Sorting Hat Croquembouche Recipe Yield: One 12-inch-by-16-inch tower Time: 4½ hours For the filling: 2 cups/480 milliliters whole milk ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt ½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract ½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar ⅓ cup/40 grams cornstarch 4 large egg yolks 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 ¼ cups/300 milliliters heavy cream Red, yellow, green and blue gel food coloring For the cream puffs: 1½ cups/360 milliliters whole milk ¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter (1½ sticks) 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt 4½ cups/545 grams all purpose flour 10 large eggs Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water), as needed For the caramel: 2½ cups/495 grams granulated sugar ⅓ cup/80 milliliters water ¼ cup/60 milliliters corn syrup 1. Make the filling: In a medium pot, bring the milk, salt and vanilla bean to a simmer over medium heat. (If using vanilla extract, you’ll add it later.) 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch, then whisk in the egg yolks. Ladle about 1 cup/235 milliliters warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly to combine. 3. Return the milk and yolk mixture to the pot, whisking constantly. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to visibly thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. At this point, switch from a whisk to a silicone spatula to ensure you can get into the corners and along the sides of the pot. 4. Continue to cook, stirring constantly with the spatula, until the mixture comes to a boil (there should be large, fat bubbles burst at the surface in the center of the pot), 3 to 4 minutes more. Strain the mixture into a large bowl, whisk in 2 tablespoons butter until melted and incorporated, press plastic wrap directly against the surface, and refrigerate until completely cool, at least 2 hours and up to overnight. 5. Just before the filling is cooled and you’re ready to mix itt, whip the cream to medium peaks, and fold it into the cooled filling. Divide the mixture evenly among four medium bowls (about 1 ½ cups/355 milliliters each, but no need to be precise). Tint one bowl with 5 to 8 drops of red food coloring, another with yellow food coloring, another with blue food coloring, and the last one with green coloring and stir to combine. Transfer each to a disposable pastry bag and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 8 hours). 6. Make the cream puffs: Heat the oven to 400 degrees, and line three baking sheets with parchment paper. 7. Place 1½ cups/360 milliliters water, milk, butter and salt in a medium pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes. 8. Add the flour to the simmering liquid, and begin stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to combine. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture forms a relatively solid ball around the spoon, and there’s a visible thin white film on the base of the pot, 3 to 5 minutes. 9. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and begin to mix on medium speed to cool the mixture slightly, 4 minutes. Add the eggs gradually (1 to 2 at a time), allowing each one to be fully incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the mixer bowl 2 to 3 times over the course of adding the eggs. 10. Prepare a disposable piping bag by fitting it with a ½-inch-wide round pastry tip, or simply by cutting a ½-inch opening out of the base of the bag (you can also use a resealable gallon bag, and cut one of its corners to form an opening). Transfer about one-third of the mixture to the piping bag. 11. Pipe rounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets: Each one should be about 1½-inches wide. Pipe a row of these rounds across the length of the baking sheet. (They can be relatively close together. Leave a little less than ½ inch in between each piece. When you begin to pipe the next row, stagger each piece so you can fit more on the baking sheet overall. Continue this process, refilling the bag with additional batter as needed, until you’ve used all of the batter. 12. Egg wash the cream puffs, using the pastry brush to help smooth out the surface of the cream puffs. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. After baking, use a paring knife to poke a hole in the bottom of all of the cream puffs to help release steam (and later, to provide a hole to fill them). Cool completely. 13. Fill the cooled cream puffs with the prepared tinted fillings. Fill about ¼ of the cream puffs with each color (but no need to be precise). Cut the tip of the pastry bags to have a ¼-inch opening at the end. 14. Shove the tip of the pastry bag into the base of the cream puff (where you made the cut with the paring knife earlier). Be pretty aggressive to get it inside, then fill each cream puff until they feel heavy. Repeat until all cream puffs are filled. 15. Make the caramel: Prepare an ice water bath in a medium bowl. Place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture starts to bubble. Once it simmers, stop stirring. If any sugar crystals appear on the sides of the pot, use a pastry brush dipped into cool water to wash them away. 16. Continue to cook the mixture until it becomes an amber caramel. It’s difficult to say exactly how long this will take, but remember that the caramel will hold a lot of heat, and will continue to cook even once you take it off the heat. So you can always take it off the heat a bit early, and let it carry over to the desired color. 17. Once it hits the desired color, dip the base of the pot into the ice water bath to stop the cooking. Whenever the caramel gets hard, you can warm it gently over medium-low heat to make it fluid again. 18. Have ready a 12-inch platter or cardboard cake circle (available at craft or cake supply stores). Working one at a time, dip the cream puffs into the caramel (to avoid burns, you can use a pair of tongs), then transfer into an even layer, filling the plate or cardboard circle. 19. Continue to build the croquembouche, dipping each cream puff and continuing to build upward in concentric circles to make a witch hat shape. Continue until you’ve used all the cream puffs. 20. For an optional finish, you can spin the remaining caramel. Tape two wooden spoons near the edge of your counter so that the handles extend past the counter. Line the floor with trash bags or newspaper. 21. Re-warm the caramel if necessary, and dip a spun sugar whisk or large heat-safe fork (like a metal serving fork) into the caramel and then whip it back and forth about 2 to 3 feet above the handles of the wooden spoons. As the caramel falls, it creates long, thin strands that collect across the spoon handles. 22. Gently collect the spun sugar and wrap it around the base of the croquembouche. The croquembouche is now ready to serve. Store at room temperature.
