French Croquembouche Wedding Cake

Preparation

Making the Profiteroles

1. Place the water and butter/margarine in a sauce pan.  Cover it and bring to a boil; 

2. Add all the flour.  Beat the mixture well until smooth and stiff.  Return the mixture to the heat.  Boil again until the flour leaves the side of the sauce pan.  Put aside and let it cool.

3. Beat the eggs one by one in a separate container.  Add them into the flour mixture, one by one.  The end product should be light and glossy.

4. Using a spoon, remove small amounts of flour and mould them into round balls.  Heap these balls onto a prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes at 250 degrees centigrade.  Reduce the heat to 180 degrees centigrade and bake for a further 20 minutes or until golden bronw and crispy to the touch.

5. Remove the puffs from the oven and make small holes in each one.  Return to the oven for another 5 minutes to dry them out.

6. Remove ready puffs from the oven and let the cool completely.

Cream Filling

1. Put the cream and icing sugar n a large bown;

2. Beat this mixture until it is thick;

3. Using a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle, fill each hole in the puffs with a small amount of cream.

Caramel Sauce

1.  Put the sugar and the water in a heavy cooking sauce pan;

2.  On low heat, dissolve the sugar in the water;

3.  On high heat, bring the mixture to a boil;

4.  Boil rapidly until the mixture turns golden brown;

Assembling the Croquembouche

1. Place a croquembouche cone on a serving plate;

2. Dip the base of each puff in the caramel sauce.  Arrange them in layers around the cone;

3. As the cake climbs, decorate it on the sides with the sugarde almonds;

4. Once all the puffs are mounted, drizzle them with the remaining caramel sauce;

5. Stand the cake at room temperature in a cool place.  The puffs should be served within six hours.