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“Honore” thy fellow bakers…..

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This Gateau Saint Honore is a mini version of the original but yes, with all the steps and work of the original. 🙂

This time around, Daring Bakers Helen(Tartelette) and Anita(Dessert First) chose a multi step cake for us.

One that made a more than a few DB’s nervous.

When you have as many Daring Bakers as we do now, you need to do something with your dessert to make it stand out a little among the others.

I wanted to go miniature, but I knew so would a lot of people.

So I decided I should take one more step to stand out, I made mine rectangular.

It worked out nicely as you have no extra puff pastry dough to throw away.

If I had to do things over, I would use store bought puff pastry.

Not because it is particularly hard to make puff pastry (just time consuming) but because I don’t have the freezer space to store it.

And I just can’t throw away extra puff pastry that took hours to make.

So in retrospect, just buying one box of it would be the way to go.

The only changes I made were with the cream puffs.

I had run out of all-purpose flour by the time it came to make the puffs and I was too lazy to go to the store.

Since the recipe I use the most for choux has bread flour in it, I used that instead.

They tend to hold their shape better in my opinion when you use the bread or hard flour.

I also of course had to make the cream puffs very small to fit onto the mini rectangle.

If you choose to do this, my cream puffs were piped to about the size of a dime.

I did not fill them with cream, there was enough cream on this cake already.

I have made one of these before so it wasn’t that daunting to me.

It was much nicer this time around since someone was not standing over my shoulder judging me this time.

This time I just had a little furry dog under my feet waiting for something to fall 🙂

To see all the different ways the Daring Bakers made their Gateau Saint Honore please visit all the sites listed on my Daring Bakers blog roll.

P.S. Yes, I know this is a long and daunting recipe. It can be done. It’s just a lot of steps. There is a reason it was chosen as a challenge on The Great British Baking Show. 🙂 But if you are up for a challenge then go for it.

P.P.S. It’s a great day to buy my cookbook Holy Sweet!

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Gateau Saint Honore

Gateau Saint Honore

Ingredients

  • You Need:
  • Puff pastry
  • Pate a Choux (Cream Puff Dough)
  • Saint Honore Cream
  • Caramel
  • Whipped cream.
  • For the Pate a Choux or Cream Puffs Dough
  • 4 ¾ oz. all purpose flour
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 oz unsalted butter
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 1 cup eggs
  • For the Puff Pastry:
  • Puff Pastry:
  • Makes about 2 1/2 pounds.
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
  • 3/4 cup cake flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, well chilled
  • 1 1/4 cups cold water
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, well-chilled
  • For the Saint Honore Cream (Rapid Chiboust or Diplomat Cream):
  • 1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp) unflavored gelatin
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 Tb. rum
  • ¼ cup whipping cream
  • 3 egg whites
  • dash of salt
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • For the Caramel:
  • 8 oz sugar