NYT Cooking thank you for this awesome video. Side note, really need to know what music you used for the spun sugar bit. I need it in my life. It sounds familiar but I can’t place it so please help me out. Thank you!
Good thing I’m Hufflepuff because I love Caramel Here’s my idea: Fruits and Booze Gryffindor - Strawberry and Vodka Ravenclaw - Blueberry and Bourbon Hufflepuff - Pineapple and Rum Slytherin - Kiwi and Gin
My ideas Gryfindor- vanilla and rum Ravenclaw- blueberry (even tho it’s purple) Slytherin- still lime and mint Hufflepuff- some sort of banana nut flavor
This is the best croquembouche video/recipe I have ever seen, the whipped cream in the creme patisserie, the beautiful flick when piping the puffs (no one ever does that!), I am so happy and will hopefully be trying this out sometime! I am intrigued by the use of the cone, I have seen it done with filling the inside of the cone and then taking it off, using a cone of parchment paper like you said, straight up not using anything and making a cone out of puffs, and someone tried to just make a whole stack? did not look great. I think I like the metal tower but I don't think I can justify buying one for this! :P
There is also an insane version (very traditional from what I've gathered) that uses a type of nougat to make a cone that then serves as the form. It has been a while since I came upon it, though, so I don't remember where exactly I found it.
If you're like me and will probably only make this classic pastry monstrosity a couple of times in your life, you may want to try my low-cost solution: First, you need a big round mixing bowl, with a rim as big as the bottom of the cone you want. Flip that upside down. The cone is made out of 2-3 pieces of poster board from the dollar store or a craft store, wrestled and layered together (ask a friend for help, and budget at least 30 minutes for this one simple sounding task, because honestly this felt akin to wrestling a whomping willow). A total PITA but doable with time and tape and cursing. You want to make the cone so that the bottom of it (excess posterboard will eventually be cut off) sits down around the upside down bowl. Think of the cone as the Sorting Hat, and the bowl is a student's head. Check for fit by repeatedly ramming the child (I mean bowl) into the hat-cone while your friend valiantly tries to hold it all together. Deploy the tape! Lots (like a whole roll) of packing tape (don't bother with Scotch tape.) Stuff the cone with tightly crumpled newspaper, to keep it from flexing or creasing while you put on the puffs. Next, you want a HEAVY base, so that the grabbing of the puffs doesn't shift the whole thing everywhere. Fill your bowl with rocks, a brick, a SEALED jug of water....whatever you can fit in your bowl that's heaviest. Now make a lid for the bowl out of thick cardboard and tape it on the bowl. Tape the crap out of it, because the next step is to cover the lid with long strips of tape, so that they extend past the edges a few inches - like the sun's rays in a child's drawing - and finally, flip your heavy bowl over onto the table or serving platter, top with your stuffed cone, pull up all the rays of tape to secure the cone to the weighted base, and then cover the whole thing in baking parchment or aluminum foil. Oh, and make the actual cream puffs, filling, and caramel. And assemble. And decorate. Done!
@@thidetculture3147 both work actually. The original phrase was croque en bouche yes, but like many other phrases, it has become smudged together, it's easier to say that way. Since the video used this spelling I just went along with that. Any reason you wanted to post this on my comment specifically instead of just the video? Also... why capitalize the o?
I LOVE Erin’s personality. She’s extremely good at explaining every step and making this look approachable. Thank you for this awesome Harry Potter themed video 🥰
As someone who cooks often but rarely bakes, I sincerely appreciated Erin's clever tips as she made this beautiful centerpiece. I'm sure all those techniques are very difficult but she made it look really simple.
the love she putts in this recypie is amazing, a little tip that helps avoid lumps in the diplomat cream/custard cream. if you mix the thick pudding by it self with a kitchenaid and then add the whipped cream it will be ewsyer to combine and might be smoother.
