Gateau St Honoré Food

GâTEAU ST HONORé

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Line two baking trays with silicone mats or baking paper.
• Heat the milk, butter, sugar and 125ml/4½fl oz water in a saucepan over a high heat until the butter has melted (do not boil).
• Add the flour all in one go and beat firmly and quickly with a spatula or wooden spoon, keeping the pan over the heat. Cook the mixture for one minute, then transfer to the bowl of a food mixer and beat for a further 1-2 minutes, or until cooled slightly (you can do this by hand if preferred).
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
• Transfer the pastry to a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle and pipe a large spiral, about 24cm/10in in diameter and 1cm/½in deep, onto one of the prepared baking trays.
• Pipe small, evenly sized balls of the remaining choux pastry onto the second baking tray. Using a wet finger, gently smooth any pointed peaks on the top of the balls.
• Bake the choux pastry in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown and cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly, then pierce the sides of the small buns once using a small, sharp knife to let the steam out. Do the same to the large pastry base.
• For the filling, whisk the custard with the double cream until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed. Add the orange liqueur and whisk until firm peaks form when the whisk is removed. Spoon one-third of the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle.
• Pierce the flat bases of 16 of the small choux buns with a knife, insert the nozzle of the piping bag, and fill each with some of the cream mixture.
• Heat the sugar in a frying pan over a high heat until it melts and starts to caramelise to a light golden-brown; swirl the pan, but don't stir. (CAUTION: melted sugar is very hot. Take care not to burn yourself.) Working quickly, dip the tops of each filled choux bun into the caramel to coat, then return them to the tray until the caramel has set.
• To serve, place the choux pastry base onto a serving plate. Cover the pastry base with quenelles of the remaining cream mixture. Arrange the caramel-topped choux buns at the edge of the pastry base, then fill the centre with the soft fruit.

ST. HONORE CAKE

Steps:

• For the puff pastry: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Arrange the puff pastry on a baking sheet and dust with some confectioners' sugar. Bake until golden and caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet, cut out 8 circles, and set aside. Leave the oven on.
• For the pate a choux: Heat the butter and 1 liter water in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to boil, then remove from the heat and add the flour and salt, stirring until combined. Return to the heat for 1 minute, stirring. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and let cool for 5 minutes. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until well combined. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip.
• Pipe cream puffs onto two buttered baking sheets. Bake, switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• For the sugar decoration: Add the isomalt crystals to a large Pyrex measuring cup; microwave in 30 second increments to melt. Set aside to cool slightly, then dip a whisk in the melted isomalt and fling slightly to make long strings of pulled sugar. Set aside.
• For the custard: Wrap a rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap and set aside. In a large pot, combine the milk, cream, vanilla bean and 250 grams of the sugar. Bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the egg yolks and the remaining 40 grams sugar until light and fluffy.
• Once the milk mixture boils, add the flour to the egg yolk mixture and then add a spoonful of the boiling milk.
• Pour the egg yolk mixture into the boiling milk, whisking constantly; continue whisking until it returns to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat and pour onto the prepared baking sheet; fish out and discard the vanilla bean. Place in the freezer until fully cooled.
• For the chantilly cream: Add the cream to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add some of the vanilla bean seeds, scraped from the pod, along with a spoonful of the confectioners' sugar. (Reserve the remainder of the vanilla bean for another use.) Beat to soft peaks.
• Transfer a tenth of the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip. Poke the tip into the bottom of the cream puffs to fill them with cream.
• Fold the custard into the remaining whipped cream to make diplomat cream.
• To serve: Set a circle of puff pastry down on 4 plates, then add some diplomat cream to the center. Top with berries and then another circle of puff pastry. Arrange a cream puff next to the pastry.
• Pipe some chantilly cream on top of each pastry, add more berries to the plates, and top with the isomalt pulled sugar. Serve immediately.