Instructions

  1. For the Pate a Choux:
  2. Sift the flour and set aside.
  3. Heat the water, butter and salt to a full rolling boil, so that the fat is not just floating on the top but is dispersed throughout the liquid.
  4. Stir the flour into the liquid with a heavy wooden spoon, adding it as fast as it can be absorbed.
  5. Avoid adding it all at once or it will form clumps.
  6. Cook, stirring constantly and breaking up the lumps if necessary, by pressing them against the side of the pan with the back of the spoon until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan, about 2-3 minutes.
  7. Transfer the dough to a mixer bowl.
  8. Let the paste cool slightly so that the eggs will not cook when they are added.
  9. You can add and stir the eggs by hand but it requires some serious elbow grease.
  10. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, using the paddle attachment on low or medium speed. Do not add all the eggs at once.
  11. Check after a few, the dough should have the consistency of thick mayonnaise.
  12. Transfer the dough to a piping bag and use as desired.
  13. For the Puff Pastry:
  14. Make the dough package: In a large mixing bowl, combine both flours with the salt.
  15. Scatter butter pieces over the flour mixture; using your fingers or a pastry cutter, incorporate butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
  16. Form a well in center of mixture, and pour the water into well. Using your hands, gradually draw flour mixture over the water, covering and gathering until mixture is well blended and begins to come together.
  17. Gently knead mixture in the bowl just until it comes together to form a dough, about 15 seconds.
  18. Pat dough into a rough ball, and turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap.
  19. Wrap tightly, and place in refrigerator to chill 1 hour.
  20. Make the butter package: Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon flour on a sheet of waxed or parchment paper.
  21. Place uncut sticks of butter on top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon flour.
  22. Top with another sheet of paper; using a rolling pin, pound butter to soften and flatten to about 1/2 inch.
  23. Remove top sheet of paper, and fold butter package in half onto itself.
  24. Replace top sheet of paper, and pound again until butter is about A inch thick.
  25. Repeat process two or three times, or until butter becomes quite pliable.
  26. Using your hands, shape butter package into a 6-inch square.
  27. Wrap well in plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator until it is chilled but not hardened, no more than 10 minutes.
  28. Assemble and roll the dough:
  29. Remove dough package from refrigerator, and place on a lightly floured work surface.
  30. Using a rolling pin, gently roll dough into a 9-inch round.
  31. Remove butter package from refrigerator, and place it in the center of the dough round.
  32. Using a paring knife or bench scraper, lightly score the dough to outline the butter square; remove butter, and set it aside.
  33. Starting from each side of the center square, gently roll out dough with the rolling pin, forming four flaps, each 4 to 5 inches long; do not touch the raised square in the center of the dough.
  34. Replace butter package on the center square.
  35. Fold flaps of dough over the butter package so that it is completely enclosed.
  36. Press with your hands to seal.
  37. Using the rolling pin, press down on the dough at regular intervals, repeating and covering the entire surface area, until it is about 1 inch thick.
  38. Gently roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 9 by 20 inches, with one of the short sides closest to you.
  39. Be careful not to press too hard around the edges, and keep the corners even as you roll out the dough by squaring them with the side of the rolling pin or your hands.
  40. Brush off any excess flour.
  41. Starting at the near end, fold the rectangle in thirds as you would a business letter; this completes the first single turn.
  42. Wrap in plastic wrap; place in refrigerator 45 to 60 minutes.
  43. Remove dough from refrigerator, and repeat process giving it five more single turns.
  44. Always start with the flap opening on the right as if it were a book.
  45. Mark the dough with your knuckle each time you complete a turn to help you keep track.
  46. Chill 1 hour between each turn.
  47. After the sixth and final turn, wrap dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before using.
  48. For the Diplomat Cream:
  49. Soak the gelatin in the 1/4 cup of cold water.
  50. Put the sugar, flour, and salt into a saucepan and stir together with a whisk.
  51. Add the yolks and enough milk to make a paste. Whisk in the remainder of the milk.
  52. Place over low heat and stirring constantly, cook until thick.
  53. Remove from heat and stir in the rum and the gelatin.
  54. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.
  55. Stir in the whipping cream.
  56. Set the mixing bowl in cold water and stir until the cream is cool.
  57. Place the egg whites in a clean bowl and using clean beaters, whip them with the dash of salt.
  58. As soon as the whites begin to stiffen, gradually add the 1/2 cup of sugar and beat until they are very stiff.
  59. Fold the egg whites into the cooled cream.
  60. Roll the puff pastry out to 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick, 12 inch square (30 cm).
  61. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate covered at least 20 minutes.
  62. While the puff pastry is resting, make the pate a choux and place it in a pastry bag with a # 4 (8mm) plain tip.
  63. Reserve.
  64. Leaving the puff pastry on the sheet pan, cut a 11 inch (27.5 cm) circle from the dough and remove the scraps. (An easy way to cut it is to use a 11inch tart pan as a “cookie cutter”).
  65. Prick the circles lightly with a fork.
  66. Pipe 4 concentric rings of Pate a Choux on the pastry circle.
  67. Pipe out 12 cream puffs the size of Bing cherries onto the paper around the cake.
  68. Bake the puff pastry circle and the cream puffs at 400F (205C) until the pate a choux has puffed, about 10 minutes.
  69. Reduce the heat to 375F (190C) and bake until everything is dry enough to hold its shape, about 35 minutes longer for the cake and 8 minutes longer for the cream puffs (just pick them up and take them out as they are done)
  70. Place about 4 oz (114 gr) of the Saint Honore Cream in a pastry bag with a #2 (4mm) plain tip.
  71. Use the pastry bag tip or the tip of a paring knife to make a small hole in the bottom of each cream puff.
  72. Pipe the cream into the cream puffs to fill them. Refrigerate.
  73. Spread the remaining cream filling on the cake. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to set the cream.
  74. Caramelize the 8 oz. of sugar:
  75. Fill a bowl that is large enough to hold the pan used for cooking the sugar with enough cold water to reach halfway up the sides of the pan.
  76. Set the bowl aside.
  77. Place the sugar in a heavy bottomed pan and cook until the sugar until it has caramelized to just a shade lighter than the desired color.
  78. Remove from the heat and immediately place the bottom of the pan in the bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
  79. Dip the cream puffs into the hot caramel, using 2 forks or tongues to avoid burning your fingers.
  80. Place them on a sheet pan.
  81. The caramel must be hot enough to go on in a thin layer.
  82. Reheat if necessary as you are dipping, stirring constantly to avoid darkening the caramel any more than necessary.
  83. Also, avoid any Saint Honore cream to leak out of the puffs and get mixed in with the caramel while dipping as the cream can cause the sugar to recrystalize.Whip one cup of heavy cream and teaspoon of sugar to stiff peaks.
  84. Place the whipped cream in pastry bag fitted with a #5 (10mm) star tip.
  85. Pipe a border of whipped cream around the top of the cake. Arrange the cream puffs, evenly spaced, on top of the filling, next to the cream.
  86. Option: Before filling the cake, take care of the cream puffs, dip them in more caramel, hook them up to the base.
  87. Fill with the cream filling and fill the holes with the whipped cream.