**watches 'Inside a Professional Baker's Home Kitchen'** **Sees her million cream puffs being baked** **Sees super dark cupboard doors** **Comes to watch this video** 'Welcome to my kitchen :)' *>_>*
I tried making one of these about 15-20 years ago after watching Martha Stewart make one. Not only were hours of intense labor involved, but the cleanup was knarly as well. Once was enough for me!
We need to see more of Erin baking videos! It’s such a joy to watch her bake it’s like she is completely immersing her soul and enjoying the whole process.
All cats are Slytherins. That`s just how they roll and we love them for it. I have always gotten either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. This idea`s really fun! Thanks for the video!
I'm not a Henry Potter 's Fan but you got me to subscribe at this beautiful marriage of fantacy and fun plus awesome croquembouche. Keep up the good works guys!!! and Love Love Love!!! Erin!!!
I am now bingeing Erin McDowell! I started with puff pastry, then her kitchen and now this! I happen to have come across Croquembouche in one of my country-life-in-the-uk books. At any rate, I LOVE anyone who is passionate about what they do and so .... LOVE Erin ... and the crew who shoot these videos. Cheers and I cannot wait for the cookbook this fall :)
I had a croquembouche at my wedding decades ago. We aren’t French, but I so didn’t want a boring “normal” cake. It was beautiful. Spun sugar is ethereal!
Tip from Philippe Conticini: You can beat chilled pastry cream at high speed in your mixer for a minute or so to lighten it, before folding in the whipped cream. Putting some gelatin in the original pastry cream and then whipping it also makes it lighter and more "onctueuse".
I feel like Erin could be a baking teacher in Hogwarts, teaching how to make magical confections similar to Honeydukes' chocolate frogs, no-melt ice cream, pixie puffs, etc.
I love love love her personality 💜 i would love (so love) to go to her house and just hang out with her and bake and stuff and definitely go to Hogwarts (universal) with her. 🤣😏
The mold looks like a huge piping tip or a parking cone 🤣 I LOVE cream puffs, both sweet and savory. Nothing compares to crème diplomat 🤤Pâte à Choux was one of the first pastries I learned to make. I actually made the same type of croquembouche but with a chocolate sauce coating. I am going to make this! Thank you Erin, your the best 👩🍳❤️
WOW!!! 😮 amazing!!!! This took me back in time. I’m Mexican, so; in Oaxaca Mèxico. They do this things, the puffs are made sourdough and the fill with cream, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. And the pit colored sugar on top. They don’t use the cone and the remains of the caramel, it goes on top. And they’re called Mueganos. Just amazing 💜
Okay, I put this as a reply to someone else's comment but will put it here too just in case any of y'all are crazy enough to want to attempt this yourself, but don't have the $$$ lying around for a giant metal cone form. You can do it yourself for probably around ten bucks or so: First, you need a big round mixing bowl, with a rim as big as the bottom of the cone you want. Flip that upside down. If you want the thing on a plate, this bowl will need to sit on said plate. Find the plate first! The cone itself is made out of 1-3 pieces(depending on size of cone) of cheap poster board (thin cardboard, like the stuff cereal boxes are made from, only poster sized) from the dollar store or an art/craft store, overlapped and layered together (ask a friend for help, and budget at least 30 minutes for this one simple sounding task, because honestly this felt akin to wrestling a Monster Book of Monsters). A total PITA but doable with time and tape and cursing. You want to make the cone so that the bottom of it (excess posterboard will eventually be cut off) sits down around the upside down bowl. Think of the cone as the Sorting Hat, and the bowl is a student's head. Before cutting or taping, check for fit by repeatedly ramming the child (I mean bowl) into the hat-cone while your friend valiantly tries to hold it all together. Deploy the tape! Lots (like a whole roll) of packing tape (don't bother with Scotch tape.) Stuff the cone with tightly crumpled newspaper, to keep it from flexing or creasing while you put on the puffs. Next, you want a HEAVY base, so that the grabbing of the puffs doesn't shift the whole thing everywhere. Fill your bowl with rocks, a brick, a SEALED jug of water....whatever you can fit in your bowl that's heaviest. Now make a lid for the bowl out of thick cardboard and tape it on the bowl. Tape the crap out of it, because the next step is to cover the lid with long strips of tape, so that they extend past the edges a few inches - like the sun's rays in a child's drawing - and finally, flip your heavy bowl over onto the table or serving platter, top with your stuffed cone, pull up all the rays of tape to secure the cone to the weighted base, and then cover the whole thing in baking parchment or aluminum foil. Oh, and make the actual cream puffs, filling, and caramel. And assemble. And decorate. Done!
