Profiteroles are a delicacy from France. This unusual word refers to light pastries filled with sweet cream, ice cream, jam, and other fillings. The resourceful French noticed that their dessert was enjoying unprecedented demand and came up with the idea of ​​a profiterole cake—an entire structure based on these very delicious pastries. This is the unusual recipe presented below.

Croquembouche

Croquembouche is a traditional French profiterole confection that has been a staple at major celebrations across the country for many years. You've probably seen it at least once: typically a tall cone of pastries with a thin filling inside. The elements are held together with a sweet sauce or caramel. The cone is decorated with caramel threads, nuts, and candied fruit.

Below is one of the simplest variations on this theme. This cake won't require too much time or effort. The key is to follow the directions carefully and keep the recipe in front of you.

French New Year's cake Croquembouche

So, to prepare the Croquembouche profiterole cake we will need:

  • 1 glass of still water;
  • 150 grams of butter;
  • 4 whole eggs;
  • 1 pinch of salt;
  • 1 cup flour;
  • 2 cans of boiled condensed milk;
  • 1 liter of confectionery cream;
  • 1 bar of high cocoa chocolate.

Now let's break down the process of making the Kromboush cake step by step.

  1. The first thing we need to do is make the "parts" for our cake—the profiteroles themselves. To make the cake batter, first bring salted water and butter to a boil and, while stirring, pour in the flour.
  2. Then turn off the heat and knead the mixture until it forms a ball. Beaten eggs are carefully mixed into the cooled dough. It's best to add them one at a time.
  3. The next step is baking the profiteroles. Spoon the batter into a thoroughly greased pan. Bake the profiteroles at 200 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 170 degrees Celsius and bake for another ten minutes.
  4. Time for the cream. This will be versatile: it will serve both as a filling for the profiteroles and as a "cement" to hold them together. Mix the condensed milk with half of the cream, then fold in the remaining half of the whipped cream. Cool the mixture to room temperature.
  5. Once the cream and dough are ready, use a pastry bag to fill the future profiteroles with cream, carefully cutting them on the sides.
  6. The recipe is simple, and with a little practice, the entire process will take about fifty minutes. Now comes the hardest part: assembling the cake. The croquembouche must be assembled very carefully and slowly.

Freshly filled profiteroles are layered in a Christmas tree pattern. Each layer should be thoroughly coated with cream to adhere it to the others. The recipe doesn't call for this, but the higher you go, the more cream you should use between the layers.

You can decorate this delicious treat with melted chocolate, then let the cake cool and serve.

Cake with profiteroles

Croquembouche cake topping

This recipe is a little closer to the classic and boasts incredible flavor. It's second only to the previous one in terms of preparation time. Unfortunately, it requires a little more time and effort, but the results are worth it.

To prepare it, you will need:

  • 1 biscuit of your choice;
  • 125 grams of margarine;
  • 1 glass of water;
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 7-8 whole eggs;
  • 2 cups flour;
  • 0.5 liters of milk;
  • 1.5 cups of sugar;
  • Vanilla essence;
  • 12 grams of gelatin;
  • 100 grams of dark chocolate;
  • 100 grams of white chocolate;
  • 150 grams of cream;
  • 1 packet of vanilla sugar.

Profiteroles with cream and caramel

So, the recipe is as follows:

  1. Bake the sponge cake in a mold using your own recipe. It can be absolutely any.
  2. To save time while it's baking, you should prepare the dough for the profiteroles. The recipe remains roughly the same as for the previous cake: place a saucepan over the heat, pour in a glass of water, dissolve the margarine and salt in it, remove from the heat, add the flour, and mix thoroughly (and most importantly, quickly).
  3. Once the dough has cooled slightly, add 5-6 beaten eggs. It's important that the mixture isn't too thick or too runny.
  4. It's time to bake the profiteroles. Using a teaspoon, drop the dough onto a greased baking sheet. Scoop half a spoonful at a time and place the profiteroles, leaving some space between them.
  5. The recipe calls for baking profiteroles for forty minutes at 180 degrees.
  6. The next step is the cream. Mix the cream, remaining flour, a cup of sugar, and a small amount of milk until smooth. Add the yolks from two eggs, and refrigerate the whites immediately. After mixing the eggs, add the remaining milk.
  7. Next, place the mixture on the stove and simmer slowly for 20 minutes until thickened. It's very important not to let it boil and to stir constantly. Before removing from the stove, add the gelatin to the saucepan.
  8. Divide the cream mixture into two bowls. Use about a third of it for the cake filling. Stir the melted dark chocolate into the filling. Pour the remaining cream mixture into the second bowl and then pour in the melted white chocolate. This mixture is needed for the sponge cake.
  9. Both bowls are placed in the refrigerator and, after cooling, are beaten with a blender for greater fluffiness.
  10. Profiteroles are filled with dark cream.
  11. Carefully trim the top of the sponge cake (about a third of its thickness), and cover the remainder with a thick layer of white chocolate frosting. Place the cakes and the remaining white chocolate frosting on top of the frosting.

Refrigerate for several hours. The authentic recipe calls for leaving the cake overnight, but this is optional. Decorate the top of the cake with icing made from previously refrigerated egg whites, whipped with sugar and vanilla extract. The top of the sponge cake is crumbled and used as a decoration.

Here's a simple recipe for those with a sweet tooth. Bon appétit!

Video recipe for making Croquembouche