 
 

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Comments

  2. great job peabody! It just occured to me after I saw Helen’s and your post…the caramelized disk on top is suppose to signify the halo of the saint , right?

    Reply

  4. Hey … it’s hip to be square … or in this case rectangular!

    I love your gateau and can I just say that your cream puffs are the image of glory and perfection.

    At least to me they are.

    :o)

    Reply

  5. When I heard you made miniatures, I was wondering if your dime sized puffs were filled. I have my answer now. And I agree, the gateau has more than enough cream.

    Reply

  8. Very intersting your work.Turned over the profiteroles you made another dessert,a creative Saint Honoré.A classic desert transformed in a brand new style.

    Reply

  15. I wish I could see the pictures 🙁 For some reason, some days I can see the pictures in your site, and some others I can´t (I´ve tried both IE and Firefox today to no avail), I´ll check again in a few days.

    Reply

  16. Gracie – they are stunning. As per usual. I love the rectangular shape and the thought of teeny tiny lil cream puffs wearing their lil teeny tiny caramel hats. =)

    Beautiful!
    xoxo

    Reply

  17. Gorgeous! I love the squish of the filled cream puffs with the crunchy caramel, but I think they would be fantastic if they were bite sized – it’s kind of hard to bite into one and have it ooze all over. Then again, maybe you’re supposed to use a fork. Oh well- love the shape and it looks delicious!

    Reply

  19. First of all your pictures look amazing. Second and I think the most obvious is that your gateau is wonderful, beautiful just perfect.

    Reply

  20. A gorgeous cake and it’s nice to see a mini rectangle. I didn’t fill my smaller ones, either. Spectacular photos, too.

    Reply

  21. How fantastic is your mini rectangle with the little “flat top” cream puffs! I think the shape is perfect for licking all the cream off in one fell swoop of the tongue. As usual, your pictures just make me drool.

    Reply

  22. I agree about making the puff square. I felt bad throwing away the scraps even though I used store bought pastry. Looks divine!

    Reply

  32. Wow! Those crisp-edged billows of cream look amazing. But you don’t need to throw away puff pastry scraps; just re-roll and make palmiers, or little feuilleté sticks coated with Parmesan to serve with drinks …

    Reply

  34. Hi Pea! Wow… just stunning! Gorgeous pictures, gorgeous gateau! I love the use of the mini cream puffs, and their delicate sugared tops too!

    I’m so glad you enjoyed working on this cake this time around – I cannot imagine trying to make this cake while being judged, or adhereing to time constraints.

    Reply

  36. You girls are amazing. I keep going from one Saint Honore to another one, and my head is starting to spin! Gorgeously done!

    Reply

  37. Wow, Peabody. How beautiful. Everything looks so perfect. Did you eat it, or is it sitting somewhere so you can oogle at it every day. Gorgeous!

    Reply

  42. Gawd, this is amazing, again! I can’t believe it. So sophisticated, so delectable, so . . . French! The photos make me want to bite off a huge, unsophisticated mouthful.

    Reply

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