I never knew who she was before today when I watched another video y’all made with her and I really like her she’s so real and personable and I wish I had someone like her to cook and bake with
Erin you are a Magician!!!!!!!!! Seeing you bake inspire me to learn the art of baking and thank you for always inspiring us with your thoughtful videos and for your teachings. Thank you
So two things: first this is all I never knew I wanted as a HP fan and it just looks amazing, it felt like it would definitely fit one of those fancy dinners in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Second, it's nice to know that for Jeanne Mc Dowell a decent amount of butter is 170 grams of butter.
Sorting Hat Croquembouche Recipe
Yield: One 12-inch-by-16-inch tower
Time: 4½ hours
For the filling:
2 cups/480 milliliters whole milk
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar
⅓ cup/40 grams cornstarch
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups/300 milliliters heavy cream
Red, yellow, green and blue gel food coloring
For the cream puffs:
1½ cups/360 milliliters whole milk
¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter (1½ sticks)
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
4½ cups/545 grams all purpose flour
10 large eggs
Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water), as needed
For the caramel:
2½ cups/495 grams granulated sugar
⅓ cup/80 milliliters water
¼ cup/60 milliliters corn syrup
1. Make the filling: In a medium pot, bring the milk, salt and vanilla bean to a simmer over medium heat. (If using vanilla extract, you’ll add it later.)
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch, then whisk in the egg yolks. Ladle about 1 cup/235 milliliters warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly to combine.
3. Return the milk and yolk mixture to the pot, whisking constantly. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to visibly thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. At this point, switch from a whisk to a silicone spatula to ensure you can get into the corners and along the sides of the pot.
4. Continue to cook, stirring constantly with the spatula, until the mixture comes to a boil (there should be large, fat bubbles burst at the surface in the center of the pot), 3 to 4 minutes more. Strain the mixture into a large bowl, whisk in 2 tablespoons butter until melted and incorporated, press plastic wrap directly against the surface, and refrigerate until completely cool, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
5. Just before the filling is cooled and you’re ready to mix itt, whip the cream to medium peaks, and fold it into the cooled filling. Divide the mixture evenly among four medium bowls (about 1 ½ cups/355 milliliters each, but no need to be precise). Tint one bowl with 5 to 8 drops of red food coloring, another with yellow food coloring, another with blue food coloring, and the last one with green coloring and stir to combine. Transfer each to a disposable pastry bag and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 8 hours).
6. Make the cream puffs: Heat the oven to 400 degrees, and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.
7. Place 1½ cups/360 milliliters water, milk, butter and salt in a medium pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes.
8. Add the flour to the simmering liquid, and begin stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to combine. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture forms a relatively solid ball around the spoon, and there’s a visible thin white film on the base of the pot, 3 to 5 minutes.
9. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and begin to mix on medium speed to cool the mixture slightly, 4 minutes. Add the eggs gradually (1 to 2 at a time), allowing each one to be fully incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the mixer bowl 2 to 3 times over the course of adding the eggs.
10. Prepare a disposable piping bag by fitting it with a ½-inch-wide round pastry tip, or simply by cutting a ½-inch opening out of the base of the bag (you can also use a resealable gallon bag, and cut one of its corners to form an opening). Transfer about one-third of the mixture to the piping bag.
11. Pipe rounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets: Each one should be about 1½-inches wide. Pipe a row of these rounds across the length of the baking sheet. (They can be relatively close together. Leave a little less than ½ inch in between each piece. When you begin to pipe the next row, stagger each piece so you can fit more on the baking sheet overall. Continue this process, refilling the bag with additional batter as needed, until you’ve used all of the batter.
12. Egg wash the cream puffs, using the pastry brush to help smooth out the surface of the cream puffs. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. After baking, use a paring knife to poke a hole in the bottom of all of the cream puffs to help release steam (and later, to provide a hole to fill them). Cool completely.
13. Fill the cooled cream puffs with the prepared tinted fillings. Fill about ¼ of the cream puffs with each color (but no need to be precise). Cut the tip of the pastry bags to have a ¼-inch opening at the end.
14. Shove the tip of the pastry bag into the base of the cream puff (where you made the cut with the paring knife earlier). Be pretty aggressive to get it inside, then fill each cream puff until they feel heavy. Repeat until all cream puffs are filled.
15. Make the caramel: Prepare an ice water bath in a medium bowl. Place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture starts to bubble. Once it simmers, stop stirring. If any sugar crystals appear on the sides of the pot, use a pastry brush dipped into cool water to wash them away.
16. Continue to cook the mixture until it becomes an amber caramel. It’s difficult to say exactly how long this will take, but remember that the caramel will hold a lot of heat, and will continue to cook even once you take it off the heat. So you can always take it off the heat a bit early, and let it carry over to the desired color.
