Gâteau St. Honoré Recipe: How to Make St. Honoré Cake

For the cream puffs:

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1½ teaspoons sugar, divided
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus one tablespoon water, divided
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ cup whipped cream, homemade or store-bought

For the puff pastry:

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, frozen, plus 2 tablespoons, chilled and cut into cubes

For the pastry cream:

• 2¼ cups whole milk
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 9 egg yolks
• ⅓ cup cornstarch
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cubed

For the topping:

• ¼ cup caramel sauce, homemade or store-bought

1. 1

   Make the pâte à choux. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. 2

   In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, sugar, salt, and 1 cup of water to a boil over medium heat.

3. 3

   Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir until the dough comes together in a smooth ball, about 5 minutes.

4. 4

   Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition.

5. 5

   Make the egg wash. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water.

6. 6

   Transfer the choux pastry to a pastry bag fitted with a large round piping tip. Pipe 2-inch balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the top of each cream puff with egg wash. Save about 2 tablespoons of the choux dough in the piping bag, and set it aside in the refrigerator.

7. 7

   Bake your cream puff shells until they are puffed up, about 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking your cream puff shells until they are golden brown, about 20 minutes longer. Transfer the puffs to a wire rack to cool completely.

8. 8

   Make the puff pastry. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the chilled cubes of butter and work them into the flour mixture with your hands, just until the butter is crumbly and there are no remaining large chunks (similar to making pie dough).

9. 9

   Add in cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture comes together to form a shaggy dough.

10. 10

    Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle.

11. 11

    Over the bottom two-thirds of the rectangle, grate half of the frozen stick of butter (you can also blitz the butter in a food processor—just be quick about transferring it, so it stays relatively cold). Fold-down the top third of the dough, then fold the bottom third up over it, just like an envelope.

12. 12

    Rotate your dough envelope 90 degrees so the spine is on your left (like a book), then roll it out into another rectangle. Grate the rest of the butter over the bottom two-thirds again, and fold just as before. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours.

13. 13

    When you’re ready to form your gâteau, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

14. 14

    Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it into a ⅛-inch thick round disk. Prick the surface of the dough a few times with a fork.

15. 15

    Transfer the puff pastry dough to the baking sheet. Remove the piping bag with the remaining choux pastry from the fridge, and pipe a line of choux pastry around the outer edge of the top of the puff pastry to create an edge.

16. 16

    Bake the puff pastry until it is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Remove the pastry from the oven, and set it aside to cool.

17. 17

    Fill the balls of choux with whipped cream. Once your cream puffs are cool, slice each cream puff shell in half. Pipe the whipped cream into each cream puff shell and replace the top of the cream puff.

18. 18

    Make the pastry cream. In a large pot over medium heat, bring the milk and half of the sugar to a boil. Slowly stir the mixture to prevent it from scorching the bottom of the pot.

19. 19

    In a bowl, whisk together the other half of the sugar with the egg yolks. (Do this step immediately to prevent the yolks from “burning” on contact with the sugar.) Stir in the cornstarch until smooth, then slowly whisk in a ½ cup of the warm milk and sugar mixture, stirring until evenly combined.

20. 20

    While stirring, pour the egg mixture back into the pot of milk. On low to medium heat, while stirring constantly, heat the mixture until it thickens. It should take about 3 minutes or so to thicken the mixture and 2 more minutes, once thickened, to cook out the raw taste from the cornstarch. It will continue to thicken as it cools, so remove it from the heat before too much water evaporates. Look for the foam on the top of the custard to start disappearing, which signals that the custard is almost ready.

21. 21

    Remove the pan from the heat and allow the custard to cool to room temperature, whisking it occasionally. Add in the cubed butter and whisk until everything is evenly combined. Good pastry cream is rich and smooth, with a pale yellow color and a glossy, velvety texture.

22. 22

    Cover the mixture with plastic wrap pressed up against the surface of the pastry cream to prevent skin from forming, and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

23. 23

    Assemble the gâteau. In a small saucepan, warm the caramel.

24. 24

    Dip the bottom of each cream puff in caramel, then place the balls on top of the puff pastry, forming a ring around the edge.

25. 25

    Fill a piping bag with the pastry cream and pipe the cream onto the puff pastry base, filling the space between the cream puffs.

26. 26

    Drizzle the choux balls with additional caramel. Slice the gâteau St. Honoré and serve.

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