Salted caramel Saint-Honoré

I received yesterday my long-awaited Moulinex kitchen machine so I decided to try a new recipe...Saint-Honoré cake. Saint-Honoré is a classic French pastry with varieties of textures that make it quite challenging to perform: an airy choux pastry, a creamy pastry cream, a fluffy whipped cream, a crunchy caramel, and a crispy puff pastry.

[ Recipe in English / Pour la recette en français, cliquez ici ]

For this recipe, I didn't have time to make my own puff pastry so I just bought one in store. And instead of a traditional vanilla pastry cream, I made a salted caramel cream, recipe from famous pastry chef Christophe Michalak.

1. Choux pastry & cake base

♦  200g water

♦  90g unsalted butter

♦  120g flour

♦  200g / 4 eggs 

♦  5g sugar

♦  A pinch of salt

♦  Store-bought puff pastry 

- Preheat oven to 250°C.

- Combine butter, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. 

- Immediately add the flour in one movement. Stir rapidly with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes until the dough dries and no longer sticks the sides of the pan. 

- Transfer the dough to to a big bowl. Let it cool a little bit until it reaches 45°C.

- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix vigorously  Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding another one. You can use a hand mixer to be easier. It is ready when it falls in the shape of a ribbon. 

- Pour into a pastry bag.

- Cut the puff pastry into a 17x25cm rectangle shape and place on a baking sheet. 

- Pipe a choux pastry line on the edges of the puff pastry (see picture below).

- On a second baking sheet lined with parchment paper, pipe the rest of the choux pastry to make small choux, each about 3cm wide. 

- Turn off oven and place both baking sheets in the oven. Let bake during 12 minutes.

- Turn on oven to 175°C and bake for 15 minutes. Open the door of the oven and block it with a wooden spoon. Let bake for another 15 minutes for the choux, 20 minutes for the cake base.

2. Salted caramel cream

♦  220g sugar

♦  72cl milk

♦  6 egg yolks

♦  40g Maizena

♦  120g softened salted butter

♦  2 gelatin sheets

- Softened the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes.

- Boil the milk in a saucepan.

- In another saucepan, cook the sugar until dark amber color and stir; 

- When caramel is ready, add in slowly the boiling milk in 3 times, continuing stirring. Bring to a boil.

- In a big bowl, mix egg yolks and Maizena. Pour in the caramel milk while stirring.

- Return new mixture to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring it to boil, whisking constantly for 2 minutes until the mixture thickens. 

- Transfer the cream to a bowl and add in softened gelatin. 

- Let cool and stir in the softened salted butter when the cream reaches 45°C.

- Pour into pastry bag and put in freezer for 20 minutes. 

3. Vanilla mascarpone whipped cream

♦  250g heavy cream

♦  50g confectioner sugar

♦  1 vanilla bean, scraped

♦  100g mascarpone

- In a chilled bowl, whip the heavy cream with confectioner sugar and scraped vanilla bean until firm.

- In a small bowl, whip the mascarpone until soft. Pour in the firm whipped cream and continue whisking until incorporated.

- Pour into pastry bag.

4. Caramel

♦  200g sugar

♦  3 tbsp water

- Bring the sugar and water to a boil until light amber color.

- Stir and use immediately.

5. Assembling

♦  Cake base
♦  Choux
♦  Salted caramel cream
♦  Vanilla mascarpone whipped cream
♦  Caramel

- Pipe salted caramel cream into each of the choux, the sides of the cake base, and a little bit on the puff pastry cake base.
- Dip the top of each chou in the caramel and place them top-sides down on a baking sheet until the caramel hardens.
- Dip uncoaten sides of the choux, one by one, in the left caramel. Arrange them on the cake bake, the caramel with hold the choux to the base.
- Pipe the vanilla mascarpone whipped cream between the choux. Cover the center of the cake base.

And... it's now ready to be eaten..! =)