17. Once it hits the desired color, dip the base of the pot into the ice water bath to stop the cooking. Whenever the caramel gets hard, you can warm it gently over medium-low heat to make it fluid again.
18. Have ready a 12-inch platter or cardboard cake circle (available at craft or cake supply stores). Working one at a time, dip the cream puffs into the caramel (to avoid burns, you can use a pair of tongs), then transfer into an even layer, filling the plate or cardboard circle.
19. Continue to build the croquembouche, dipping each cream puff and continuing to build upward in concentric circles to make a witch hat shape. Continue until you’ve used all the cream puffs.
20. For an optional finish, you can spin the remaining caramel. Tape two wooden spoons near the edge of your counter so that the handles extend past the counter. Line the floor with trash bags or newspaper.
21. Re-warm the caramel if necessary, and dip a spun sugar whisk or large heat-safe fork (like a metal serving fork) into the caramel and then whip it back and forth about 2 to 3 feet above the handles of the wooden spoons. As the caramel falls, it creates long, thin strands that collect across the spoon handles.
22. Gently collect the spun sugar and wrap it around the base of the croquembouche. The croquembouche is now ready to serve. Store at room temperature.
NYT Cooking thank you for this awesome video. Side note, really need to know what music you used for the spun sugar bit. I need it in my life. It sounds familiar but I can’t place it so please help me out. Thank you!
@@danicarili1786 It's Dvořák's Slavonic Dance Opus 72, No. 2: ruclips.net/video/e4kTHnGfhvE/видео.html
you should pin the comment so people can see it up top
Thank you for putting the recipe in grams and milliliters for us Europeans
Could you pin the recipe so more ppl can see it
"I'm just sad we're all in different houses. We can still be friends tho."
A Hufflepuff indeed.
Right?! lol I thought they all got the houses that fit their personality best.
its even more true bc the hufflepuffs place is near the kitchen right lol she is a true hufflepuff
I’m a hufflepuff!
@TheIronZebra 23 thanks I knew it was somewhere near the kitchen.
@@flower_sea5649 same!
This is probably how they actually do sort at Beauxbatons.
😂😂
i love this!
It would probably be more fun then how they actually sort them into their houses xD
BeantownMrs
I don’t think they have houses
Cadence James
Yeah, they don’t, it’s meantioned that they don’t in goblet of fire
Weren't these two boys from Buzzfeed? Glow up boys! Proud of you!
YESS !
What's their names?
Reema Luv 0:20
I was looking for this comment lmao
I wonder if Buzzfeed is owned by the same media conglomerate that owns NYT.
This chef is such a joy to watch! I came here after watching her home kitchen video. That was amazing too.
Blue Sparrow Me too! With a stop first at her Pride cake video which was also wonderful!
Same
Same!
Same
SAME!!!
This was the best thing ever. Siriusly.
You are a keeper.
Are You Siriusly making a joke about Sirius?
@@monomo5830 Yeah I thought i'd slytheritin
@@lalalinda93 😂😂😂
If you don’t get this pun then there is something ridikulusly Ron with you
I would watch hours of this woman teaching me to bake
I want to add flavorings to the different colors
Hmm, sadly, as a Ravenclaw, I hate almonds and coconut.
Guess I'm Hufflepuff now!
Good thing I’m Hufflepuff because I love Caramel
Here’s my idea: Fruits and Booze
Gryffindor - Strawberry and Vodka
Ravenclaw - Blueberry and Bourbon
Hufflepuff - Pineapple and Rum
Slytherin - Kiwi and Gin
My ideas
Gryfindor- vanilla and rum
Ravenclaw- blueberry (even tho it’s purple)
Slytherin- still lime and mint
Hufflepuff- some sort of banana nut flavor
Imagine eating a gryffindor and a slytherin, boom, solid cocktail
@StrawberryBleach This. Honestly wanted to comment just to say this. That is the grossest sounding combination I've ever heard.
"I'm rigging this so I get gryffindor"
Me: I mean that's how harry did it 🤣
yes! the sorting hat takes account of what house you want
someone needs to let corrine know about this. corrine vs cooking
Reckon she might find this therapeutic?
yes
Super cute... She looks like a Hufflepuff... Hard working... Amazing... Lives next to the kitchen...
Loved this! The shots of the sugar being spun are glorious.
This woman is lovely
I've never watched somebody explain their cooking process in such an easy breezy way. Kudos to Erin.
I love that she gives a lot of tips along the way :)
This is the best croquembouche video/recipe I have ever seen, the whipped cream in the creme patisserie, the beautiful flick when piping the puffs (no one ever does that!), I am so happy and will hopefully be trying this out sometime!
