Saint Honorè

Saint Honorè

Considered as one of the most difficult cakes to make, I believe it is not difficult … but time consuming. An impressive French cake that consists of a base of puff pastry and topped with caramelized choux pastry balls. The center of the cake is filled with pastry cream (custard). I added some toasted almonds for a crunchy taste.

Ingredients:

For the base:

200 g./7 oz. puff pastry, chilled

For the choux pastry balls:

2 teacups flour (a teacup is 200 ml.)
1 cup/2 sticks butter
6 eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teacups water

For the pastry cream:

5 egg yolks
¾ cup sugar
⅓ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter

For the caramel:

1 cup sugar
½ cup water

For garnish:

Some toasted blanched almonds

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Place a rack in the center of the oven.
Roll out the puff pastry on a floured counter top to a large square 22x22cm/9x9inches, and about 1/2 cm thick.
Transfer the puff pastry square to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Prick the dough with the tines of a fork.
Bake until the puff pastry turns to golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.

For the pastry cream: In a bowl whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch to fully incorporate. Set aside.
Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the vanilla, and bring just to a boil.
Directly add the egg yolk mixture to the milk and whisk constantly over medium heat. Continue whisking until the mixture thickens.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Set aside to cool down completely.

For the choux pastry balls:

Pour the water into a saucepan and add the butter. Place the pan over medium heat, and as soon as the butter melts, turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
Add the flour all at once. Combine well and take the pan off the heat. Stir briskly until the flour has blended in with the liquid, forming a soft ball.
Allow the mixture to cool down a bit, then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until the mixture is thick and glossy.
Place the choux pasty batter into a piping bag with a large nozzle, and pipe the dough onto a lightly greased oven tray, creating small balls about 2.5cm/1inch. Leave some space between one ball and another.
Bake for about 15, or until puffy and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool down completely.

To fill the choux pastry balls:

Put 1/3 of the pastry cream into a pastry bag with plain tube. Create a small slit with a knife in each of the choux pastry balls and pipe the filling into each.

Fill the center of the baked puff pastry with the remaining pastry cream.

For the caramel:

Mix together sugar and water and place over medium heat.
Once the sugar starts melting, stir gently with a wooden spoon. Note that initially it will crystelize, but the sugar will soon start to melt into a uniform caramel.
Rapidly, dip one side of each pastry choux ball into the syrup. Put the choux pastry balls around the edges of the puff pastry.
Sprinkle the toasted almonds, and drizzle the rest of the caramel over the cake. Enjoy!

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