Croquembouche Cake: Cutting The Perfect Slice

A croquembouche wedding cake is a traditional French dessert made from cream puffs or choux buns. It is customary in France to whack the croquembouche with a broom shank or the side of a sword, so it shatters into a pile of flying choux buns. This is caught in the bridesmaids' dresses, making for a fun but messy cake-cutting ceremony.

Making the craquelin

To make the craquelin, you'll need butter, brown sugar, salt and flour. Mix the butter, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl with a rubber spatula until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Then, fold in the flour until you get a stiff dough. Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper and fold it onto itself to ensure it's mixed evenly.

Next, divide the dough in half and roll each half between two pieces of parchment paper until it's about 1/8 inch thick. Using a one-inch round dough cutter, press into your dough and cut out as many pieces as possible. You should end up with around 70 craquelins. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge until it's time to bake.

Once you're ready to bake, use a rubber spatula to put your dough in a piping bag and press out all excess air before sealing it. Cut off a small 1/2-inch opening in the piping bag. Put your marked parchment papers on baking sheets. Gently squeeze the bag until the circle is filled with a small mound of dough.

Cutting the craquelins

To cut a croquembouche wedding cake, you need to start by preparing the craquelins. First, mix butter, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl with a rubber spatula until you get a creamy and smooth texture. Then, fold in your flour until you get a stiff dough. Place the dough on parchment paper and fold it onto itself to ensure it's mixed evenly. Next, divide the dough in half and roll each half between two pieces of parchment paper until it's about 1/8 inch thick. Using a one-inch round dough cutter, press into your dough and cut out as many pieces as possible. Separate the craquelins from the excess dough (you should have about 70), place them on parchment paper on a baking sheet, cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge until it's time to bake.

Once the craquelins are baked, you can assemble the croquembouche. Pipe the cream puffs by putting your dough in a piping bag and pressing out all excess air before sealing it. Cut off a small 1/2-inch opening on the piping bag and gently squeeze it until the circle is filled with a small mound of dough. Place the craquelins on top of the cream puffs and continue stacking until you have a tower.

Finally, it's time to cut the croquembouche! In France, it is customary to whack the croquembouche with a broom shank or the side of a sword so that it shatters into a pile of flying choux buns. The bridesmaids catch the buns in their dresses, making for a fun (if messy) tradition.

Piping the cream puffs

To pipe the cream puffs, you will need a rubber spatula, a piping bag, and marked parchment papers on baking sheets. First, use the spatula to put your dough into the piping bag, pressing out all excess air before sealing it. Cut off a small 1/2-inch opening on the piping bag. Place the marked parchment papers on baking sheets. When you are ready to pipe, gently squeeze the bag until the circle is filled with a small mound of dough. Moving the bag is not necessary.

The cream puffs are an important part of the croquembouche wedding cake, which is a traditional French dessert. In France, it is customary to whack the croquembouche with a broom shank or the side of a sword so that it shatters into a pile of flying cream puffs, which are then caught in the bridesmaids' dresses. If you are planning to serve the croquembouche as the only dessert, it is recommended to have at least three cream puffs per person. If you plan on having other sweets as well, the recommended serving size is one to two cream puffs per person.

Creating a base

Start by arranging the largest caramel-topped puffs in a circle on your prepared cake round. This will help you gauge the width of the base. You can use nine puffs, as recommended by some sources, or more, depending on the size of your puffs and the desired width of your base.

Remove the puffs from the circle one at a time, dip one side of the rounded edge of each puff into the caramel, and then press the dipped side, with the caramel-top facing outward, into its space on the cake round. Angle the puffs slightly inward and hold them in place until the caramel hardens, which should take about three seconds. Repeat this process until you have formed the first layer of the croquembouche, creating a solid base for the rest of the tower.

Another tip for creating a stable base is to use a pâte à choux base to make both the buns and their pastry cream filling. This will help streamline the assembly process and ensure that your tower is strong and secure.

You can also get creative with your base and use nougatine to create special designs. For example, you could incorporate butterflies, meaningful objects, or the couple's monogram. This will add a unique and personalised touch to your croquembouche wedding cake.

Cutting the cake

A croquembouche wedding cake is a tower of cream puffs, so it's not as simple as cutting a traditional cake. In France, it is customary to whack the croquembouche with a broom shank or the side of a sword, so it shatters into a pile of flying choux buns. The bridesmaids catch the buns in their dresses, which is fun but a bit messy.

If you want to avoid a mess, you can cut the croquembouche into slices like a traditional cake. You can also use the nougatine to create special designs to attach to the cone, such as butterflies or shapes that are meaningful to the couple. For example, you could ask the baker to recreate your monogram on a sheet of nougatine.

When ordering a croquembouche, it is recommended that you get at least three pieces of choux per person if the croquembouche is the only dessert. If you plan on having other sweets, the recommended serving size is one to two choux per person.

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