For this month’s Daring Bakers challenge, Helene of Tartelette and Anita from Dessert First asked us to dust off our rolling pins to make a Gateau St. Honore. This decadent confection consists of a puff pastry base topped with Saint Honore Cream (Diplomat’s Cream) and finished off with caramel-topped cream puffs and swirls of whipped cream. Wow, this was French baking at its best. The recipe was long but not complicated and, as long as I gave myself enough time, I would be able to pull this off.
The puff pastry component could be made one of two ways; either store–bought or homemade. I opted for the store made version because I had some in my freezer already. The rest of the recipe required me to do it all myself. I had never made choux pastry before and it wasn’t difficult to do. I think I made my puffs a little too small but they came out okay nonetheless. The Diplomat cream was also straightforward although I ended up with a slightly runny product; something some fellow Daring Bakers also experienced. For this reason, I was unable to fill the cream puffs with the cream though I made a bit of a mess trying. The final product looked impressive and it tasted nice.
Even though the recipe didn’t come 100% perfect I’m really glad I put in the effort to try it. This is the major appeal of the Daring Bakers for me – to make new desserts that I would probably never had made on my own. And the camaraderie of the other bakers is just icing on the cake. To check out all the other creations just click on the sidebar to the right.
28 comments:
very impressive looking indeed. I love this challenge because it made me experience a lot of components of pastry making.
Hi Jen,
I had some troubles with the Diplomat cream as well so I was glad to read that I wasn't the only one.
Your gateau is so pretty!
It really did teach us some new skills and I think yours looks lovely!
I think it looks beautiful, and I'm sure it tasted even better.
Looks great! Good job!
It is very pretty, I like the lines of cream on top.
I love how the cream looks like ski tracks...I cold so go down that one! Great job!
Well the nice thing about somewhat problematic diplomat cream, is yours looks so smooth on top! Beautiful presentation.
Very pretty Jen. I admire your piping skills. I had the opposite issue - my cream puffs were too big.
I liked how you applied your whipped cream. Your cake is simply lovely :)
Dust off our rolling pins ... oh yeah right ;))
A learning experience is for sure.
Your Gateau is beautiful Jen .... have wonderful days aagi
Jen, I'm not just saying this in DB'ery love.. I mean it when I say, I'm totally drooling over your cake - it looks unbelievably creamy and luscious! I find that to be incredibly droolworthy, ma'am! =)
Excellent job!
xoxo
It's such a nice cake, and I love the whipped cream design as well :D
we all love your track of whipped cream, me too. And the caramelized sugar looks really inviting, I want to take a bit out of the closest cream puff!
I know what you mean, I never would have attempted such a cake unless someone had forced me into it!
What an elegant looking cake. I guess this isn't a cake that most would make just for the hell of it, but it's fun to see what each Daring Baker has done. I really like yours.
Your looks very elegant and pretty, well done!
I think it looks great. Diplomat cream is easy *ahem*
Hi Jen! I love your gateau, especially the criss-cross of piped whipped cream on top. I think your cream puffs are the perfect size, and your cake is just beautiful overall - great work!
I too had the problem of the small puffs.
I think you did fantastic with it. It really was fun, wasn't it.
Cheers to you for your gateau! Yah, mine was less than perfect, too. At least I can say I've made puff pastry I guess. On to the next challenge!
Jen, your cake looks terrific, runny cream or not!
I love the decoration you made with the whipped cream.
I really love your cake. Terribly elegant.
I really like how you decorated your gateau. I'm ready for a slice!
Jen, I love the sea of white cream with the shiny cream puffs. Great job on the Gateau!
You know, I think for some reason I must have used more gelatin or somehting because mine wasn't runny at all, but lots of people's were.
Okay... next time I'm in Canada, I'm bringing my pastry bag and decorating tips -- and YOU are going to teach me to pipe whipped cream. I love the look of your cake!
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