I am intrigued by the use of the cone, I have seen it done with filling the inside of the cone and then taking it off, using a cone of parchment paper like you said, straight up not using anything and making a cone out of puffs, and someone tried to just make a whole stack? did not look great. I think I like the metal tower but I don't think I can justify buying one for this! :P
There is also an insane version (very traditional from what I've gathered) that uses a type of nougat to make a cone that then serves as the form. It has been a while since I came upon it, though, so I don't remember where exactly I found it.
If you're like me and will probably only make this classic pastry monstrosity a couple of times in your life, you may want to try my low-cost solution:
First, you need a big round mixing bowl, with a rim as big as the bottom of the cone you want. Flip that upside down.
The cone is made out of 2-3 pieces of poster board from the dollar store or a craft store, wrestled and layered together (ask a friend for help, and budget at least 30 minutes for this one simple sounding task, because honestly this felt akin to wrestling a whomping willow). A total PITA but doable with time and tape and cursing. You want to make the cone so that the bottom of it (excess posterboard will eventually be cut off) sits down around the upside down bowl. Think of the cone as the Sorting Hat, and the bowl is a student's head. Check for fit by repeatedly ramming the child (I mean bowl) into the hat-cone while your friend valiantly tries to hold it all together.
Deploy the tape! Lots (like a whole roll) of packing tape (don't bother with Scotch tape.) Stuff the cone with tightly crumpled newspaper, to keep it from flexing or creasing while you put on the puffs.
Next, you want a HEAVY base, so that the grabbing of the puffs doesn't shift the whole thing everywhere. Fill your bowl with rocks, a brick, a SEALED jug of water....whatever you can fit in your bowl that's heaviest.
Now make a lid for the bowl out of thick cardboard and tape it on the bowl. Tape the crap out of it, because the next step is to cover the lid with long strips of tape, so that they extend past the edges a few inches - like the sun's rays in a child's drawing - and finally, flip your heavy bowl over onto the table or serving platter, top with your stuffed cone, pull up all the rays of tape to secure the cone to the weighted base, and then cover the whole thing in baking parchment or aluminum foil.
Oh, and make the actual cream puffs, filling, and caramel. And assemble. And decorate.
Done!
@@thidetculture3147 Haha, okay Hermione. :D
@@thidetculture3147 both work actually. The original phrase was croque en bouche yes, but like many other phrases, it has become smudged together, it's easier to say that way. Since the video used this spelling I just went along with that. Any reason you wanted to post this on my comment specifically instead of just the video? Also... why capitalize the o?
I’m so glad you guys left tasty/buzzfeed. You deserve so much more
Aren't the 2 guys from Tasty?
They both left earlier this year.
wait really? that’s so sad.
Jesss everyone leaves Buzzfeed 😂
@@user-wx8pj7fw9k sad? I would say that buzzfeed to the NYT is a pretty big upgrade lol
i didn’t mean sad as in snobby. i meant sad that they wouldn’t be making anymore content. also i had no idea they would be going to NYT.
I LOVE Erin’s personality. She’s extremely good at explaining every step and making this look approachable. Thank you for this awesome Harry Potter themed video 🥰
As someone who cooks often but rarely bakes, I sincerely appreciated Erin's clever tips as she made this beautiful centerpiece. I'm sure all those techniques are very difficult but she made it look really simple.
16:20
Erin: "Hufflepuff is great!"
Me: "AT FINDING!"
Stephen Evans what the hell is a hufflepuff
*various nods and hums of approval from the other hufflepuffs*
Paige Cassandra a Hufflepuff is from the Harry Potter series and it is a hogwarts house
@@timmy4078 I'm just gonna...
r/wooooosh anyone?
@@paigemcnaughton6171 They're particulary good at FINDING
I'm training as a primary/elementary teacher and i am so gonna use this at the beginning of the year for my future clasess.
O sweetie. Bless your heart
I wish i had a teacher like u😊
You're an awesome teacher!
"Don't panic but move quickly."
I liked that
I could seriously watch her all day. She’s so spunky and her food looks sooooo good!!!!
Erin is so knowledgeable. Keep her videos coming!
"I'm pretty sure that all cream puffs dream of becoming a croquembouche when they grow up" 😂
Super cute... She looks like a Hufflepuff... Hard working... Amazing... Lives next to the kitchen...
I want a Huffle-cream-puff!!!
-_-
Here from the Tour video of her home ! Couldn't get enough of her ! She's amazing ! Needs her own show or Netflix series !!!!
the love she putts in this recypie is amazing, a little tip that helps avoid lumps in the diplomat cream/custard cream.
if you mix the thick pudding by it self with a kitchenaid and then add the whipped cream it will be ewsyer to combine and might be smoother.
