Christmas day dessert idea - anyone made a croquembouche?

My wife made one once when she lost a bet with some friends with the forfeit of "the finest meal you can produce" which is a standard bet we do amongst our friends. I helped with the assembly.

Its possible to do a small one without a cone, but if you are doing a big one for a large family xmas then a cone to mould it would be necessary I think. I don't think I would want to transport a large one in a car any great distance especially a loaded car of xmas pressies etc. as it really wouldnt take much of a knock to ruin your hard work.

I would suggest make your choux buns in advance and lots of creme patisserie filling (rather than whipped cream) and then keep them in a box and construct it on arrival. I would have a practice at caramel though in advance for the sticking as that was a pain as I remember. We also made a basic thick toffee sauce to use as glue if the caramel and sugar work hadnt come off at the time. I think was a good back up plan, although we didnt need it in the end and just ended as a communal dipping sauce.

It's a very impressive looking and VERY delicious pudding so have fun making
 
My croquembouche will be served on the 26th, as that's when we're having 'proper' Christmas. I'll try and get pictures up on the same day!

Good luck everyone!
 
Well, I'm copying you guys again and I'll be making one of these for Xmas day at a friend's house. There should be about 11 of us so I'll be using that as an excuse to make enough for at least twice as many as that.

Anyone doing a practice run beforehand?
 
FrenchTart said:
Well, I'm copying you guys again and I'll be making one of these for Xmas day at a friend's house. There should be about 11 of us so I'll be using that as an excuse to make enough for at least twice as many as that.

Anyone doing a practice run beforehand?
Click to expand...

Na. The only thing that I can see really going wrong is the tower. If that happens, then it'll just be profiteroles on a plate. Like Acid, I can't really afford to try trial runs either.
 
I'm a bit concerned about the sugar/caramel part. I've made choux pasty and profiteroles before so that bit isn't too worrying.

Since I stopped playing BFBC2/BF3 I seem to have a lot more free time for things like this :p
 
Could give caramel a try.
Cooking any puds before Christmas?
If so just make it with caramel base. Toffee/caramel sauce is nice and goes with lots of puds
 
Last edited:
Excuse my ignorance but.. "puts"? I'm not sure what you mean by pads either.

I might be being very slow due to illness/tiredness. Apologies if so.
 
I think that he is trying to say 'puds'. Acidhells mistypes and autocorrection (he uses a tablet and smart phone a lot I believe) are hilarious. :D
 
So, what recipe is everyone using?

I'm going to go for this one I think:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1801/croquembouche

I like the addition of limoncello, though I did consider filling half with creme anglaise and the other half just with cream but since everyone that will be eating it is a bit of a drinker (would you really expect anything less from a family that spawned me?! ;)) the limoncello should be a nice addition.

I was just hunting for some on foodgawker.com and came across this very apt comment -

This challenge made me realize some things: 1) If I'm willing to spend all this time, effort, and money on a baking project, I should be able to extend even more effort on my dissertation.
Click to expand...

Sums me up rather well.

vicisthebest said:
Wow I just came back to this thread for the first time and realised I now have a croquembouche-off on my hands! Haha!
Click to expand...

You'll have to update the first post with the competitors! Who's providing the prize? :D
 
Last edited:
Saying that. I do this all the time with food. Got up at 4am this morning to turn off the bourguinon I had on as I wanted it on for 12hrs, but then again I put off sweeping the flat because it's an effort... ha
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom