The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.
Croquembouche/Piece Montee
Better late than never. Better soon than later for Daring Bakers to find out that I’m usually, not to say almost always late for everything.
Compared with last month’s challenge, this one was really promising and I planned how I will do it considerably earlier and at time, but ….. :(.It is the same kind of pastry in Croatia called boiled or steamed dough. Pastry made of it and filled with Vanilla Crème Patissiere we call Princes Donuts.
In France makes them smaller, assembly in mountain shape and in that shape it is very popular as a wedding cake.It is also known as Croquembouche (crunch in the mouth).
My first and only, until now, attempt at making Princes donuts, wasn’t the best, although I very often makes a dumplings from similar kind of dought. Taste corresponded to what should be, but the look doesn’t as they went wide. I briefly looked at the already published this month DB posts and saw that most of participants concluded that the 4 eggs in recipe for the Pate a Choux are too much, and I think it happened to me with my first attempt of making a Princes Donuts, and besides, I remembered Selma and also one Maja’s friend warned me after that first failed attempt of mine, that it must be a problem of too much eggs, so I decided to reduce the quantity of eggs.
Croquembouche/Piece Montee
I used the recipes Cat gave us as guide and made my first Croquembouche. I made cream the night before and stored it in airtight container overnight. The next day a made a Pate a Choux. You can make the dough also day before, but be sure, after they cooled to room temperature to stored it in a airtight box overnight.
Croquembouche/Piece Montee
For toping our choux and assemble piece montee we were alowed to use chocolate or hard caramel glaze. Unfortunately I decided to use hard caramel glaze.
Croquembouche/Piece Montee
While it was a piece of cake assembling piece montee without any glaze, when I started with the caramel, the horror began.
After I have burned my fingertips for a third time I gave up trying to get the shape of the mountain. Despite the fact that my piece montee looks like a children’s handicrafts, it was delicious, and important thing to me is that I’m pleased with both recipes, for dough and for the creme.
Croquembouche/Piece Montee
My husband already said: OK., dough and the filling turned out great, now you can make all over again, without hard caramel glaze and in the size at least tennis balls! 🙂
Croquembouche/Piece Montee
- 350 ml whole milk
- 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 150 g sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 large egg yolks
- 45 g unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp. Vanilla
- 130 ml water
- 65 g unsalted butter
- pinch of salt
- ¾ Tbsp. sugar
- 95 g all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 225 g sugar
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- Dissolve cornstarch in 80 ml of milk.
- Combine the remaining milk with the sugar in a saucepan, bring to boil, remove from heat.
- Beat the whole egg, then the yolks into the cornstarch mixture.
- Pour ⅓ of boiling milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so that the eggs do not begin to cook.
- Return the remaining milk to boil.
- Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, continuing whisking.
- Continue whisking (this is important – you do not want the eggs to solidify/cook) until the cream thickens and comes to a boil.
- Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.
- Preheat oven to 220°C. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring to a boil and stir occasionally.
- At boil, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.
- Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
- Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.
- Add 1 egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny. At this point add the remain egg.
- Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip.
- Pipe choux about 2cm part in the baking sheet. Choux should be about 2 cm high and about 2 cm wide.
- Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top. (which I also forgot)
- Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt).
- Bake the choux at 220°C degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes.
- Lower the temperature to 180°C degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more.
- Remove to a rack and cool.
- It can be stored in a airtight box overnight.
- Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan with a metal kitchen spoon stirring until the sugar resembles wet sand.
- Place on medium heat, heat without stirring until sugar starts to melt around the sides of the pan and the center begins to smoke.
- Begin to stir sugar.
- Continue heating, stirring occasionally until the sugar is a clear, amber color.
- Remove from heat immediately; place bottom of pan in ice water to stop the cooking.
- Use immediately.
- You may want to lay out your unfilled, unglazed choux in a practice design to get a feel for how to assemble the final dessert.
- For example, if making a conical shape, trace a circle (no bigger than 20 cm) on a piece of parchment to use as a pattern.
- Then take some of the larger choux and assemble them in the circle for the bottom layer. Practice seeing which pieces fit together best.
- Once you are ready to assemble your piece montée, dip the top of each choux in your glaze (careful it may be still hot!), and start assembling on your cake board/plate/sheet.
- Continue dipping and adding choux in levels using the glaze to hold them together as you build up. (You may want to use toothpicks to hold them in place.
- When you have finished the design of your piece montée, you may drizzle with remaining glaze or use ribbons, sugar cookie cut-outs, almonds, flowers, etc. to decorate.
Rea says
January 18, 2011 at 09:15uhh, kako dooobroooo!!!!!!!!!!!!! ne znam koliko puta sam ponovno i ponovno gledala ove slike….i osjećala okuse u ustima…kraljevske!
