
2018 KEEN YOUNG COOK FINALIST: KAI TREVETT
Croquembouche Filled with Vanilla Flavoured Cream
"I chose this dish because it shows a wide range of flavours, textures and skills which showcase my baking abilities."
Ingredients
Choux pastry:
-
500ml water
-
200g butter
-
250g plain flour
-
8 eggs
-
Pinch of salt
Cream:
-
500ml double cream
-
1tsp vanilla extract
Caramel:
-
300ml caster sugar
-
100ml water
Method
-
Preheat oven to 200c
-
Add 500 ml of water to a pan with the butter and a pinch of salt and heat to a boil.
-
Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the plain flower until the mixture is coming away from the sides of the pan.
-
Transfer to a cool bowl and whisk in the eggs one at a time until completely glossy.
-
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag. Pipe small blobs of the pastry about 2cm across onto a baking paper lined tray, leaving room for profiteroles to expand in the oven.
-
Bake for 15 minutes until they have risen, turned golden and are crisp on the outside and cooked through. Allow to cool.
-
Beat the cream and vanilla extract together until the cream becomes thick.
-
Poke a small hole into the flat bottom of each profiterole and pipe the cream inside.
-
Heat the caster sugar and warm up in a pan until it starts to turn an amber colour, taking it off the heat before it becomes too dark. Do not stir! But swill the pan occasionally.
-
Take each profiterole and carefully with tongs, dip the rounded side into the caramel. Arrange the profiteroles, one at a time, in a circle around the inside rim of a serving plate until you have a complete ring, each time allowing the dripping caramel to stick it to the plate and making sure the sugar coated rounded top is facing out.
-
Keep on constructing until you reach the peak and serve.