Jamie Magazine
By Jamie Oliver
Croquembouche
Dulce de leche filling & chocolate sauce
1 hr 30 mins
Showing Off
serves 12
About the recipe
This is a little cheffy, but I wanted to show that anyone can make one. I used to find it tricky, but then I found this method. I love it with dulce de leche, but strawberries with cream are fab. Whatever floats your bateau.
Recipe From
Ingredients
100g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon golden caster sugar
200g plain flour
4 large free-range eggs
1 x 400g tin or jar of dulce de leche (condensed milk caramel)
300g golden granulated sugar
OPTIONAL: CHOCOLATE SAUCE
100g dark chocolate (70% solids)
300ml single cream
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
- Put the butter, sugar and 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a pan with 325ml of water. Bring to the boil.
- Remove from the heat, add the flour and beat into a paste. Beat in the eggs, one by one, till smooth and combined.
- Transfer the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.
- Pipe onto 2 large non-stick baking trays in dollops the size of large walnuts, leaving a gap between them so they can rise. You should get about 40.
- Wet your finger and gently squash the peak on each so they don’t burn, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until puffed and golden.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack, then use a small sharp knife to pierce a little hole in each.
- Wash out the piping bag and nozzle, then spoon in the dulce de leche. Pipe the buns with dulce de leche, until just full. It might take a little practice, so don’t worry if you mess up a couple. Persevere, it’s worth it.
- If making the chocolate sauce, smash up the chocolate and place in a heatproof glass bowl with the cream and a pinch of salt.
- Place over a pan of gently simmering water (make sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl), and leave until the chocolate is melted and glossy, stirring occasionally.
- Make a toffee by adding the golden sugar to a shallow heavy-based non-stick pan with 50ml of water.
- Place over a high heat and leave to bubble for 4 to 5 minutes, or until light brown and syrupy. Don’t stir it, just gently shake the pan occasionally, and be careful – hot sugar can burn very easily, so keep the kids away and don’t be tempted to taste it.
- Leave the toffee for a few minutes to cool slightly, then, using tongs, carefully and lightly dip each bun into the toffee to get just a very thin coating (you don’t want to break your guests’ teeth) and practise sticking them together.
- Once you’re happy, arrange the buns on a platter so they stick together and build upwards into a pyramid shape. Serve with chocolate sauce, if you like.
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