Chocolate Praline Croquembouche Food

CROQUEMBOUCHE

Steps:

• For the Cream Filling: Prepare the cream fillings: Sprinkle the gelatin over 1/4 cup cold water in a bowl and set aside to bloom.
• Place the milk in a pan. Halve the vanilla beans lengthwise; scrape out the seeds with a paring knife, then add the seeds and pods to the milk. Bring to a simmer, then cover and remove from the heat.
• Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.
• Remove the vanilla pods from the milk. Gradually whisk one-third of the warm milk into the egg mixture.
• Whisk the egg mixture into the remaining milk in the pan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens, 6 minutes. Continue boiling until the mixture is custard-like, 3 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat. Slice the butter into pieces and whisk into the custard, then stir in the gelatin mixture.
• Microwave the chocolate until melted, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Mix 2 tablespoons hot water with the espresso. Transfer half of the cream filling to a bowl, then stir in the chocolate and espresso.
• Transfer the remaining cream filling to another bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the chocolate and vanilla creams and refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 2 hours.
• When ready to fill the puffs, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks with a mixer. Fold half into the vanilla cream filling and half into the chocolate filling.
• Transfer each filling to a large pastry bag with a 1/4-inch tip and set aside. (To do this cleanly, cuff the open end of the pastry bag over your hand.)
• For the Pastry Puffs: Unfilled puffs can be frozen for up to a week. To re-crisp, thaw, then brush with a beaten egg; bake 5 minutes at 350 degrees.
• While the fillings chill, make the pastry puffs: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bring 1 1/2 cups water, the butter, sugar and salt to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to melt the butter.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon to make a paste. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste is shiny and pulls away from the pan, 6 to 7 minutes. Cool slightly.
• Transfer the paste to a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed to cool, 1 minute. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Transfer the dough to a large pastry bag with a 1/2-inch tip. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, dabbing a bit of dough under the corners to keep the paper in place. Pipe 1 1/2-inch balls of dough onto the paper (about 48 total).
• Smooth the dough peaks with a wet finger. Bake until puffed, 15 to 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake until golden, 15 minutes. Turn off the oven; keep the puffs inside 10 minutes to dry out. Pierce each puff with a dry piping tip; transfer to a rack to cool.
• To Assemble: Fill half of the puffs with chocolate cream and half with vanilla: Insert the tip of the pastry bag into the hole and squeeze until full. Chill the filled puffs 30 minutes before assembling the tower.
• Make the caramel: Mix the sugar, corn syrup and 1 cup water in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil over high heat; don't stir. Uncover and boil, swirling the pan, until the syrup turns deep amber, 20 minutes.
• Immediately dip the bottom of the saucepan in a large bowl of ice water for a few seconds to stop the cooking.
• Transfer the caramel to a liquid measuring cup and cool slightly (it should still be liquid). Be careful-the caramel will still be hot!
• Draw a 7-inch circle on parchment paper. Partially dip each filled puff into the caramel and let the excess drip off. Arrange the puffs around the circle. If the caramel hardens, microwave until soft, 45 seconds.
• Fill the base circle with more puffs for stability, then continue building a conical tower of smaller circles. Top the tower with a single puff. Line your work surface with parchment paper-the next step can be messy.
• Dip the tip of a fork into the caramel and quickly wave it in circles around the tower to create a web of caramel strands. Repeat. Let set, then slide two spatulas under the paper and transfer the croquembouche to a platter. Tear off the excess paper around the base.
• To serve, crack the caramel web with the back of a knife, then dismantle the tower and transfer the cream puffs to plates.

MARTHA'S CROQUEMBOUCHE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. To make the puffs, melt the butter in the water with salt and sugar over low heat. Remove from heat and beat in flour with a wooden spoon until completely mixed. Return to heat and stir vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes. Mixture will form a mass, and a film will form on bottom of pan. Remove from heat and, one by one, add eggs, beating vigorously after each addition.
• Using a pastry tube with 1/2-inch opening, form puffs on a buttered baking sheet. Glaze each puff with the beaten egg and water, using a pastry brush. Smooth the top of each puff. Put in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and pierce each puff with a sharp knife (This allows the steam to escape so that the interior of the puff is not soggy). Return to the oven for 10 minutes more. Cool puffs on a rack. While cooling, prepare pastry cream.
• To make the cream, beat the egg yolks, gradually adding the sugar, until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Beat in the flour. Add the hot milk in dribbles, reserving 1/2 cup for thinning. Return to pot in which milk was scalded, and stir mixture over high heat until it comes to a boil. It will become lumpy first and then will smooth out with vigorous stirring. Be careful not to scorch the bottom of the pot. The cream should be thick, but add milk if too thick to pipe.
• Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Flavor with vanilla, cognac, and salt. Cool completely. Inject the pastry cream into the puffs with a 1/4-inch pastry tip.
• To make the nougat, melt the sugar with the lemon juice in a heavy pot. Do not stir. Boil together until a thick amber syrup is formed. Stir in the almonds and spread the mixture on an oiled marble slab while warm. Cut with a sharp knife into a round for the base, and into small triangles for decoration, Keep nougat warm in a 250 degree oven. (It cannot be cut or shaped if it hardens.)
• To make the caramel, bring the ingredients to a boil over high heat. Do not stir. Cover pan (allowing steam to dissolve any crystals that might form). Uncover pan and boil several more minutes, until syrup is amber. Reduce heat to keep syrup from hardening.
• Dip the filled cream puffs, one by one, into the caramel syrup and arrange on the nougat base, forming a cone resembling a pyramid. The caramel holds the cream puffs together.Note: Assemble the croquembouche the day of the party, as it cannot be refrigerated. However, the cream puffs, pastry, and nougat can be prepared in advance.

