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Hogwarts Sorting Hat Croquembouche | NYT Cooking
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Hogwarts Sorting Hat Croquembouche | NYT Cooking

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Sept. 1 is “Back to Hogwarts Day,” when the wizarding students in the Harry Potter universe board a train at Platform 9¾ and head to school for another year of potions, charms and herbology. Erin Jeanne McDowell created this witchy twist on a classic croquembouche (a tower of caramel-dipped cream puffs) has a solid base of cream puffs to create a rim, giving the tower a shape similar to that of the Hogwarts Sorting Hat, which sorts new students into their respective houses. The cream filling is tinted colors to reflect the colors of the four houses they can be sorted into: red (Gryffindor), yellow (Hufflepuff), Green (Slytherin) and blue (Ravenclaw). Guests pull a cream puff from the tower and bite in to discover the color of their appointed house. For an even more epic tower (as seen in the video), double the recipe in the comments below.

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Hogwarts Sorting Hat Croquembouche

37 Comments

  1. @NYTCooking

    Sorting Hat Croquembouche Recipe
    Yield: One 12-inch-by-16-inch tower  
    Time: 4½ hours

    For the filling:
    2 cups/480 milliliters whole milk
    ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
    ½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped, or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    ½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar
    ⅓ cup/40 grams cornstarch
    4 large egg yolks
    2 tablespoons unsalted butter
    1 ¼ cups/300 milliliters heavy cream
    Red, yellow, green and blue gel food coloring

    For the cream puffs:
    1½ cups/360 milliliters whole milk
    ¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter (1½ sticks)
    1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
    4½ cups/545 grams all purpose flour
    10 large eggs
    Egg wash (1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water), as needed

    For the caramel:
    2½ cups/495 grams granulated sugar
    ⅓ cup/80 milliliters water
    ¼ cup/60 milliliters corn syrup

    1. Make the filling: In a medium pot, bring the milk, salt and vanilla bean to a simmer over medium heat. (If using vanilla extract, you’ll add it later.)

    2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch, then whisk in the egg yolks. Ladle about 1 cup/235 milliliters warm milk mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly to combine. 

    3. Return the milk and yolk mixture to the pot, whisking constantly. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to visibly thicken, 4 to 5 minutes. At this point, switch from a whisk to a silicone spatula to ensure you can get into the corners and along the sides of the pot. 

    4. Continue to cook, stirring constantly with the spatula, until the mixture comes to a boil (there should be large, fat bubbles burst at the surface in the center of the pot), 3 to 4 minutes more. Strain the mixture into a large bowl, whisk in 2 tablespoons butter until melted and incorporated, press plastic wrap directly against the surface, and refrigerate until completely cool, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

    5. Just before the filling is cooled and you’re ready to mix itt, whip the cream to medium peaks, and fold it into the cooled filling. Divide the mixture evenly among four medium bowls (about 1 ½ cups/355 milliliters each, but no need to be precise). Tint one bowl with 5 to 8 drops of red food coloring, another with yellow food coloring, another with blue food coloring, and the last one with green coloring and stir to combine. Transfer each to a disposable pastry bag and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 8 hours). 

    6. Make the cream puffs: Heat the oven to 400 degrees, and line three baking sheets with parchment paper. 

    7. Place 1½ cups/360 milliliters water, milk, butter and salt in a medium pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes. 

    8. Add the flour to the simmering liquid, and begin stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to combine. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture forms a relatively solid ball around the spoon, and there’s a visible thin white film on the base of the pot, 3 to 5 minutes. 

    9. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and begin to mix on medium speed to cool the mixture slightly, 4 minutes. Add the eggs gradually (1 to 2 at a time), allowing each one to be fully incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the mixer bowl 2 to 3 times over the course of adding the eggs. 

    10. Prepare a disposable piping bag by fitting it with a ½-inch-wide round pastry tip, or simply by cutting a ½-inch opening out of the base of the bag (you can also use a resealable gallon bag, and cut one of its corners to form an opening). Transfer about one-third of the mixture to the piping bag. 