She's so pleasant to watch. So glad this was in my recommendations ❤️
Give this girl her own show!
we stan Erin
**watches 'Inside a Professional Baker's Home Kitchen'**
**Sees her million cream puffs being baked**
**Sees super dark cupboard doors**
**Comes to watch this video**
'Welcome to my kitchen :)'
*>_>*
Same
SAME!
Same!
Awesome. The photography of the spin sugar being made was magical 🧙♀️
Gosh, I love Erin. Where can I get more Erin in my life?!
Libby Heeren Love her “Inside a Professional Bakers Kitchen” video!
Food52 channel has alot of Erin ;-)
I tried making one of these about 15-20 years ago after watching Martha Stewart make one. Not only were hours of intense labor involved, but the cleanup was knarly as well. Once was enough for me!
We need to see more of Erin baking videos! It’s such a joy to watch her bake it’s like she is completely immersing her soul and enjoying the whole process.
that spun sugar part looked absolutely magical. props to erins artistic talent but also the camera crew and the video editors!!
You're trying so hard to get a viral RUclips video. I see you, NYT Cooking. Good luck.
Rachel Arnold they’re getting there!
this video was shot in such a gorgeous way compared to other (competitive) channels
Gad, she's incredibly patient and detail-oriented.
Love being taught by someone that has the recipe & techniques down to a science!
That was a pleasure, thanks!
the "protego" part melted my heart
Erin needs her own show!!
“Any heat is going to affect it”
*Has a bunch of candles right next to it*
Loc Phan that’s exactly what I was thinking
She means direct handling heat. The room wouldn't be cold either and she's not holding it over the candles.
This was such a pleasure to watch! What a great bunch of people. Loved all the HP references and it looks delicious 😄
Vaughn and Scott need to make a cooking video together bc I could watch those two all day
All cats are Slytherins. That`s just how they roll and we love them for it. I have always gotten either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. This idea`s really fun! Thanks for the video!
That's definitely a dog...
I'm not a Henry Potter 's Fan but you got me to subscribe at this beautiful marriage of fantacy and fun plus awesome croquembouche. Keep up the good works guys!!! and Love Love Love!!! Erin!!!
I am now bingeing Erin McDowell! I started with puff pastry, then her kitchen and now this! I happen to have come across Croquembouche in one of my country-life-in-the-uk books. At any rate, I LOVE anyone who is passionate about what they do and so .... LOVE Erin ... and the crew who shoot these videos. Cheers and I cannot wait for the cookbook this fall :)
duude….that actually looks like something that could be at a hogwarts feast… wow SIRIUSLY AMAZING!!
Those dislikes are all the muggles.
"As guests pull off their cream puff"
You mean "As **I** pull off MY cream puffs"
Notice the puffs with an "s" - those are all mine 😂
I loved this chef, she was awesome and her skill was on point.
Erin McDowell + two cute guys + French pastry tower = my favorite thing on the internet right now.
Okay, this woman is my new hero. Done.
I absolutely love her!! One of the best cooking personalities out there 💛
Amazingly beautiful from start to finish. What an amazing spirit she has. All three of them really.
I only subbed because of Erin, more of her please. She is sooooo wonderful!
Just your standard amazing cooking video with Erin. Can't beat that!
I had a croquembouche at my wedding decades ago. We aren’t French, but I so didn’t want a boring “normal” cake. It was beautiful. Spun sugar is ethereal!
Tip from Philippe Conticini: You can beat chilled pastry cream at high speed in your mixer for a minute or so to lighten it, before folding in the whipped cream. Putting some gelatin in the original pastry cream and then whipping it also makes it lighter and more "onctueuse".
Omg, how why have I foung this wonderful channel only now! I wish I knew about it earlier!
I felt it when she mixed the whipped cream in with the whip attachment.
So many harry potter puns, my heart is so full. Ahhhhhhh
Love Erin and this video. So glad NYT Cooking is moving in this direction.
I've always wanted to make cream puffs. Now I have to.
Obviously, the cooking was incredible. However, the camera work and back lighting on the spen sugar was unbelievable!!!!!
I feel like Erin could be a baking teacher in Hogwarts, teaching how to make magical confections similar to Honeydukes' chocolate frogs, no-melt ice cream, pixie puffs, etc.
Oh how much i love this woman!!! She is my spirit animal.
Erin is how I imagined Helga Hufflepuff would be like. They are both lovely! Great at cooking! Great at teaching!
Don't let Dobby anywhere near it!!!! 😁 Loving the gossamer thread spun sugar! Gorgeous!