GATEAU ST. HONORE

Steps:

• For Pastry Base: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Sift flour onto a board or into a medium bowl. Make a well in the center. Add butter and egg to well and mix them together. Mix sugar into butter and eggs. Combine with the flour, adding water as needed. Allow pastry to stand for 30 minutes before rolling. Roll into a 10-nch round. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover with a round of greased parchment paper and weigh pastry down with dried beans or pie weights. Bake 10 minutes, then remove paper and weights. Bake 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool. For Choux Pastry: Bring water and butter to a boil in a saucepan. Add sifted flour to pan, all at once,and beat hard until mixture is smooth and comes away from the sides of the pan. Turn out onto a plate to cool.
• When cool, place the pastry in a medium bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating hard in between each addition. Add the salt.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place the pastry into a piping bag with a large nozzle and pipe small nut shapes onto a greased, floured baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and keep pastry in oven for 20 more minutes to dry out the centers. Cool and store in an airtight container until ready to use. Pastry Cream: In medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, slowly bring milk and vanilla bean to a boil. Discard the bean.
• In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and egg yolk until pale and thickened. Beat in flour. Add a little of the boiling milk to the egg mixture, and then pour all this back into the pot of milk. Bring back to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Flavor with vanilla extract and let cool. Filling: Whip cream and sugar until stiff. Place bowl in freezer for 20 minutes. Toffee: Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and continue to cook until it reaches 280 degrees F. Keep warm. To assemble: Place pastry cream into a piping bag with a thin, pointed nozzle. Fill each choux with pastry cream. Place a layer of choux in a circle around the edge of the pastry base and drizzle a thin coating of hot toffee on them. Layer a second round of choux over the first, like build a wall, securing with more toffee. Continue in this fashion until all the filled pastries are used. Fill the center of the "wall" with whipped cream and garnish the top with candied fruit and chocolate curls.

STRAWBERRY GâTEAU ST HONORé

Steps:

• Make the pastry for the base: whizz the flour, almonds, butter and sugar in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk (reserve the white for later) and a few drops of water if necessary, then pulse until the dough comes together. Wrap in cling film, then chill for 1 hr.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Roll out pastry on a large square of baking parchment, then trim to a 26cm round using a cake tin or plate as a guide. Carefully transfer the pastry still on the paper to a large baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 mins until golden. Cool on the paper, then transfer to a large, flat serving plate. Can be made 2 days ahead.
• To make the choux pastry, line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Heat the butter in a pan with 125ml water until melted, then increase heat until boiling. Remove from the heat, then add the flour in one go, quickly stirring until everything comes together as a thick paste. Leave to cool for 10 mins. Beat the eggs in to the paste, using a wooden spoon, a little at a time, until you have a thick, glossy mixture. Spoon 12 equal-size blobs of choux, a little apart, over the baking sheet. Lightly whisk the reserved egg white, then brush over each blob of pastry. Sprinkle with flaked almonds.
• Bake the buns for 25-30 mins until crisp and golden. Remove from the oven, carefully split each bun, then return to the oven for 5 mins more to dry out the insides. Cool on a rack, then scoop out any soft insides. Can be made 2 days ahead - if they go soft, briefly crisp them up in the oven.
• To make the filling, mix the custard powder and sugar in a pan, then blend in a little milk to a smooth paste. Add the rest of the milk, then gently bring to the boil, stirring, until you have a thick custard. Remove from the heat, then stir in the vanilla. Transfer to a bowl, then cover the surface with cling film. Cool. Can be made 2 days ahead.
• Now assemble the gâteau: stir the custard to loosen a little. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold into the custard. Slice a third of the strawberries. Spread a thin layer of custard over the pastry base. Add the sliced strawberries to the remaining custard, then use to fill the choux buns. Arrange buns around edge of the pastry base. Spoon any remaining custard into the centre, then top with the remaining strawberries.
• To make the caramel, tip the caster sugar into a heavy based pan with 2 tbsp cold water. Heat, without stirring, to dissolve the sugar, tipping the pan if necessary, then boil hard until it becomes a light caramel. Remove from the heat and, when the bubbles subside, drizzle carefully over the choux buns. Dust with icing sugar and serve. The gâteau can be chilled for up to 2 hrs before serving.