Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Day after Croquembouche ...

Good afternoon everyone.

Boy, it is so interesting the way things work.  I worked and worked on the Croquembouche and as you saw the other day I got them all put together and I started giving them away.  I have to tell you the feedback that I am getting is not what I expected.

Since yesterday we have had so many laughs about the Croquembouche.  See, after the Carmel sets it is hard as a rock ... like rock candy ... and in the Croquembouche directions it says to hit the thing with the back of a knife to break it open so you can start eating the puffs ... easier said than done.  First of all the broken Carmel gets all over the kitchen ... when you break it ... it shatters like glass.  What a mess .. and even though you break it they are still so stuck together you need to wrestle it to get the puffs loose.  We have been laughing and laughing since I started giving these away yesterday.

I also got some more news yesterday that I will tell you more about when I find out more.  I will tell you that I went to the "girly" Doctor yesterday and I have another operation in my near future but I don't know any more than that right now.

So ... as Croquenbouche's go ... I had a lot of fun with the project that took me about 6 days to complete.  And the feedback and the laughs that we are getting from it are"PRICELESS"!

I am not sure what the new project will be ... any ideas out there?  I will be thinking with you to see what I can do next.

Have a really great day on this very sunny, bright and very pretty day.  Signing off for now from 1HappyChef.  :)  Take care everyone ..

Monday, January 9, 2012

Croquembouche done!

Happy Monday everyone!

I got up and got right to it this morning.  I had been thinking about the Croquembouche since I quit working on it Saturday and I was ready to just make the caramel and finish it. 

I think in the end with all of the time and work I am thinking that I just like the cream puffs filled with the cream and that the caramel is just way too much trouble/mess unless you are doing it for a special occasion.  I of course was just doing it to give it all away ... I don't want to put on 50 more pounds.

PS>the reason that my Croquembouche is not very tall is because I made 4 of them so it would be easier to give away instead of pulling it apart.

Today at 2:30 PM I have a Dr.'s appointment (for girly stuff) and then I am just waiting for Friday to see what is going to happen with my back.  I hope that I get off all drugs and it gets fixed once and for all ... I think the Dr.'s move so slow but I guess they know what they are doing?

just wanted to post the pictures of the Croquembouche and touch base with you.  If I have any news later I will post again.  Have a really great day ... signing off for now from 1HappyChef.  :)

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Croquembouche day 4

Good Saturday evening everyone.

Just a really short post tonight.  I just wanted to tell you that this morning I got up bright and early and filled 175 cream puffs .. getting them ready to make the Croquembouche on Monday.  What a job ... towards the end though I was really starting to get the hang of it and I will know many short cuts if I ever decide to do a project like this again ...I also have figured out how to scale it down to about 1/4 of what I am doing now.  That wouldn't take hardly anytime to do it next time.  Maybe only 1 day instead of 5?

So, for now there are no pictures to show you today on the progress.  I do know that I am very excited to see this when it is finished.   On the"Cooking Channel" today the Chef made one and it was very cool!

Have a really great evening and I will post again tomorrow.  Hope you are all enjoying this weather ... it is suppose to stay nice and sunny for the next 5 days or so ... yea!  Good night for now from 1HappyChef.  :)

Friday, January 6, 2012

Croquembouche day 3

Little chocolate Mice ... so cute!
Good good evening to everyone.

Today was a good day moving forward with the Croquembouche ... I made the Bavarian Pastry Cream and it is in the fridge cooling down so I can move on to the next stop ... filling the cream puffs with the cream.  Wow, I personally can't wait ... this is taking way too long to be able to taste this wonderful dessert.

Not too much else going on today.  I cleaned out my new oven and cleaned the top and knobs really good to make it brand new to me and then I had to clean the kitchen and the floor to make it match the new oven ... so, that is what else I did today.

I have to admit that I put in a pretty full day today and am quite tired ... it is very good to be busy again even if it is with some project that not too many people understand why I am going to all of the trouble.  When I get really tired I ask myself that same thing ... this is sooooo much work but I will be so very excited to post the finished Croquembouche.

That is all that I have got for today.  So, have a really great night everyone from 1HappyChef.  :)  Take care and enjoy this nice weather.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Croquembouch:

Croquembouche:

Croquembouche is a French dessert made by stacking cream puffs in a conical shape and cementing them together with a caramel or spun sugar mixture. The dessert is typically ornamented with an outer layer of spun sugar, chocolate, sugared nuts, or other ingredients, and it is designed to be displayed as the centerpiece of a table. This dessert has been used at French weddings and celebrations for centuries, and it is served outside of France to add a French flair to an evening's events.

The croquembouche has a long history. It appears to have been invented by French pastry chef Antoine Careme in the late 1700s, when it became very popular as a wedding cake. Many of the individual components such as the cream puffs date to the 1500s, illustrating the long history of fine pastries in France.

