The table of old times,
The Book of Recipes

Crunches in the mouth

Period: 1st Napoleonic Empire / Category: dessert

André Viard, The Imperial Cook, (1806)

Ingredients

for 48 choux:

For the nougatine:

  • 150 g of flaked almonds previously roasted in an oven at 150°C
  • 200 g of sugar

For the pastry cream:

  • 1/2 liter of milk
  • 100 g egg yolks
  • 50 g cornstarch
  • 120g caster sugar
  • 2 vanilla pods or vanilla powder
  • 40g butter
  • 80 g softened butter (for the mousseline cream)

For the cabbages:

  • 125 g of milk
  • 125 g of water
  • 165 g of type 55 flour
  • 100g butter
  • 250 g whole eggs
  • a little cold milk
  • 1 pinch of fine salt

For the caramels:

  • 510 g of sugar
  • 170 g of water

The preparation

1- The nougatine (to prepare the day before):

  • In a frying pan, lightly toast the flaked almonds and set aside.
  • In a saucepan, melt the sugar over medium heat without stirring. When the caramel begins to form, make circular movements with the pan to loosen the rest of the unmelted sugar. Leave to cook until the caramel is golden brown and fluid.
  • Add the almonds and quickly transfer to a sheet of oiled parchment paper. Cover with a second sheet of oiled parchment paper and roll out with a rolling pin. Immediately cut out from the nougatine the circle serving as the base for the cake and the shapes you want to decorate the cake (I used stainless steel cookie cutters in the shape of a butterfly). To book.

2- The cabbages (to prepare the day before):

  • Pour the milk, water, butter and fine salt into a saucepan and heat until the butter has completely melted. Remove the pan from the heat, add the flour all at once and mix carefully with a spatula to obtain a homogeneous paste (panade). Dry this panade over moderate heat until it comes away from the spatula and the sides of the pan. The dough is ready when a light white veil forms at the bottom of the pan.
  • Transfer the panade to the bowl of a mixer (Kitchen Aid type) and mix slowly on first speed for 1 to 2 minutes with the leaf attachment (spatula) to warm it up. Add the whole eggs in 5 to 6 batches, ensuring complete incorporation before adding the next amount. If the dough is too firm, add a little cold milk.
  • Pour the choux pastry obtained into a piping bag and fill two silicone molds with 24 half-spheres of Ø 3 cm with the dough. Smooth the surface using a spatula, scraping off excess dough well.
  • Bake the choux in the ventilated oven preheated to 180°C for 20-25 minutes. The cooking time may vary from one oven to another, but keep in mind that it is better to cook them a little more than not enough (the cabbages should come out very dry).
  • Let cool to room temperature.

3- The pastry cream (to prepare the day before):

  • Pour the milk and vanilla powder into a saucepan. Add half of the caster sugar to the milk and bring to the boil.
  • Pour the egg yolks into a large bowl, add the remaining caster sugar and mix with a whisk. Add the cornstarch and mix until completely incorporated.
  • When the milk boils, pour half into the large bowl and whisk.
  • Return the saucepan containing the other half of the milk to the heat. Add the egg yolk, sugar, cornstarch and milk mixture to the saucepan, over the simmering milk.
  • Pour in a thin stream while whisking. The cream will thicken, but you must continue cooking until it is fluid and flows a little when you lift the whisk. Add the 40 g of butter and whisk vigorously.
  • Pour the cream into a food container, cover with cling film in contact with the cream and leave to cool. Once warm, store in the refrigerator.

4- Muslin cream (day d):

  • Place the 80 g of softened butter in the mixer bowl and beat with the whisk attachment for 5 minutes. Scrape the whisk and bowl, then whisk again until the butter is completely smooth.
  • Remove the pastry cream from the refrigerator and gradually incorporate it into the butter, in 10 to 12 batches, ensuring complete incorporation each time before adding the next. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with the spatula to mix well.
  • When the cream is completely incorporated, beat for 3 to 4 minutes at high speed until it becomes smooth and consistent.

5- Pour the mousseline cream into a piping bag fitted with a pastry tip and stuff the choux buns.
6- Prepare the caramel to assemble the wedding cake: in a saucepan, melt the sugar and water over medium heat without stirring. When the caramel begins to form, make circular movements with the pan to loosen the rest of the unmelted sugar. Leave to cook until the caramel is golden brown and fluid.
7- When the caramel is ready, dip one side of each choux in the caramel (avoid the side with the hole made by the nozzle which, personally, I hide towards the inside of the cake), then stick them caramelized side near from the edge of the nougatine circle. Complete the outline of the nougatine base. Then assemble the choux buns in layers, dipping them each time in the caramel to stick them together. At each new layer, form a circle with one less cabbage. Top with a single cabbage at the top to complete the cone.
8- Finish the croque-en-bouche with edible decorations (sugar flowers, sugared almonds, caramelized flowers and leaves, candied fruits, dried fruits, etc.). You can also decorate with caramel, chocolate, ganache according to taste.

Annotations

  • To give an even more refined appearance to your croque-en-bouche, add this passage between steps 6 and 7: take 4 silicone molds, 8 half-spheres, Ø 5 cm. For each cabbage, dip the rounded side (side opposite the hole made by the nozzle) in the hot caramel and place each cabbage in each cavity of the silicone molds. Leave to cool a little before collecting the cabbages and proceeding to assemble.
  • The croque-en-bouche is often associated with Antonin Carême, the most famous pastry chef of the time, but this dessert had already been mentioned in 1806 by André Viard in Le Cuisinier Impérial . Originally it was presented as an alternative to traditional cakes at weddings and other celebrations. Today, the croquembouche has become an elegant and emblematic piece of French pastry, appreciated on special occasions.