PRALINES

Steps:

• Place a large piece of parchment paper on a flat surface, preferably granite or wood.
• Put all the ingredients in a large pot and attach a candy thermometer to the side. You need to be sure the thermometer goes deep into the mixture. Turn the heat to medium high.
• Fill a bowl that's larger than the pot halfway with ice water and set it aside.
• Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. When everything has melted together, start checking the temperature. When the thermometer reaches exactly 236 degrees F, remove the pot from the heat and stick it in the bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Stir for 45 seconds while the pot is in the ice bath to evenly cool the entire mixture.
• With a large spoon, start dropping puddles of the mixture onto the parchment. Make sure you're getting some pecans in every spoonful. If you feel like it, sprinkle just a bit of salt on top. Let them cool all the way. If you're in a humid environment, they might stay sticky, but put them in front of a fan and they should get dry.
• Store them carefully in a tin, and don't stack them very high-three layers max, separated by wax paper.
• Find this recipe and more in Duff Bakes: Think and Bake Like a Pro at Home ($27.50, William Morrow).

PRALINE CHOCOLATE DESSERT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with pecans., In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Pour over pecans. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until set., In a large bowl, beat filling ingredients until smooth. Spread over praline layer. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until set., For ganache, place chocolate chips in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Spread over filling. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or until set., Loosen sides of pan with a knife. Remove rim from pan. Sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate leftovers. ,

CROQUEMBOUCHE

Steps:

• Three days ahead (or 1 month and freeze): preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan oven 180C. Lightly butter 3 large baking sheets. Sift the flour onto a large square of greaseproof paper. Put the butter in a large, heavy-based saucepan with 450ml/3⁄4pint water and gently heat until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil then immediately tip in the flour, all in one go. Beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a ball that comes away from the sides of the pan. Leave to cool for 5 minutes.
• Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, beating well between each addition, until the mixture is glossy and only just holding its shape. You may not need to add all the beaten egg. Spoon and pack half the mixture into a large polythene freezer bag. Twist the opening to secure and snip off a 1cm tip from the corner (or use a piping bag and 1cm plain nozzle).
• Pipe small rounds, about 2cm in diameter, on to the baking sheets, trimming the paste from the bag with a knife. Leave room between them to allow for spreading. You should end up with about 75 rounds. Bake for 25 minutes, in batches if necessary depending on how many baking sheets you have, until well risen and golden, rotating the baking sheets half way through cooking. As soon as the pastry is cooked, make a 1cm slit on the side of each bun to let the steam escape. (This stops them turning soggy as they cool). Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes to dry them out, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container (or freeze).
• Make the cone. Make a pencil mark halfway along a long edge of the A1 card. Mark the halfway position along both short edges and draw a line from each point to the mark on the long edge. Attach one end of the string to the pencil and holding the other end at the point on the long edge, draw a curve from the point on one short side to the point on the opposite side. Cut out the card shape and use as a template to cut out the same shape in foil. Tape the foil over the card and roll up (foil inside), overlapping the straight edges to make a cone shape with a 20cm diameter opening. Secure with tape and snip 10cm off the point of the cone.
• Two days ahead: make the limoncello cream. Beat the egg yolks, sugar, flour, lemon zest and juice in a bowl to make a smooth paste. Bring the milk to the boil in a large, heavy-based saucepan. As soon as it reaches the boil, pour it over the egg mixture, stirring well. Return to the saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring constantly until the sauce is very thick and bubbling. Stir in the liqueur and transfer to a bowl. Cover the surface with a circle of greaseproof paper to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• The day before: if the buns are a bit soft when you take them out of the container, lay them in a single layer on baking sheets and re-crisp in a moderate oven for 5 minutes. Fill them sparingly with the limoncello cream by piping as before. You can always pipe in a little extra if you have any mixture leftover.
• Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt over a bowl of gently simmering water. (Or melt in the microwave on Medium for 2-3 minutes.) Give the chocolate an occasional stir until it has just melted. Turn off the heat.
• Rest the cone inside a vase or jug for support. Put a small bun into the point of the cone with the bun's base face up. Spoon 1 tsp of melted chocolate onto the base and secure two small buns over the first, again with base up. Spoon over another teaspoon of chocolate. It's a little difficult working at the tip of the cone but it gets much easier as the cone gets wider.
• Work up the cone, packing in the buns quite firmly, drizzling the chocolate (see left) and working in horizontal layers until the cone is filled. Make sure that each bun is firmly secured in place with chocolate before proceeding to the next layer and make sure the last layer forms a flat base for the cake. Keep the filled cone in the coolest place overnight.
• On the day: carefully invert the cone on to a flat serving plate and lift away the cone. Gently peel away the foil if it hasn't come away already. Put the remaining 100g/4oz sugar in a small heavy-based saucepan with 5 tbsp water. Heat very gently, stirring slowly until it has dissolved to make a smooth syrup. Take care not to splash the syrup up the sides of the pan or it may crystallise and solidify.
• Bring the syrup to the boil and cook for 4-6 minutes, watching closely until it turns a rich golden colour. Take off the heat and dip the base of the pan in cold water to prevent further cooking. Stand back as the pan will splutter noisily. Carefully dip the ends of the sugared almonds and roses in caramel and secure around the cake, scattering a few on the plate.
• Using a teaspoon, drizzle more caramel around the buns so that it falls in fine threads. If the caramel hardens before you've finished decorating, gently reheat it, taking care not to burn it. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar. To serve the cake, it is easiest if you have one server to break pieces off for the guests, starting from the top and working down.