250 ml Boiling water
100 g Butter
250 ml Cake Flour
4 Eggs, beaten
Method:
Sift the flour with the salt and set aside. Put the butter and water together in a saucepan and allow the butter to dissolve.
Bring to a boil, take it off the heat and immediately add all the flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth and leave to cool. (Do not over mix or the pastry will begin to oil.)
Start adding the eggs, a little at a time. (If you are using large eggs, it may not be necessary to add everything). The mixture must be smooth and shiny - a piping consistency.
Pipe the choux dough into the desired shapes on a greased baking tray.
Bake as follows: 10 minutes at 200ºC, then for another 10 minutes at 180ºC and lastly for 15 minutes at 160ºC.
The following points are particularly important:
Proportions are important with choux, so measure the ingredients exactly.
Do not allow the water to boil until the butter has melted. Too much water might evaporate.
Have the sifted flour ready so that, as your butter and water mixture reach the rolling ball, you can add it in one go.
When you've added the flour, beat fast and vigorously to get rid of lumps before they form.
Do not over-beat. Stop once the mixture is leaving the sides of the saucepan.
Cool slightly before adding the eggs, otherwise it will scramble.
Do not beat in more egg than is necessary to achieve a
dropping/piping consistency.
Bake until it reaches an even brown, otherwise the inside of the pastry will be uncooked.
If the pastry is not cooked properly, the steam that remains on the inside will make the pastry soggy and heavy.
Serve the pastry on the day it is made (or store frozen), as it stales rapidly
and does not keep well.
Croquembouche is French for “crisp/crack in the mouth”. This elaborate dessert is classically made with profiteroles (tiny, custard-filled cream puffs), coated with caramel and stacked into a tall pyramid shape. As the caramel hardens, it becomes crisp. For added glamour, the croquembouch can be wreathed or draped with spun sugar.
