Every once in a while, my birthday feels extra special because I get to share it with all the moms – Happy Mother’s Day! Keeping with tradition, I like to celebrate by tackling a recipe that’s always intimidated me. And since this year marked the big 4-0, it couldn’t be just any old recipe …I had to go all out with Claire Saffitz’s epic croquembouche.
For the uninitiated, a croquembouche is a French showstopper: a towering cone of caramel-glazed cream puffs. Claire offers three options for the crème fraîche-tinged pastry cream (vanilla, chocolate, and black sesame) but since I was in full “treat yourself” mode, I made all three.
The pâte à choux is piped onto a sheet pan and topped with discs of craquelin (a buttery cookie topping that helps the puffs keep their shape and adds a bit of crunch). Once baked and golden, the puffs are cooled, filled with pastry cream, and dipped in caramel to set. A second batch of caramel becomes the glue that holds your tower together.
Between the crisp caramel shell, airy choux, and silky pastry cream, this was pure dessert perfection. My favorite version was black sesame which added a savory-sweet component! Since I couldn’t find paste, I made my own by blitzing toasted black sesame seeds with a little sesame oil – highly recommended. Cheers to another decade of cooking!
Book: Dessert Person, page 211
Rating:5/5
How Easy Is That: Difficult
Store-Bought Is Fine: crème fraiche
Pricey Ingredients: —
Hard-to-find: —
Recipe on Vice.com.