This pastry concoction is one of a family of desserts known as pièces montées, or “mounted pieces.” A pièce montée is a dessert which is carefully constructed from an assortment of components, and designed to look as ornate and festive as possible. These desserts are often so elaborate that people are hesitant to eat them, and in some cases, a pièce montée may actually be specifically designed to be ornamental, including inedible ingredients like wax or cardboard to support the structure.

Constructing a croquembouche takes several days. First, the baker must make profiteroles, also known as cream puffs, from choux pastry stuffed with pastry cream. Then, a spun sugar or caramel glaze must be prepared. Several hours before the croquembouche is to be served, the cook carefully stacks the cream puffs, using the spun sugar or caramel like mortar to glue them together, and then the outside of the croquembouche must be decorated.

The traditional decoration for a croquembouche is a spun sugar glaze dusted with candied almonds. Some bakers drizzle chocolate over the croquembouche, or add more exotic ingredients like candied flowers. The top of the croquembouche may be adorned with ribbons and other ornaments. The end result is very crunchy, which explains the name: “croquembouche” means “cracks in the mouth.”

One of the biggest challenges with a croquembouche for guests unfamiliar with this food is eating it successfully. Historically, the croquembouche was cracked open with a heavy knife or sword, and guests picked away the profiteroles. In the modern era, the guests may simply be encouraged to pull the croquembouche apart, with napkins in hand to cope with shards of glaze and crumbs from the profiteroles.

Croquembouche day 2

Good morning to all of my faithful readers out there.  This is day 2 with the progress with the Croquembouche ... I am not so sure that this is worth all of the hype and trouble.  I have had trouble at my apartment with appliances though so maybe that is why I am getting discouraged?

The guys (maintenance people) were knocking on my door this morning at 7 AM (because they thought that I would be up) to fix my washing machine which has been broken now for a couple of weeks .. they have been fixing it all along but the original problem never went away ... it leaked.  So, today they took the thing apart and the pump hose had a crack in it so they replace it and I thought (stupid me) that all was fixed and I was good to go ... wrong.

Yesterday I told you that I made 100 mini cream puffs for this croquembouche and last night I decided to make some a little bigger and to stagger them so I thought that it would look better ... so, since the guys were here working on the washer I got out all of the stuff and started to make about 48 a little larger cream puffs ... not so good.  I got the process down in my very small kitchen and today the process was much less messy and painful (trying to work in such small quarters).  I am moving right along and have them in the oven and they are not cooking ... 15 more minutes and they are not cooking ... 30 more minutes and they are not cooking and finally after 1 1/2 hours I got them done enough to use ... you know that they have to be completely dried our and puffy so they have those good holes in them to put all of that wonderful Bavarian Pastry Cream that I am going to make tomorrow.


This is not the first time with the oven not working here  ... it wasn't too long ago that they  they replace the thermostat on it.   But as it turns out this was a good thing that it decided not to work when they were here working on the washer.  I always feed these guys whatever I make and they always look forward to getting the good stuff so when the oven wasn't working right they got real concerned ... that was going to put a damper on what I could and couldn't make so they said that right after lunch they would bring me a new (5 years old) stove that I could try out. Now my day is starting to get better ... by this afternoon I will be up and running again ... until the next thing breaks ... but for today it is all good.  Way to go 1HappyChef ... I guess that the way to getting your appliances fixed is to always feed the maintenance guys?

So, I took some pictures of the "bigger cream puffs" that took 1 1/2 hours to back ... but hey ... it is all good now.  More to come tomorrow ... we will see what happen with the Bavarian Pastry Cream.  Maybe I just worry too much and nothing will happen?

I have to tell you all though that I am a happy camper now that I have decided to get busy again doing something everyday and not worrying about all of my aches and pains and what is going to happen.  This has been the happiest I have been the past couple of days working on this project.

Have a really great day everyone.  Good day for now from 1HappyChef.  :)

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Croquembouche

Good afternoon everyone.

When I got up this morning I decided that I was going to start some sort of project ... no matter how bad I hurt and really wasn't up to it.  I have been laying around hurting and feeling sorry for myself too long so here is what I ended up doing.


I have been dreaming for about a week now about making a "Croquembouche" ... (it was probably the drugs that made me do it) you all know what that is right?  In my sleep I have been baking, making and putting this thing together for so long now I feel as if I could do it in my sleep.

So, when I got up today I made 100 mini cream puffs ... the base for the Croquembouche.  Pictures included.  Tomorrow I will make the Bavarian Pastry Cream and then allow it to cool over night and then you have to fill all 100 cream puffs with the cream ... so now I got to Friday ... yea!  Busy again at last.  Then when you have that step done then you make some caramel and you dip each cream puff into the caramel (it acts as glue) and you begin building a tree sort of shape.  When the tree is built you can also drizzle it with chocolate or I may use the caramel ... I really like caramel.

I will take pictures every step of the way so you can all see how this is done and how really fantastic this thing is when it is done!

This is something that I always wanted to do in school but we never got around to it and it always fascinated me.  I am very excited about this little project that I have created for myself.

Have a really great afternoon everyone ... signing off for now from 1HappyChef.  :)