Baking

Gateau St Honoré

This gorgeous French dessert is worthy of any dinner party or family event. The combination of cream-filled puffs, crisp, spun toffee and a buttery pastry base creates the ultimate sweet recipe.
gateau st honore
8
1H
1H
3H 20M
2H

Ingredients

Crème pâtissière
Choux pastry
Toffee
Gateau

Method

1.Make crème pâtissière: split vanilla bean; scrape seeds into milk and sugar in small saucepan, discard bean. Bring to the boil. Meanwhile, combine cornflour and egg yolks in medium heatproof bowl and gradually whisk in hot milk mixture.
2.Return custard to pan and stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens. Cover surface of custard with plastic wrap and cool for 20 minutes. Refrigerate 3 hours. Fold cream into custard in two batches. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3.Preheat oven to 220°C/425°F. Grease oven trays.
4.Brush one puff pastry sheet with a little water and top with remaining pastry, press firmly. Cut 20cm round from pastry stack. Place pastry on tray and prick well with fork.
5.To make choux pastry: combine the water, butter and sugar in small saucepan and bring to the boil. Add flour and beat with wooden spoon over heat until mixture comes away from base of pan. Transfer pastry to medium bowl and beat in eggs, one at a time, until pastry becomes glossy.
6.Spoon choux pastry into piping bag fitted with 1.5cm plain tube, pipe around edge of puff pastry round. Pipe 3.5cm rounds of choux pastry, about 5cm apart, on another tray.
7.Bake both trays 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 180°C/350°F and bake further 30 minutes. Cool on trays.
8.Make small cut in each puff. Spoon crème pâtissière into piping bag fitted with 5mm plain tube and pipe through cuts into puffs. Spoon remaining crème pâtissière into centre of gateau.
9.Meanwhile, make toffee. Stir sugar and the water in small saucepan over heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, boil, uncovered, without stirring, until golden brown.
10.To make spun toffee: dip the tines of two forks into toffee, quickly touch the tines together, pull them apart quickly, several times. This will make spun toffee.
11.Dip puffs, one at a time, in toffee and place around edge on gateau. Fill gateau with strawberries. Drizzle strawberries with chocolate. Working quickly, dip fork into remaining toffee, drizzle toffee all over gateau.

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