Croquembouche

8 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 cup Dark corn syrup
5 Dozen small cream puffs, custard filled(from the bakery or home made)
¼ cup Icing sugar

Directions

The Croquembouche pyramid must be assembled quickly, or the syrup used to assemble it will harden and have to be reheated. Therefore, be sure to read the recipe through thoroughly before starting to work. And have all ingredients near the stove, so you dip the puffs and set them in place quickly.

Cut a 9-inch circle from cardboard, and cover with foil. Set the circle on a board near the stove. Have the filled cream puffs close at hand.

Cook corn syrup in the top of a double boiler over high heat until candy thermometer reaches hard-ball stage(240F), or until a small drop of the syrup forms a soft ball in coldwater. Set pan over boiling water.

To build the pyramid, lightly dip the bottom oof a cream puff in syrup and set on the edge of the circle, syrup-side down. Repeat with 9 more puffs, forminga ring. For the secong row,arrange a slightly smaller ring of puffs overthe spaces between the puffs in the first row, inclinin g the second row slightly inward. Fill in the center with more puffs for support.

Continue building the pyramid in decreasing rings, filling in cent er for support as needed, until you have completed 8 rows.

Top with one puff,. Sprinkles the Croquembouche lightly with ¼ cup siftedicingsugar. To serve, lift one ortwo puffes at a time off the pyramid, starting from the top. Serves 8 - 10.

Note: If syrup starts to thicken before puramidis completed,add a teaspoon of water and stir over low heat. Do not let syrup burn.

Cream Puffs

½ cup butter or margarine 1 cup boiling water 1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour ¼ teaspoon salt 4 whole eggs

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