    11. Pipe rounds of the batter onto the prepared baking sheets: Each one should be about 1½-inches wide. Pipe a row of these rounds across the length of the baking sheet. (They can be relatively close together. Leave a little less than ½ inch in between each piece. When you begin to pipe the next row, stagger each piece so you can fit more on the baking sheet overall. Continue this process, refilling the bag with additional batter as needed, until you’ve used all of the batter. 

    12. Egg wash the cream puffs, using the pastry brush to help smooth out the surface of the cream puffs. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. After baking, use a paring knife to poke a hole in the bottom of all of the cream puffs to help release steam (and later, to provide a hole to fill them). Cool completely. 

    13. Fill the cooled cream puffs with the prepared tinted fillings. Fill about ¼ of the cream puffs with each color (but no need to be precise). Cut the tip of the pastry bags to have a ¼-inch opening at the end. 

    14. Shove the tip of the pastry bag into the base of the cream puff (where you made the cut with the paring knife earlier). Be pretty aggressive to get it inside, then fill each cream puff until they feel heavy. Repeat until all cream puffs are filled.

    15. Make the caramel: Prepare an ice water bath in a medium bowl. Place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a medium pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture starts to bubble. Once it simmers, stop stirring. If any sugar crystals appear on the sides of the pot, use a pastry brush dipped into cool water to wash them away. 

    16. Continue to cook the mixture until it becomes an amber caramel. It’s difficult to say exactly how long this will take, but remember that the caramel will hold a lot of heat, and will continue to cook even once you take it off the heat. So you can always take it off the heat a bit early, and let it carry over to the desired color.

    17. Once it hits the desired color, dip the base of the pot into the ice water bath to stop the cooking. Whenever the caramel gets hard, you can warm it gently over medium-low heat to make it fluid again. 

    18. Have ready a 12-inch platter or cardboard cake circle (available at craft or cake supply stores). Working one at a time, dip the cream puffs into the caramel (to avoid burns, you can use a pair of tongs), then transfer into an even layer, filling the plate or cardboard circle. 

    19. Continue to build the croquembouche, dipping each cream puff and continuing to build upward in concentric circles to make a witch hat shape. Continue until you’ve used all the cream puffs.

    20. For an optional finish, you can spin the remaining caramel. Tape two wooden spoons near the edge of your counter so that the handles extend past the counter. Line the floor with trash bags or newspaper. 

    21. Re-warm the caramel if necessary, and dip a spun sugar whisk or large heat-safe fork (like a metal serving fork) into the caramel and then whip it back and forth about 2 to 3 feet above the handles of the wooden spoons. As the caramel falls, it creates long, thin strands that collect across the spoon handles. 

    22. Gently collect the spun sugar and wrap it around the base of the croquembouche. The croquembouche is now ready to serve. Store at room temperature.

  7. @bhanugopal7132

    Erin you are a Magician!!!!!!!!! Seeing you bake inspire me to learn the art of baking and thank you for always inspiring us with your thoughtful videos and for your teachings. Thank you <3

  14. @KauaiDee

    I don’t wanna say this because I don’t want to be a mean girl but I’m going to say it in case anyone can relate… this lady has replaced Claire Saffitz for me.

  16. @barbaramendoza3333

    Wowwwww😱😱😱🤩🤩🤩 quedo magnífico, 🌟🌟🌟ha de estar delicioso!!! Felicidades!!! Es una pena que no esté subtitulado al español, saludos desde México🤩estaría cool que tuviera la receta👌

  20. @amileague9282

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  21. @amileague9282

    The regular bowl acromegaly taste because pressure alternatively last within a wasteful stretch. delightful, guttural H habitual gemini

  28. @RY-fe3rt

    Don't let Dobby anywhere near it!!!! 😁 Loving the gossamer thread spun sugar! Gorgeous!

  37. @nikolasgerry9701

    Her croquembouche is very good. But the point is to turn the mold upside down and put the cream puffs in there. Then, after 20 minutes of hardening, you slowly slide it out so that it looks like you did not use the form at all. That's kinda the point of using the form

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