Croquembouche with golden toffee

Story:

I didn't realized that my childhood favorite cream puff that my mom always bought for me from the our neighborhood bakery is actually "Croquembouche". I always want to make them ever since I saw my kitchen rule 2013 Australia, the friends from South Australia made a sophisticated dessert, and about 2 weeks ago my trainer/supervisor from casino was jokingly making a deal with me saying, "either you make me croquembouche or count all this chips (stack of money)", I decided not to count them as I am so tired from the long day training however thinking back, I spend 4-5 hours making croquembouche... I should have count them back then..... haha.

Anyhow this is worth while indeed, I make like 50-70 puff and distribute it to most of my friends, and it make people happy which is the reason why I bake :)

 Ingredient: (20 serve, about 50-70 puff)

Choux Buns

1 litre Water

320 Butter

1 tbsp Caster Sugar

600 (4 cups) flour

12 Eggs

Creme patisserie 

1740ml Milk

3 Vanilla beans

12 egg yolks

280g Caster sugar

200g plain flour 

Toffee: (optional)  **This amount is for 20 people serving, you may divide it by half (1/2). 

4 cups (860g) Caster Sugar 

1 1/3 cups (330 ml) Water

Silver Cachous (optional) 

Method:

Choux Bun

1. To make choux buns, preheat oven to 200C. Line two oven trays with baking paper.

2. Bring water, butter and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Using a wooden spoon, beat in flour until mixture comes together. Transfer to a medium bowl. Cool 5 minutes. Using an electric mixer, beat in eggs until mixture is smooth and glossy.

3. Spoon batter into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm round nozzle. Pipe 5cm round balls onto prepared tray, 3cm apart. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until dry and golden. Cool completely.

crème pâtissière,

1. Place milk in a saucepan over a medium heat until hot.

2. Whisk sugar, custard powder, egg yolks,  and 60ml of the hot milk in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in remaining milk.

3. Strain mixture back into a clean saucepan. Stir over medium heat until thickened. Stir in butter. Transfer to a shallow container. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until set.

4. Make a small cut in base of each choux bun. Pipe in crème pâtissière.

5. To make the toffee, stir all ingredients in a medium heavy-based saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Use a wet pastry brush to brush any stray grains on side of pan back into mixture. Bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until mixture turns golden brown.

6. Dip choux buns in toffee and arrange in a tower. Drizzle with any remaining toffee. Decorate with flowers. Dust with sifted icing suga

Toffee: (optional and professional) 

1. Combine water and sugar and cooking it at boiling point unstir for 5-10min. 

2. Switch it to medium heat and stir for 15min or until it extremely bubbly and start turning into golden yellow. 

3. Work fast,Use tongs to pick up 1 profiterole and dip the base in the toffee (if you wanna stack it up professionally).

4. When finished stack, spun the toffee around with 2 fork, stick the 2 fork together and pull it apart, it would leave a line of sticky golden toffee like spider web, spun it around the tower quickly. 

Note for toffee:

• It is extremely hot, it need a careful and fast hand to work with, and place baking paper around to protect your place.

Note for croquembouche:

• If you want make it a day before, make cream first then the puff on the day that you want to serve, because it would flatten in next few hours of not using it. 

Note for everyone and myself.

• I don't write this recipe, I re-write it from all the research notes that I collect it, took most of it from my kitchen rule website. (it is too much to write from myself with short time)