St. Honoré Cake

A puff base ringed with caramel-dipped choux buns, where each bun is dipped before it is placed and not after.

Egg. Not vegetarian — contains gelatine.

Ingredients

For the structure

• 1 batch puff pastry, as on its own page
• 1 batch choux pastry, as on its own page
• 1 batch chiboust cream, as on its own page

For the caramel

• 300 g caster sugar
• 80 ml water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method

1. EACH BUN IS DIPPED BEFORE IT IS PLACED, NOT AFTER. Held upside down, its top touched into the caramel, turned over and set on the ring. Dipped in place, caramel runs down between the buns and welds the whole ring into one unservable mass, and the first cut shatters it.
2. THE SAME CARAMEL DOES TWO JOBS AND THE SECOND ONE IS STRUCTURAL. A dab on the base of each bun glues it to the pastry ring. So the order per bun is: dip the top, dab the bottom, place. Thinking of the caramel as decoration is how this collapses.
3. THE PUFF BASE IS DOCKED AND WEIGHTED, as for the mille-feuille on this site, but only in the middle. The centre must stay flat to hold the cream; the outer ring is left free to rise and carry the buns.
4. AND THE CHIBOUST GOES ON LAST, AFTER THE CARAMEL HAS SET. It is a set cream and warm caramel dripping onto it melts a channel straight through.
5. Puff pastry made as on its own page, rolled to 3 mm and cut into a 24 cm disc. Chilled 30 minutes.
6. The disc pricked all over EXCEPT a 2 cm band round the edge. A ring of choux piped onto that band.
7. Baked at 200C for 25 minutes, then 180C for 10, until the ring is risen and deep gold and the centre is dry.
8. Choux pastry made as on its own page and piped as about 14 small buns on a separate tray. Baked, pierced and cooled as that page directs.
9. Chiboust cream made as on its own page -- but not until the caramel work below is finished, because it sets.
10. Sugar, water and lemon juice taken to a light amber. The pan set over warm water off the heat.
11. Each bun: top dipped, a dab of caramel on its base, and pressed onto the baked choux ring. Worked round until the ring is complete.
12. Left 20 minutes until the caramel is hard.
13. NOW the chiboust made, and piped into the centre -- a spiral, or the fluted ridges a St Honoré nozzle gives.
14. Chilled 1 hour and eaten the same day. The caramel softens overnight and the pastry goes with it.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under France · All recipes