St. Honoré Cake

Impress Mom with a homemade, light and airy St. Honoré cake this Mother’s Day. Yes, you can do this at home!
^{*For best results it is suggested to use weighted measurements}
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CHOUX PASTE

Ingredients

milk                   110g  (1/2 cup)
water                110g  (1/2 cup)
butter                97g  (1/2 cup)
sugar                 5g  (1 1/4 tsp)
salt                     5g  (1 1/4 tsp)
flour pastry       66g  (1/2 cup)
all purpose        66g  (1/2 cup)
eggs (large)      200g   ( 4 ) ‍

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Instructions

1. Bring milk, water, butter, sugar, salt to boil in a pot.
2. Once boiling point has been reached, remove off from the heat and add sifted flour into the pot and stir with a wooden spoon, until it has become a dough.
3. Return to the stove and cook on medium heat to remove excess moisture. It will be ready when the bottom of the pot is dry when scrapped with a spatula (approximately 1 to 2 minutes).
4. Stir with a wooden spoon until all steam has been exhausted from the dough.
5. Add eggs gradually and mix into homogenous paste.
6. Pipe onto parchment paper 3-4cm diameter rounds. Leave space in between for expansion. You may wet your finger tips and press down on the tips of the choux paste to form a consistent round shape.
7. Bake in a 360°F preheated oven for approximately 20-30min, or until deep golden colour. Do not open the oven during the first 12 minutes. When cool round puffs fill with pastry cream.

PASTRY CREAM

Ingredients

sugar                  25g  (1/2 cup)
corn starch        50g  (5 Tbsp)
vanilla Paste      10g  (2 tsp)
egg yolks           120g  (6 eggs) 
milk                    500g  (2 cups)
butter                 50g  (1/4 cup)  
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Instructions

1. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, vanilla paste, and egg yolks.
2. Bring milk to a boil and pour into egg mixture while whisking to avoid the eggs from cooking into lumps.
3. Pour mixture back into pot, cook on medium while stirring with a whisk, until it thickens and reaches a light boil or until the starchiness has been cooked off.
4. Mix in butter, wrap tightly, and cool in fridge.

PÂTE À FONCER

Ingredients

all purpose flour      150g (1 cup)
salt                            3g (0.5 tsp)
sugar                        12g (2 tsp)
butter (soft)             115g (1/2 cup)
water                        25g (1 1/2 Tbsp)
egg yolk                   10g (1/2 egg yolk)

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Instructions

1. Mix flour, salt, sugar, and butter until it reaches a sandy and crumbly consistency
2. Add water and yolk.  Knead lightly until it just forms a dough
3. Rest at least 3 hours in fridge
4. Roll out to 0.3 to 0.5cm thickness, rest 30 minutes in fridge.
5. Trim to a round size of 15cm diameter
6. Bake in preheated 360c oven for 16-20min, or until a deep golden color is reached.

CRÈME CHANTILLY

Ingredients

Cream                400g (1 2/3 cup)
Icing Sugar        80g (2/3 cup)
Vanilla Paste      10g  (2 Tbsp)
 

Whisk together until medium peaks, or that it holds a shape when piped

CARAMEL (hard)

Ingredients

Water               60g  (1/4 cup)
Sugar               180g  (3/4 cup) 
Salt                   3g (1 tsp)
Corn Syrup       24g (2 Tbsp)  

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Put all ingredient into a saucepan over medium heat and boil until it reaches a light golden color.  
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ASSEMBLY
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1. Soften pastry cream by mixing it with a wooden spoon
2. Make a hole in the bottom of the choux paste with a skewer, and fill the inside with pastry cream using a piping bag
3. Dip the tops of the choux into the hot caramel (take care as it should be VERY HOT), turn over, and allow to set.
4. Place the choux onto the Pâte a Foncer along the outside edge to create a ring, using caramel or pastry cream to as an adhesive if necessary
5. Fill the centre area of the St. Honoré with a layer of pastry cream of 0.5cm
6. Top off the pastry cream with Crème Chantilly, piped to your desired shape and finish!