A ''croquembouche'' () or ''croque-en-bouche'' is a French dessert consisting of

choux pastry Choux pastry, or (), is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. Basic ingredients usually only include butter, water, flour and eggs (auxiliary ingredients and flavorings are also added). Instead of a raising agent, choux pastry employs ...

puffs piled into a cone and bound with threads of

caramel Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of caramelizatio ...

. In Italy and France, it is often served at

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

s and

first communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communi ...

Name

The name comes from the French phrase ''croque en bouche'', meaning " omething thatcrunches in the mouth."

Presentation

A ''croquembouche'' is composed of (usually cream-filled)

profiteroles A profiterole (), cream puff (US), or ''chou à la crème'' () is a filled French and Italian choux pastry ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of whipped cream, custard, pastry cream, or ice cream. The puffs may be decorated or left p ...

piled into a cone and bound with spun sugar. It may also be decorated with other confectionery, such as sugared almonds, chocolate, and edible flowers. Sometimes it is covered in

macaron A macaron ( , ) or French macaroon ( ) is a sweet meringue-based confection made with egg white, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond meal, and food colouring. The macaron is traditionally held to have been introduced in France by the Ital ...

s or

ganache Ganache (; ) is a glaze, icing, sauce, or filling for pastries, made from chocolate and cream. Preparation Ganache is a chocolate preparation, normally made by heating equal parts by weight of cream and chopped chocolate, warming the cream ...

History

The invention of the croquembouche is often attributed to

Antonin Carême Antonin may refer to: People * Antonin (name) Places ;Poland * Antonin, Jarocin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship * Antonin, Kalisz County, Greater Poland Voivodeship * Antonin, Oborniki County, Greater Poland Voivodeship * Antonin, Ostrów ...

, who includes it in his 1815 cookbook ''Le Pâtissier royal parisien'', but it is mentioned as early as 1806, in André Viard's culinary encyclopedia ''

Le Cuisinier Impérial André Viard's ''Le Cuisinier Impérial'' (Paris: J.-N. Barba, 1806) was a culinary encyclopedia that passed through at least thirty-two editions in its long career as the essential reference work for the French professional chef during the ninete ...

'', and in Antoine Beauvilliers' 1815 ''L'Art du Cuisinier''. In Viard's encyclopedia and other early texts (e.g.

Grimod de La Reynière Grimod is a French and Italian surname, held by * Guido Grimod, mayor of Aosta * the Grimod du Fort family, counts of Orsay: ** Pierre Grimod du Fort (1692–1748) ** Pierre Gaspard Marie Grimod d'Orsay (1748–1809) ** Albert Gaspard Grimod (1 ...

's, ''Néo-physiologie du gout''), it is included in lists of entremets—elaborate dishes, both savory and sweet, that were served between courses during large banquets.

Records

On 6 March 2009, alumni of the

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

-based Maharashtra State Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology entered the ''

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorized into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, advent ...

'' after creating India's biggest croquembouche. It was recorded as tall.

References

External links