White Chocolate Dipped Croquembouche Filled with Eggnog Pastry Cream

croquembouche on marble cake tray with flowers around, a stack of plates behind, glass of eggnog, and two gold ornaments hanging to the right.

White Chocolate Dipped Croquembouche Filled with Eggnog Pastry Cream

This oh so pretty White Chocolate Dipped Croquembouche Filled with Eggnog Pastry Cream is the show-stopping dessert you NEED to have this holiday season! So much easier to make than you think, ready in 4 hours or LESS, and truly so delicious.

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 2 30

Cook Time: 1 30

Total Time: 4

Servings: profiteroles

Calories: 143kcal

Ingredients

Choux

1½ cups all purpose flour sifted
¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup water
1⅛ teaspoons salt
1⅞ teaspoons granulated sugar
¾ cup unsalted butter
6 large eggs room temperature

Eggnog Pastry Cream

11 large egg yolks room temperature
7½ Tablespoons corn starch
3½ cups eggnog
7 Tablespoons salted butter room temperature

To Finish

2 cups white chocolate
2 Tablespoons coconut oil

Instructions

Choux

Heat oven to 375℉/190℃.
Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
Sift flour. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine milk, water, salt, sugar, and butter.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Remove from heat.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in flour.
Return to heat.
Cook, stirring continuously, until mixture cleans the sides of the pot, about 1 minute.
Transfer to stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Continue beating until smooth and glossy.
Spoon into piping bag.
Snip end of bag to a ½" opening.
Pipe into ½" rounds onto prepared pans, about 26 per pan.
Tap down peaks with a wet finger.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Immediately reduce temperature to 350℉. (Do NOT open oven door.)
Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on the outside and dry in the center.
Allow to cool on pans.

Eggnog Pastry Cream

In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and corn starch until smooth. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, heat eggnog until bubbly around the edges.
Whisk hot eggnog into egg yolk mixture a little at a time.
Return to saucepan.
Cook and stir over medium low heat until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Whisk in butter.
Let cool slightly.
Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a #10 tip.
Poke a small hole in the bottom of each choux pastry.
Insert bag tip.
Pipe to fill.

To Finish

Cover 9" form in parchment paper, using melted white chocolate to stick parchment paper together.
Place a sheet of parchment paper underneath form.
Combine white chocolate and coconut oil in a medium bowl.
Microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring after each, until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Assembly

Working with one filled pastry at a time, dip the top in melted chocolate.
Place beside form.
Continue dipping and placing pastries until you have completed the bottom ring around the tree. Make sure the pastries touch!
Repeat for the next layer, and so on until you reach the top.
Place one pastry on top and let set.

Notes

Room temperature is about 70℉/21℃.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can mix the eggs in by hand for the choux pastry, but it will take longer and be more difficult.
A paddle attachment is the same thing as flat beater or K beater.
To check if your choux is the right consistency, lift the beater and see if the batter forms a V when falling off. If it’s too liquid-y, do NOT add more flour. You will need to start over. If the batter is too thick, you may need to add another egg.
You can use a zip top bag instead of a piping bag to pipe the choux.
Don’t skip tapping down the tops of the choux pastry! This is very important.
While the choux is baking, do NOT open the oven door until the end of the total baking time.
Use a sharp knife or the end of a thermometer to poke holes into the bottom of each baked choux pastry.
When making the pastry cream, make sure the egg yolk and corn starch mixture has a smooth and liquid-y consistency. You don’t want it lumpy!
Make sure you whisk in the butter while the mixture is still hot! The butter needs to melted and mixed in thoroughly.
Don’t skip straining the pastry cream! You don’t want to bite into a little bit of cooked egg!
When filling the choux, you should feel it begin to become heavy. Once you feel a little bit of weight, the choux should be properly filled and can be dipped.
When assembling the croquembouche, try and make sure each cream puff is roughly the same size! This helps keep it level and sturdy.
Do not build the croquembouche higher than 9-10 inches tall. Any taller and it may become too heavy and collapse.

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