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Torta Saint Honoré

17/11/2023

The Torta Saint Honoré is a classic of French patisserie, an elegant and sophisticated dessert made of puff pastry, cream puffs, chiboust cream (a light pastry cream enriched with whipped cream and stabilized with gelatin), and a crunchy caramel. Here’s how to prepare it.

Ingredients

  • For the puff pastry base:

    • 1 ready-made puff pastry disk about 22 cm in diameter

  • For the cream puffs:

    • 125 ml of water
    • 50 g of butter
    • A pinch of salt
    • 75 g of flour
    • 2-3 medium eggs

  • For the chiboust cream:

    • 250 ml of milk
    • 1 vanilla pod
    • 3 egg yolks
    • 75 g of sugar
    • 20 g of flour
    • 20 g of cornstarch
    • 3 sheets of gelatin (or an equivalent amount of powdered gelatin)
    • 250 ml of whipping cream

  • For the caramel:

    • 200 g of granulated sugar
    • 60 ml of water

Preparation

  1. Puff pastry base:

    • Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
    • Roll out the puff pastry and cut a disk about 22 cm in diameter, pierce the base with the tines of a fork, and bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden. Allow to cool.

  2. Cream puffs:

    • In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil with the butter and a pinch of salt.
    • Remove from the heat and pour all the flour in, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough detaches from the sides of the pan.
    • Allow to cool slightly, then add the eggs one at a time, working the dough well after each addition until a smooth and homogeneous consistency is obtained.
    • Transfer the dough to a piping bag and form small cream puffs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
    • Bake in the oven at 200 °C for about 20-25 minutes until golden, then let cool.

  3. Chiboust cream:

    • Soak the gelatin in cold water.
    • Heat the milk with the split vanilla pod and leave to infuse for a few minutes.
    • In a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar until foamy.
    • Add the sifted flour and cornstarch and mix to incorporate.
    • Remove the vanilla pod from the milk and pour the hot milk over the yolk mixture, stirring continuously.
    • Transfer everything back to the pan and cook over medium-high heat until the cream thickens, stirring constantly.
    • Remove from the heat, add the squeezed gelatin and stir until completely dissolved.
    • Let the cream cool covered with plastic wrap in contact and, when cold, fold in the previously whipped cream.

  4. Assembly:

    • Pour the chiboust cream over the cooled puff pastry base.
    • Arrange the baked cream puffs around the edge of the base, anchoring them with a little caramel.
    • Fill the cream puffs with the remaining chiboust cream, using a piping bag.

  5. Caramel:

    • In a small pot, bring the sugar and water to a boil until a golden caramel is obtained.
    • Dip the base of the cream puffs in caramel and place them on the edge of the cake.
    • Use the remaining caramel to create threads around the cream puffs to decorate the cake.

Make sure to let the cake cool completely before serving so that the flavors blend perfectly and the textures are ideal.

Curiosity

The name of the cake is a tribute to Saint Honoré (St. Honoratus), the patron saint of pastry chefs and bakers. This dessert is considered a masterpiece of technique and flavor, bringing together different elements of patisserie into a single creation.

Torta Saint Honoré