Creating A French Fancy Wedding Cake: A Step-By-Step Guide

The French wedding cake, known as the pièce montée, is not a cake at all. Instead, it is a cone-shaped tower of cream puffs bound together by caramel, known as a croquembouche. The traditional French pâte à choux is made from flour, butter, sugar, and eggs, similar to a donut hole. The difficulty in making a croquembouche lies in assembling the small balls of pâte à choux and mounting them in a pyramid shape. The higher the pyramid, the better, to increase the wow factor. The croquembouche is often decorated with flowers or coloured to match the wedding decorations.

Choosing your croquembouche flavours

A croquembouche is a traditional French wedding cake, made of profiteroles filled with creme patissiere and glazed with caramel. The traditional and most popular filling is creme patissiere – a light vanilla pastry cream. The flavour works well on its own, beautifully complementing the delicate taste of the choux pastry and the distinctive flavour of the caramel. The creme patissiere can be flavoured with Limoncello for a fresh twist.

If you want to add an extra layer of flavour, the croquembouche can be served with a chocolate sauce or a fruit coulis. This goes well with the vanilla cream custard.

For a modern take on the croquembouche, you can choose different flavours for your profiteroles. Some popular options include vanilla, pear, praline, chocolate, coffee, and pistachio.

If you want to add some decoration to your croquembouche, you can include some handmade chocolate roses or fresh flowers. You can also dip the cream puffs in pearl sugar after the caramel for an added crunch and a pretty aesthetic.

How to assemble a croquembouche

To assemble a croquembouche, you will need a large number of cream puffs, a stand, and caramel. The cream puffs should be filled with pastry cream and can be decorated with caramel, pearl sugar, or chopped nuts. The caramel is what will hold the croquembouche together, so it is important to make sure it is the correct consistency—it should be viscous enough to dip the puffs in, but it should harden quickly.

Begin by creating a cone out of a large piece of poster board or construction paper. The cone should be around 18 inches high with a 6-inch base. Cover the cone with parchment paper and place it on a serving platter. You can use cooking spray to help the cone stay in place.

Now, start dipping your cream puffs in the caramel and sticking them to the cone, working from the bottom up. You can dip just the tops of the puffs in the caramel and place them with the caramel-side facing out, or you can dip the bottoms of the puffs in the caramel and place them with the caramel-side facing in. Either way, hold each puff in place for a few seconds to allow the caramel to harden and secure the puff in place. Work your way up the cone, creating concentric circles of puffs as you go.

Once you have added all the puffs, you can decorate the croquembouche with strands of caramel, creating a web-like pattern. You can also add flowers, candy flowers, or candied almonds.

The croquembouche should be served the same day it is assembled, as the cream puffs will lose their crunch over time.

The history of the croquembouche

The croquembouche, a French dessert consisting of a cone-shaped tower of cream-filled choux pastry puffs, is held together by threads of caramel or spun sugar. The name, which translates to "crunch in the mouth", comes from the French phrase "croque en bouche".

The dessert is believed to have originated in the late 18th century, inspired by the Middle Eastern dessert "towers of paradise". It gained popularity during the reign of King Louis XIV and was served at extravagant royal celebrations, including weddings and grand banquets. The invention of the croquembouche is often attributed to Antonin Carême, a world-renowned French cook and writer, who included the recipe in his 1815 cookbook "Le Pâtissier royal parisien". However, it was first mentioned in André Viard's 1806 culinary encyclopedia "Le Cuisinier Impérial".

Carême grew up in the kitchens, having been abandoned as a child by his parents during the French Revolution. He found shelter in a brasserie that trained him as an apprentice and provided him with room and board. Carême went on to become a patissier and gained fame for his croquembouche, which were several feet high. His masterpieces led him to mix with high society, and he eventually became the chef de cuisine to the Prince Regent of England, later George IV.

The croquembouche is constructed by baking the choux pastry puffs, filling them with cream, and then dipping them in caramelized sugar, which acts as a glue to assemble the tower. The final result is a towering confection that stands as a testament to the artistry of French pastry chefs. The dessert is traditionally served at celebrations and is meant to be shared, fostering a sense of joy and conviviality.

Croquembouche cutting ceremony

A croquembouche is a French wedding cake that is not really a cake. It is a "mounted piece" or "pièce montée" of small dough confections assembled into a pyramid or cone shape. It is made from choux puff pastry, filled with crème pâtissière, and stacked together with caramel.

Preparation

• Prepare the croquembouche ahead of time, as it is traditionally brought out only at the time of dessert.
• Dim the lights in the room and surround the cake display with sparklers.
• Play upbeat music to create a festive atmosphere.

Cutting the Croquembouche

• For a formal event, use a sharp knife to disassemble the tiers of the croquembouche. Cut or serve two to three profiteroles per person.
• For a casual event or family gathering, encourage guests to pull the profiteroles by hand, allowing them to take two to three each.
• Alternatively, as the newlyweds, you can simply use your fingers to gently pry the top cream puffs from the croquembouche.

Serving the Croquembouche

• For guests, use tongs to serve each person at least three cream puffs, working from the top of the croquembouche to the bottom.
• Feed each other pieces of cream puffs, recreating the traditional cake-cutting photo opportunity.
• Put any leftovers in an airtight container to enjoy later. The croquembouche can be stored for one day, but the caramel will rehydrate, making the dessert messy and sticky.

Croquembouche presentation ideas

A croquembouche is a French wedding cake that is not actually a cake. It is a cone-shaped tower of cream puffs, profiteroles, or choux pastry puffs, bound together by threads of caramel. It is a show-stopping dessert that is sure to impress your guests. Here are some ideas for presenting your croquembouche:

Height

As the traditional French saying goes, "the higher, the better" to ramp up the "wow factor". However, this also increases the difficulty of assembling the croquembouche, as it is an architectural technique that many bakers have tried and failed at.

Colour

Traditionally, a croquembouche is brown due to the caramel binding. However, you can add colour to tie into the rest of the wedding decorations. For example, you can use coloured macarons instead of pâte à choux.

Decorations

Traditionally, a croquembouche is decorated with flowers or sparklers. You can also add other decorations such as candied almonds, edible flowers, or pearl sugar.

Serving

After the wedding dinner, the lights are usually dimmed, and the croquembouche is rolled out on a large table accompanied by sparklers, champagne, and other smaller desserts. The couple will toast each other and feed each other a croquembouche, and then guests are invited to join in. For a formal event, use a sharp knife to cut the croquembouche into tiers and serve two to three profiteroles per person. For a casual event, encourage guests to pull the profiteroles off the tower by hand.

Frequently asked questions