Saint Honoré Cake 🎂

4 familiar components, 1 delicious masterpiece

How to make a Saint Honoré by Dana (because I’ve never actually had one or made one until now BUT I have made the components individually so how much more difficult can it be to make the sum of its parts?)

Components:

Rough puff pastry

Caramel-dipped choux

Vanilla pastry cream

Vanilla chantilly cream

Rough puff pastry (homemade is preferred but store bought is also fine 😏)

1. Roll out puff pastry dough into a rectangle, about 1/8 inch / 3mm thick

2. Cut a circle of puff pastry out of the rectangle

3. Prick/dock the puff pastry all over (allows steam to escape)

4. Stack a heavy baking sheet over the circle of puff pastry to prevent it from puffing up

5. Bake puff pastry for 20 minutes and then remove the top baking sheet

6. Continue baking until golden brown

Caramel-dipped choux + Vanilla pastry cream

1. Pipe uniform circles of choux pastry dough (better to have more so you can choose the most perfect ones)

2. Dust the choux pastry dough with confectioner’s sugar (prevents cracking and creates a crispier shell)

3. Bake and cool the choux

4. Make a caramel (4:1 ratio sugar to water) and cook until it is medium amber in color (the caramel will continue to cook/darken off the heat)

5. Pour the caramel into a bowl

6. Carefully dip each choux into the caramel and set aside to cool

7. Fill each choux with vanilla pastry cream

Assembly + Vanilla Chantilly

1. Place the baked puff pastry on a cake board

2. Pipe a circle of pastry cream on the puff pastry

3. Place the dipped and filled choux over the pastry cream, leaving a little room in between each choux

4. Whip vanilla chantilly to medium peaks

5. Using a Saint Honoré tip, pipe the chantilly between each choux. Pipe more circles of chantilly within the choux border until the pastry cream is completely covered

6. Decorate the middle with another caramel-dipped choux OR choux swans :)