heat and place on a cool
surface to stop it cooking.
9. To make a base for your croquembouche, grease a large
frying pan and pour in enough caramel to cover the base of the pan.
Leave it to cool.
10. Line a baking tray with baking paper. When you're ready to
assemble the croquembouche, dip the bases of about one-quarter of
the puffs in the caramel, coating them well. Pour the sugar
crystals into a bowl and dip the puffs in to coat them. Allow to
set.
11. To assemble, lightly brush the inside of the croquembouche
cone with oil. Dip the sides of the rest of the puffs in the
caramel one at a time and place inside the cone. Begin by dividing
the cone into quarters and placing the puffs in lines starting from
the top and working down to the base. Continue adding the balls
until the cone is covered. Use the puffs coated with sugar crystals
to create a spiral pattern around the cone.
12. Take the base of the croquembouche out of the pan. Spread
a little caramel on the base. Carefully put the cone upside down
onto the caramel base and lightly tap with a wooden spoon to gently
remove the croquembouche.
13. Gently heat the remaining caramel. Meanwhile, decorate the
croquembouche with fresh raspberries. Lay out baking paper on a
flat surface. Dip 2 forks into the caramel and spin across the
baking paper to form a thin veil. Carefully pick up the veil and
wrap around the croquembouche.
