Saint-Honoré Cakewith whipped cream and caramel
Saint-Honoré cake with homemade puff pastry base, small caramelized choux, and whipped cream: prepare each dough and assemble this classic French dessert.
The whipped cream version of the Saint-Honoré combines puff pastry, choux pastry, caramel, and whipped cream. Each component requires a different technique: the puff pastry must dry out, the choux need to keep their volume, and the caramel must harden without becoming bitter. Assembling the cake close to serving time preserves the contrast between the crunchy bases and the delicate cream.
Ingredients
Doughs
Choux
Caramel and whipped cream
Whipped cream
Preparation
Prepare the puff pastry
Mix 150 g flour, 2 g salt, 20 g butter, and 75 ml cold water until combined. Cover and chill for 30 minutes. Flatten the remaining 100 g butter between parchment papers into a cold, flexible square. Roll out the dough, wrap the butter inside, and seal all edges.
20 minutesMake the folds
Roll into a 15 by 40 cm rectangle and fold into thirds. Rotate 90 degrees and repeat; refrigerate for 30 minutes. Make two more single folds, refrigerate for 30 minutes, then roll out a 22 cm disk using the reserved 15 g flour. Prick with a fork and refrigerate while preheating the oven to 200 °C.
35 minutesBake the base
Place the disk between sheets of parchment paper and two light baking trays. Bake for 20 minutes, remove the top tray and paper, and bake for another 10 minutes until golden and dry. Cool on a rack.
30 minutesMake the choux pastry
Boil milk, 50 g butter, and 1 g salt. Add 75 g flour all at once and stir for 2 minutes until a film forms on the bottom. Transfer to a bowl, stir until lukewarm, and gradually incorporate beaten eggs until the dough falls from the spatula in a thick ribbon with a V-shaped tip; some egg may remain unused.
20 minutesShape and bake the choux
On parchment paper, draw a 20 cm ring and pipe the dough accordingly. Also make 12 small mounds of 3 cm with the remaining dough. Bake at 190 °C for about 30 to 35 minutes without opening the oven for the first 25 minutes. Remove when firm and golden; make a small side opening and cool completely.
35 minutesCaramelize and assemble
Gradually melt 150 g sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan until light amber. Remove from heat. Using tweezers and keeping fingers away, quickly dip the tops of the small choux into the caramel and place on parchment paper. Use small caramel drops to fix the ring on the puff pastry base and the choux around it. Never touch hot caramel.
20 minutesWhip and assemble
Whip the chilled cream with 30 g sugar and scraped vanilla seeds until firm but smooth peaks form. Fill the center of the cake with waves of whipped cream. Serve within one hour, keeping refrigerated until serving.
15 minutes
Substitutions
This version uses whipped cream; chiboust cream requires a different preparation. Do not substitute fresh cream with carton cream, as it will not whip properly.
Storage
Store the assembled cake in the refrigerator, protected without touching the topping. Bases without cream can be made the day before and kept dry.
Approximate shelf life: Preferably consume within 12 hours, always refrigerated after assembly.
Nutrition values are estimates and may vary by brand, substitution and actual yield.
