St. Honoré cake

St. Honoré cake or Gâteau St. Honoré is a classic French dessert named after the French patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs, Saint Honoré. It is a combination of two classic French desserts, choux pastry and puff pastry, and is traditionally decorated with whipped cream and caramel.

History

The St. Honoré cake was first created in 1847 by a Parisian pastry chef named Auguste Jullien. He named the cake after his bakery, which was located on Rue Saint-Honoré, a street named after Saint Honoré. The cake quickly became popular in France and is now considered a classic French dessert.

Preparation

The base of the St. Honoré cake is made from puff pastry, which is a light, flaky pastry made from a laminated dough. The dough is layered with butter, rolled and folded several times in succession, then rolled into a sheet, in a technique called laminating. The puff pastry is then baked until it puffs up and becomes golden brown.

On top of the puff pastry base, small balls of choux pastry are arranged. Choux pastry, or pâte à choux, is a light pastry dough used to make profiteroles, croquembouches, éclairs, and gougères. It contains only butter, water, flour, and eggs. Instead of a raising agent, it employs high moisture content to create steam during cooking to puff the pastry.

The choux pastry balls are then filled with pastry cream, a type of cooked custard made from milk, sugar, flour, and eggs. The pastry cream is often flavored with vanilla.

The cake is then traditionally decorated with whipped cream, using a special piping technique called Saint Honoré piping. The cream is piped onto the cake in a series of loops or rosettes. Finally, the cake is drizzled with caramel, which gives it a sweet, sticky finish.

Variations

There are many variations of the St. Honoré cake. Some versions include fruit, such as raspberries or strawberries, while others include different types of cream, such as chocolate or coffee-flavored cream. Some modern versions even include exotic ingredients like matcha or yuzu.

See also

• List of French desserts
• List of pastries
• French cuisine