Friday, January 06, 2017

My first croquembouche

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Every Christmas I make my snowflake cookies (pictured below). They have become a ritual during the holiday season but this year I decided to make a Croquembouche instead which is something I've always wanted to make ever since Martha Stewart's first book "Entertaining" came out in 1982.  I think that was the very first time I had seen or heard of Croquembouche! 

I made this one to take to a family Christmas Eve party and I tried to time it so I could finish it just before we left.  Each cream puff is filled with a vanilla custardy goodness and I didn't have room in my refrigerator to store this.  Well, it ended up taking me a little longer than I expected so I was rushing at the end and didn't have time to add the spun sugar that gets draped around it. That's the part I was really excited to do too...oh well!  I had to still get showered and ready to go so I told my daughter to just make a star with the sugar syrup on parchment paper so we could attach it to the top.  This was a group effort here. 

I had envisioned taking a beautiful photo of this on my dining room table with the lights from my Christmas tree in the background. We had no time for that we were already late so we snapped this iPhone photo after we arrived at the family gathering.

I was happy with how it came out for our first try but I was especially happy with how great it tasted!  The creamy filling and the crunchy caramelized sugar reminded me a lot of creme brulee.  I would definitely make this again.  There are lots of recipes and even tutorial videos out there but I used this Food Network Croquembouche Recipe

Now that I've tackled this, next year I plan to make something else I've always wanted to make. A Buche de Noel! I can't wait!


My snowflake cookies that I make every year!

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15 comments:

Jaime Haney said...

Wow! Very impressive! It's so beautiful as are your snowflake cookies - those are just gorgeous. Happy New Year!

Connie said...

It looks so beautiful and delicious! Bravo!

Ev said...

Love! And the cookies are just fabulous!

My Cozy Corner said...

I have always wanted to make a Croquembouche maybe next year. I am so happy you are back to blogging. I sometimes look at your archives for inspiration. My favorite photo was the vegetables at the farmers market sometime in 2009.
Joyously,
Betty

Sharon @ Blue Willow House said...

So glad you are back!

Sincerely Sande said...

Wow! Impressive! Looks Delicious

Brenda Pruitt said...

Oh, I hope you're back! Not many bloggers live in apartments like me. And I missed you!
Brenda

donnacp said...

That is incredible and beautiful. So are your cookies. You are amazing to try the things that look so hard, but are beautiful and delicious. Way to go.

Marta said...

Kept hoping you'd return . . . you can see that so many of us have missed you and are glad to see you have started blogging again. You inspire so many, no matter where you live. You are able to make anywhere a beautiful home. Thank you! Looking forward to your posts again!
Fondly, Marta

Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse said...

Very impressive. I don't know if you know but this is also the traditionnal dessert for French weddings!

Blue Ridge Altered Art said...

That is lovely. Too pretty to eat. You are so talented and I always look forward to your gift of cooking and decorating!!!

Janice said...

So glad that you are back, like others stated I have missed your blog. I kept looking monthly for a new post so I was very delighted to see that you had posted. It was always a treat to see what you had been up to, love your style. Please keep posting.

The Vintage Chateau said...

We used to make a croquembouche every holiday season but haven't done one for years. They are so fun!!Good job!
Karee

Moggie said...

I'm really happy to see you back, Cindy. I'm following you on IG, but I always liked keeping up with you on your blog. Welcome back!

Tonita said...

Wow, Those snowflake cookies are amazing. I did a snowflake them in my tiny farmhouse and your cookies would of been the perfect addition to decorate my vintage kitchen with. They are stunning and wow... you need to enter them in some sort of contest.