Christmas Croquembouche

To prepare the croquembouche, start by making the choux pastry. Cut the butter into cubes and place it in a saucepan, then add the water, sugar 1, and salt 2. Bring everything to a boil over low heat, and as soon as it starts to boil, remove the mixture from the heat and add the flour, sifting it directly into the saucepan 3.

Immediately mix vigorously with a whisk 4. Return the pot to low heat and continue stirring with a wooden spoon. The dough will be ready when it detaches from the sides and forms a ball, and a white film appears on the bottom of the saucepan 5. You will obtain a soft and consistent mixture: transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer 6 and mix it with the paddle attachment at low speed for a few minutes to quickly cool it.

Only when no steam is coming out of the mixer can you add the eggs, one at a time 7, being careful to add the next only when the previous one is fully absorbed. Continue this way until all the eggs are added, and you obtain a smooth and creamy mixture 8. If you do not have a stand mixer, you can comfortably achieve this step with a wooden spoon. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm (about 0.4 inches) plain tip 9

and use it to form small mounds of dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper 10. With this dough, you should obtain about 30, so try to make the mounds relatively large and spaced evenly. Once all the dough is used, smooth the peaks of the cream puffs by gently pressing them down with a brush slightly dipped in water 11. Bake the cream puffs in a preheated static oven for 15 minutes at 428°F (220°C) avoiding opening the oven during baking. After the first 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 374°F (190°C) and bake the choux pastry for another 10 minutes. At this point, turn off the oven and leave the cream puffs inside for another 30 minutes with the door slightly open (place a wooden spoon between the door and the oven); this will help dry the interior well. Remove your cream puffs from the oven 12 and let them cool completely.

While the cream puffs are baking, prepare the pastry cream. First, pour both the milk and cream into a saucepan 1, then extract the seeds from a vanilla bean and set them aside for a moment 2. Add the emptied pod to the saucepan 3 and bring it almost to a boil.

Instead, transfer the vanilla seeds to a bowl where you've placed the egg yolks 4 and quickly beat them with a whisk while adding the sugar 5. Once you have obtained a homogeneous mixture, sift the cornstarch directly into the bowl 6.

Mix again 7, and as soon as the milk almost reaches a boil, remove the vanilla pod and add a couple of ladlefuls to the egg yolk mixture 8, stirring to temper the mixture. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan 9

and, continuing to stir with a whisk, cook your pastry cream until it thickens 10. Immediately transfer it to a baking dish 11, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface 12, and let it cool completely. Once cool, whisk it with a whisk or mixer and transfer it to a piping bag fitted with a plain tip.

While the cream cools, prepare the cone that will be the main structure of your croquembouche. Using an A5 sheet, create a cone: fold one corner towards the midpoint of the opposite length 1 and roll the rest of the paper to form a cone 2. Secure with adhesive tape 3

and trim the bottom of the cone with scissors to obtain a flat base about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter 4. Cover the cone with parchment paper 5 and cut off the tip to create a truncated cone about 10 inches (25 cm) long 6.

Place it on a parchment-lined paper tray 7. Take the piping bag and lightly press the tip into the bottom of each cream puff to fill them one by one with the pastry cream 8. Store the filled cream puffs in the refrigerator 9 and proceed to prepare the caramel.

Pour the water into a small saucepan, add the sugar 10, and bring to a boil over medium-low heat without stirring 11. As soon as it reaches an amber color 12, turn off the heat and immerse the bottom of the saucepan in cold water for a few seconds to stop the cooking.

Dip each cream puff in the caramel 13 (taking care not to burn yourself) and place it around the paper cylinder 14. The caramel will act as a glue, so try to place it on the part of the cream puff that will adhere to the already positioned one. Continue this way, placing the cream puffs around the cylinder, reducing the number with each layer 15

until you reach the top where you need to place 3 cream puffs 16. Sprinkle some caramel by drawing a small circle in the middle of the 3 cream puffs 17 and place a well-caramelized one in the center 18.

Let it solidify, and in the meantime, prepare the caramel strings. Place two identical bowls and place two wooden spoons on top of them with the handles facing towards you, spacing them about 8-10 inches (20-25 cm). Wait for the caramel to cool slightly; it will be ready when, removing the spoon, it offers some resistance and pulled strings form 20. With a movement from right to left and left to right, create the strings 21. At this point, if the croquembouche seems stable to you, you can remove the inner cone, otherwise transfer the whole thing to a serving plate.

Delicately gather the bundle of strings 22, try to round them without breaking them 23, and place them around the croquembouche. The Christmas croquembouche is ready to serve 24.