I love love love her personality 💜 i would love (so love) to go to her house and just hang out with her and bake and stuff and definitely go to Hogwarts (universal) with her. 🤣😏
She should have her own RUclips series! She is so funny and relatable! Congrats to everyone for a great video. And Vaughn is very cute.
More Erin please. Love her!!
This is what I wanted to taste the most from Harry Potter! Gorgeous and magical!
GIVE THIS WOMAN HER OWN SHOW!!!!!
So love you and this group of film makers. What fun you all are!!
The mold looks like a huge piping tip or a parking cone 🤣 I LOVE cream puffs, both sweet and savory. Nothing compares to crème diplomat 🤤Pâte à Choux was one of the first pastries I learned to make. I actually made the same type of croquembouche but with a chocolate sauce coating. I am going to make this! Thank you Erin, your the best 👩🍳❤️
I love the look on her face at the end when she sees her creation in final form.
I need a show with just her. She’s amazing
WOW!!! 😮 amazing!!!! This took me back in time. I’m Mexican, so; in Oaxaca Mèxico. They do this things, the puffs are made sourdough and the fill with cream, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. And the pit colored sugar on top. They don’t use the cone and the remains of the caramel, it goes on top. And they’re called Mueganos. Just amazing 💜
I’m surprised they didn’t take the opportunity to say “squish and flick” instead 😂
Lol...they did tho...
Okay, I put this as a reply to someone else's comment but will put it here too just in case any of y'all are crazy enough to want to attempt this yourself, but don't have the $$$ lying around for a giant metal cone form. You can do it yourself for probably around ten bucks or so:
First, you need a big round mixing bowl, with a rim as big as the bottom of the cone you want. Flip that upside down. If you want the thing on a plate, this bowl will need to sit on said plate. Find the plate first!
The cone itself is made out of 1-3 pieces(depending on size of cone) of cheap poster board (thin cardboard, like the stuff cereal boxes are made from, only poster sized) from the dollar store or an art/craft store, overlapped and layered together (ask a friend for help, and budget at least 30 minutes for this one simple sounding task, because honestly this felt akin to wrestling a Monster Book of Monsters). A total PITA but doable with time and tape and cursing. You want to make the cone so that the bottom of it (excess posterboard will eventually be cut off) sits down around the upside down bowl. Think of the cone as the Sorting Hat, and the bowl is a student's head. Before cutting or taping, check for fit by repeatedly ramming the child (I mean bowl) into the hat-cone while your friend valiantly tries to hold it all together.
Deploy the tape! Lots (like a whole roll) of packing tape (don't bother with Scotch tape.) Stuff the cone with tightly crumpled newspaper, to keep it from flexing or creasing while you put on the puffs.
Next, you want a HEAVY base, so that the grabbing of the puffs doesn't shift the whole thing everywhere. Fill your bowl with rocks, a brick, a SEALED jug of water....whatever you can fit in your bowl that's heaviest.
Now make a lid for the bowl out of thick cardboard and tape it on the bowl. Tape the crap out of it, because the next step is to cover the lid with long strips of tape, so that they extend past the edges a few inches - like the sun's rays in a child's drawing - and finally, flip your heavy bowl over onto the table or serving platter, top with your stuffed cone, pull up all the rays of tape to secure the cone to the weighted base, and then cover the whole thing in baking parchment or aluminum foil.
Oh, and make the actual cream puffs, filling, and caramel. And assemble. And decorate.
Done!
She needs her own channel! Love her!!
Holy caramel!!! I’m in love with the caramel montage ❤️
It is so relaxing. I could watch her all day
I never knew who she was before today when I watched another video y’all made with her and I really like her she’s so real and personable and I wish I had someone like her to cook and bake with
Not a Harry Potter fan, but she is becoming my new RUclips favorite!
My cream was rainbow i think jk rowling said i was gay on twitter
Erin you are a Magician!!!!!!!!! Seeing you bake inspire me to learn the art of baking and thank you for always inspiring us with your thoughtful videos and for your teachings. Thank you
I’m addicted to Erin!!! Glad I’ve found you!
So two things: first this is all I never knew I wanted as a HP fan and it just looks amazing, it felt like it would definitely fit one of those fancy dinners in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. Second, it's nice to know that for Jeanne Mc Dowell a decent amount of butter is 170 grams of butter.
the amount of harry potter references in this is though
She is such a fun personality! I’m watching more...might get inspired for cream puffs!
Loved this video! I feel like I actually learned a lot about the process rather than it just being cool to watch.
I love her personality
Love her. Love her “surprised” look she does once each of her videos. Pretty sure we’d be besties. I can dream.
Her instruction is so clear and detail
15:00 "any heat is going to affect it"
LITERALLY PUTS THE SPUN SUGAR IN FRONT OF THE CANDLE