Croquembouche (Cream Puff Tower)

Method

1. To make the Croquembouche, start with the cream puffs: put the butter, cut into small pieces, and the water in a nonstick saucepan, then cook over medium heat. When the mixture starts to boil, remove it from the heat and add the flour and sugar, then stir with a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients. Return the pan to the heat and stir until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the saucepan and forms a sort of white film.
   
2. Now remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then add one egg and stir to incorporate it completely into the mixture. Continue the same way, adding one egg at a time and taking care not to add the next until the previous one is fully incorporated. When all the eggs are in, stir until the mixture starts to firm up, then transfer it to a pastry bag with a plain tip.
   
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pipe your cream puffs, making sure they are all more or less the same size and spaced well apart. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 °C (400 °F) for about 20 minutes, then take them out and let them cool.
   

   
4. While the cream puffs bake, make the filling: split the vanilla bean and bring it to a simmer with the milk in a small nonstick saucepan, then turn off the heat and let it cool until lukewarm. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the flour and mix until it is incorporated into the other ingredients, then slowly pour in the now-lukewarm milk.
5. Pour everything into a nonstick pan and cook until you have a thick cream, stirring constantly to keep lumps from forming. Turn off the heat, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface, and let cool completely. In another bowl, whip the cream, then add it to the cold pastry cream. Fold gently from the bottom up with a spatula until you have the diplomat cream. Put the cream in a pastry bag with a plain tip and fill all the cream puffs.
   
6. To make the chocolate coating, put the cream and the chocolate, broken into pieces, in a small nonstick saucepan, then cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is smooth. At this point, turn off the heat and let cool. When the mixture is lukewarm, dip the cream puffs one at a time into the chocolate coating until they are half covered, then arrange them on one (or more) trays. When they are all coated, put them in the refrigerator to rest for about half an hour.
   
7. After the resting time, take the cream puffs and stack them on a serving plate to form a pyramid. Make the caramel by melting the sugar with the water in a small nonstick saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick and amber-colored. Remove the saucepan from the heat and dip the tip of a wooden spoon into it, then pass it over the cream puff tower to form the decoration. Wait for the caramel to set, then serve the Croquembouche. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!