Tadeja says
June 5, 2010 at 22:38@Rosa, Swee San thank you very much! 🙂
@Natalie, pleasure of discovering the blog is mine. I’m impressed with your photos! 🙂
@Vera, ti mene uvijek maziš! :)Hvala ti!
@Mary, thank you a lot! So, next time tennis ball croquembouche! ;))
@Sanela posebno mi je drago da ti se sviđa! Puno ti hvala!
@Branka, hvala! 🙂
@Josipa, hvala ti, on je to najozbiljnije mislio! :))
Josipa says
June 5, 2010 at 07:49vau, ovo je nešto predivno! i baš me nasmijao komentar tvog muža :)))
Branka says
June 4, 2010 at 22:51Od kada je post objavljen svaki dan nekoliko puta ga prođem i naravno posebno pogledam ove savršene slike. A sa komentarima mi je nešto zaštekalo pa evo sada nadoknađujem :). Ovo si zbilja odlično napravila, sviđaju mi se krafnice, sviđa mi se i karamel preljev iako je malo “problematičan” 🙂 , jagodice su se krasno ovdje uklopile. A slike, …., uvijek mi se sviđaju tvoje slike ali ove su ti zbilja nešto posebno , jednostavno su prekrasne !!.
I drago mi je što stalak dobro služi , “četvrtom čošku” usprkos 🙂
Sanela Mallory says
June 4, 2010 at 15:01Odlično je! Već par godina namjeravam napraviti neku varijaciju na temu Croquembouchea, ali još nije došlo na red. 2-3 puta radila sam nešto slično: oko torte koja se sastojala od “biskvitnih” kora i kreme trebalo je “nalijepiti” nešto što bi se moglo zvati “princes krafne punjene čokoladnom kremom”. I naravno, treba ih lijepiti karameliziranim šećerom. Budući da sam odavno naučila lekciju pod nazivom “rastopljeni šećer je jako vruć” uvijek sam posebno pazila kad sam keljila te princeze oko torte – karamel sam koristila u najmanjoj mogućoj mjeri: otprilike “kapljica” veličine zrna graška za svaku princezu. Kad sam prvi put radila tortu ne znam jesam li potrošila 1/5 ukupne količine karamela – nije mi bilo jasno čemu treba napraviti toliko karamela. A onda sam shvatila da princeze praktički treba “okupati” u karamelu – ali budući da ja ne volim karamel – ja sam se držala svoje teorije o minimalnoj upotrebi karamela. Jednom sam probala i varijantu lijepljenja čokoladom – meni se ta verzija najviše svidjela.
Imam iskustva i s porezotinama od karamela, kad se stvrdne nevjerojatno je tvrd i oštar.
Mary says
June 2, 2010 at 03:20Your croquembouche looks wonderful with the strawberries and the ribbon! I’m glad the pate a choux worked out for you, and I agree with your husband: tennis ball size next time!
Vera says
June 1, 2010 at 17:02Zaista veličanstveno i besprekorno,neznam da lis am u zivotu nesto lepse videla od ovih tvojih slastica…:)
Swee San says
June 1, 2010 at 15:21Gorgeous Piece Montee..
Natalie says
June 1, 2010 at 11:55Beautiful pièce montée! 🙂 I’m so glad you’ve left a comment at my blog so I could discover yours. I’m looking forward to discovering and trying out some of your recipes. 🙂
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
June 1, 2010 at 10:20Your pièce montée is beautiful! I love the pretty decorations. Great job!
Cheers,
Rosa
Tadeja says
May 31, 2010 at 21:40@Casa de Vainilla, Snježo, puno vam hvala!
@Roman Tales, ja sam uvijek ta žežena tijesta radila kao okruglice i kuhala, poput njoka uz neki umak, eventualno pržila, ali samo tako kao okruglice. Nikad do ovog slučaja kojeg navodim nisam pokušala peći kao tijesto i taj prvi pokušaj nije baš bio uspješan, očito zbog jaja.
Meni je sad žao, a Timna me samo mrko pogledala kad sam rekla da sam planinu mogla spajati i čokoladom, a ne obavezno karamelom, što doista to s čokoladom i nisam učinila, ali baš me zanimalo kako to ide i nekako sam ja to nadobudno mislila onak’ tanko oplesti s šećerom, ali nakon kaj sam tri put umočila prste u kipući karamel prošla me kreativnost. 🙂
@Maria, maslinka, puno, puno hvala! 🙂
@lo81, Renata, thank you very much! 🙂
@Dunja, hvala, a znaš da sam pomislila na tebe dok sam to mućkala i na to kak’ bi ti to složila! 🙂
@Ebba, hvala, ja jedva da sam uspjela probati, “pocrounchali” su ih za hip, sve gunđajući protiv karamela 😛 ;))
@Stočiću….hvala!
