Croquembouche

In my country, there is a new season of MasterChef Celebrity, and even though this season I am not watching it as much as the previous ones, I never miss the pastry episodes because they are the most entertaining.

Today, Chef Anita Belén, who is one of the pastry chefs I look up to, was on the show to teach the participants how to make a croquembouche. The challenge was done in pairs, and some did better than others. Some failed, with their croquembouche collapsing; others lacked filling; and some had to remake their dough. Everyone burned themselves with the caramel while assembling the croquembouche! This dessert is composed of several components: pastry cream, a caramel and almond base, caramel for assembly, and choux pastry. It is full of steps and techniques, so it is not easy.

Personally, I have never made a croquembouche, but I have made profiteroles—which also require a lot of technique. They turned out good, but they took one hour in the oven when, according to many recipes, it only takes 25 minutes. This episode has made me want to try making profiteroles again to improve my technique.

Pdta 1: Croquembouche es un término francés que significa "cruje en boca".

Pdta 2: Las quemadas con caramelo son las peores porque puede llegar a temperaturas de ¡170 °C o 338°F! 

Y el croquembouche tiene mucho caramelo...