Gateau Sainte-Honore

This is a traditional French cake named for Saint Honore, the patron saint of pastry bakers. It takes a lot of work and is very time consuming, but it is definitely well worth the effort! It isn’t a recipe that you would want to make everyday, but what a way to WOW people on a special occasion. 🙂

Directions:

Yield: One 12″ Gateau Sainte-Honore

1. Roll your puff pastry into a 12″ square. Using a piece of parchment paper cut into a 12″ circle as a guide, cut out a circle from your rolled puff pastry. Make sure to cut all the way around leaving none of the edges uncut.
2. Place the puff pastry onto a parchment lined pizza pan. Prick holes into the puff pastry using a fork.
3. Place the puff pastry in the freezer for 15 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 425°. After the 15 minutes in the freezer, place the puff pastry into the oven to bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Let the pastry crust cool completely.
5. To make the pastry cream, whisk together the 4 egg yolks, 4 tbsps of corn starch and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. After those ingredients are whisked, add 1/4 cup of milk and whisk together.
6. On the oven, heat 1 and 3/4 cups of milk just to the boiling point. Add the milk to the paste from the previous step. Mix the entire time you are adding the milk. Place this mixture back on the oven over medium heat. Stir continuously until it thickens. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix.
7. Remove from the heat and put the pastry cream into a clean bowl. Cover the pastry cream with a piece of plastic wrap. Place the wrap directly on the pastry cream, not over the bowl. This will prevent that hard pudding skin from forming on the top. Place in the refrigerator for at least two hours prior to using.
8. The next step is to make the ganache. Place 1 cup of heavy whipping cream on the stove over medium heat until it reaches the boiling point. Remove the pot of cream from the heat and add the 3/4 cup of chocolate chips. Whisk together until the chocolate is melted and thoroughly mixed.
9. Next, fill the choux paste balls with pastry cream. Cut a small x in the bottom of the choux paste balls. Take a piping bag with a small star tip and fill it with the pastry cream. Stick the tip into the hole of the choux paste balls and lightly fill with pastry cream.
10. Take the remainder of your pastry cream and spread it across the top of the puff pastry crust. Leave about one inch around the edge of the puff pastry crust uncovered. This is the area we will be placing our choux paste profiteroles.
11. Next, cover the pastry cream with ganache. Be sure to set about 1/3 of a cup of the ganache aside to mix with our whip cream later on.
12. The next step is to make the caramelized sugar that we will be using to coat our choux paste profiteroles. Over medium-high heat, bring 1 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of water to a boil. Do not stir! Let this boil until it starts to turn a light golden color. Remove from heat and let it cool. It will continue to darken in the pan unless you dip the pan in cold water.
13. Dip the top of the filled choux paste balls in the caramelized sugar. Place the sugar side down on a pan lined with parchment paper.
14. After they have cooled slightly, dip the bottom of the profiteroles in the caramelized sugar. With this side down, place around the edge of the puff pastry crust, using the freshly dipped sugar to stick in place.
15. Mix 2 cups of the whipped cream and the remaining 1/3 of a cup of ganache to make chocolate whipped cream.
16. Fill one piping bag with 2 cups of regular whipped cream and another with the 2 cups of chocolate whipped cream. Alternate rows of chocolate and regular whipped cream on the top of your Gateau Sainte-Honore.

This cake is a lot of work! But trust me, it is worth every second. I hope you all enjoy this absolutely delicious dessert.