@Selma, hvala tebi, čim sam vidjela da žene spominju jaja, sjetila sam se što si mi napisala.
Poslušala sam ja tebe i kod zakašnjele izrade ricotta gnocha, ali o tom, potom! 🙂
@mignonne :)), k’o da si ti mene jednom ostavila budnu! :)) Hvala ti!
mignonne says
May 31, 2010 at 19:23Pa, jel ti hoces da mi nocas ne spavamo…sanjacu tvoje fotke i ovaj toranj od krofnica!;))))
stočiću postavi se says
May 31, 2010 at 18:48Fenomenalno!!!
Ebba says
May 31, 2010 at 17:51ajme koja divota! čula sam za ovaj desert, samo ga nikad nisam radila, nisam baš ljubitelj tih princezica tj. tijesta, ali svejedno rado bi se poslužila jednim sa tvog “brdašca” :))) fotke su predivne.
Dunja says
May 31, 2010 at 15:05Predivne su ti, to je moja baka često radila, a zvali smo ih “bumblice”. Ovo tvoje s jagodama, božanstveno. Stvarno su jagode više nego ikoje voće fotogenične.
cosmo2503 says
May 31, 2010 at 14:03Sagradila si ovo savršeno. Uslikala savršeno. Neodoljiva mi je ova crveno ružičasta kombinacija.
Hvala ti na pominjnju i stavljanju linka na moj blog. Ja volim “choux pastry” i za princeske i za tulumbe i tačno je da se na vrijeme treba stati se dodavanjem jaja, a ja ono posljednje dodajem na žličicu.
Ne znam kako se ta cijela stvar jede, ali izgleda moćno i vrlo efektno. I slažem se sa tvojim mužem, dovoljnom su dobre krofnice bez karamela. Tijesto prefino, a krema mmmmm…Dopada mi se i ideja da se premaže jajetom, ima bolju bojicu.
Renata says
May 31, 2010 at 13:25Tadeja, Your Pièce Montée is absolutely gorgeous! I’m sorry you burnt your fingers. I was so scared I was extra careful and didn’t burn myself but later found out that the spun sugar can actually cut your skin… nothing serious, only a scratch, but I was surprised… Love your photography! Thanks for your lovely comment on my post!
lo81 says
May 31, 2010 at 12:39Hi Tadeja,
if it gives you any consolation, I’ve too burnt my fingers with the caramel :-)!Your croquenbouche is really lovely!
maslinka says
May 31, 2010 at 12:12Fotke su ti skroz naskroz čarobne… Znam da uvek pričam isto ali tako je 🙂
Maria says
May 31, 2010 at 11:09Prekrasna torta! Mnogo dobri fotke!
Roman Tales says
May 31, 2010 at 07:01Žežena tijesta nisu toliko komplicirana koliko je proces malo dugačak, a kod ovih kolača bitna je i veličina jaja, tako da je broj jaja uvijek okviran, možeš i smanjiti i povećati ovisno o tome kako tijesto izgleda.
Stvarno mi nije jasno kako je tvrdi karamel tu mogao doprinijeti okusu, bigne su mekani i k tome puni fine kremice, takao da mi tvrdi karamel tu nikako ne paše, neka mekša verzija možda? Po meni bi i rastopljena čokolada čisto fino “sjela” 😉
Snježa says
May 31, 2010 at 06:05Koje slike!!! Savršena građevina!
Casa de vainilla says
May 31, 2010 at 05:20Fantasticne fotke i divna gradjevina :)))
Tadeja says
May 30, 2010 at 22:48Hvala Nado! 🙂
Ma je, to je ta. Onaj četvrti ćošak kaj se ne vidi je potrgani! ;))
Nada says
May 30, 2010 at 22:41Savršeno izgleda, fenomenalno. Kaj si napravila s tacnom??..Jeli to tacna koja je stigla “preko bare” polupana? Sviđa mi se jako.
Tadeja says
May 30, 2010 at 22:13:)) Hvala!
Ma kod nas se nije uspio srušiti. Malo su ga špahtlom odvajali nakon što sam ja to zazidala, ljuta k’o pas jer su mi svi jagodice opečene, muž se čak uspio i porezati na špinani šećer :P, ali fakat je fino, čak i s tim čudom od karamela po sebi!
melrose says
May 30, 2010 at 22:02Jao koja slika!!! Kako cu tek sada zaspati:)?!?
Obozavam croquembouche, ali je problem sto se uvijek srusi u neko doba:)