National Geographic Traveller (UK) - Food
THE FRENCH WEDDING DESSERT
Few desserts live up to the title of showstopper quite like le croquembouche, a tower of creamfilled choux buns. Words: Carolyn Boyd
Choux pastry comes in many guises, from eclairs to profiteroles, chouquettes to gougères. But for maximum wow factor, nothing compares to le croquembouche.
This ostentatious showstopper is essentially a towering cone of choux pastry puffs, each filled with creme patissiere, woven together with caramel and resting on a nougatine base shaped like a crown. Made for sharing, it’s served on special occasions.
Its origins lie with one of the founders of classic
French cuisine, Marie-antonin Carême, who, in the early 19th century, worked as chef for the influential French diplomat and gourmand Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-périgord. According to expert pastry chef Fabrice Danniel, from Cordon Bleu Institute in Paris, Carême’s first versions consisted of pyramids of fruits and nuts held together with caramel: “People would take a piece of fruit and put it in their mouths, and that’s how it got its name [croquembouche translates as ‘crunch in the mouth’].” The dessert later evolved into the ‘Pièce Montée’, one of Carême’s signature creations, which was a pyramid of choux pastries stuck together with caramel.
Due to its complexity, croquembouche tends to be the preserve of expert patissiers and must be ordered ahead of time. The upside of this is that there’s usually time to have it tailored to tastes, with pastry cream flavoured with kirsch, vanilla or lemon. Once the nougatine base is ready, each choux puff is added carefully to a central cone, made from metal or card. It’s a tricky task, and one Fabrice sets for his intermediate-level trainees. “Students must have dexterity, exactitude and creativity — it’s almost like architecture,” he says. “We add the pastries to the cone, and go up level by level, with each one becoming narrower. It really does feel like an achievement.
“You have to bear in mind the humidity of where you’re making it,” he adds. “It needs to be a very dry environment so that the caramel doesn’t soften. Also, prepare the choux pastry the day before it’s needed so that they’re drier and stick together more easily.”
The effort is worth it, though, with the presentation of the croquembouche often one of the most anticipated moments at a wedding. “It’s something of a ritual to have the bride and groom cut through the sugar and serve the pastries. This used to be ritual enough in days gone by, but now we can even add fireworks for extra effect,” says Fabrice.
Few desserts have travelled as well as the cheesecake, with beloved versions found all over the globe, from Germany to Japan. Words: Jenny Linford New York cheesecake
The creation of this baked American version is credited to Arnold Reuben — who was owner of Reuben’s Restaurant and Deli in Manhattan, and creator of the eponymous sandwich — in the 1920s. Its chief component is cream cheese (industrially produced, spreadable soft cheese was a 19th-century US invention), while the base is usually made from graham cracker crumbs, with eggs, sugar, double cream and soured cream the other classic elements. The results are smooth and rich.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Head to Junior’s, founded in Brooklyn in 1950, for a slice of its famous version. juniorscheesecake.com
Smaland ostkaka
While there are plenty of regional variations of Sweden’s beloved cheesecake, Smaland ostkaka, from the south, is the best known. Traditionally, the first step is to curdle large quantities of fresh milk with rennet to produce curd cheese, with great care taken to source good milk from a reputable farm. The curds are drained and mixed with ground and chopped almonds, eggs, cream and a little sugar, and then baked until golden. It’s served with whipped cream and a fruit jam, such as cloudberry or sour cherry.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Asens Culture Village in Smaland is a preserved traditional settlement, showcasing life between 1900 and 1920. Its cafe is an idyllic spot for a slice of Smaland ostkaka. visitsmaland.se
Sernik
In Poland, sernik is a celebratory cheesecake, and very much a Christmas treat. It’s made from twarog or biały ser, a traditional fresh white cheese made from cow’s milk, which has a delicate sour tang that’s crucial to the dish’s flavour. It’s baked on a shortcrust pastry base rather than a biscuit base, and sometimes raisins or chopped candied peel are added to enrich the cheese filling.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Warsaw’s Café Bristol is a civilised spot for a slice of sernik. cafebristol.pl
Peynirli kunefe
This Turkish cheesecake offers a distinctive combination of textures and flavours. It comprises a layer of unsalted cheese, sometimes enriched with kaymak (Turkish clotted cream), sandwiched between two layers of fine pastry strands called tel kadaif, which have been coated in melted butter so that they stick together. It’s baked until golden brown, covered with lemony syrup and a sprinkle of pistachios, and served hot, so the cheese between the pastry layers is gooey and stretchy.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Try one of Turkish chef CZN Burak’s Hatay Civilizations Table restaurants, which all serve this traditional dessert. m.hataymedeniyetlersofrasi.com.tr
Basque cheesecake
With its striking appearance when baked to a burnished, dark brown colour — hence its full name, ‘Basque burnt cheesecake’ — and elegant, silky-smooth texture, this truly stylish cheesecake has plenty of fans around the globe, not least Nigella Lawson. Made from a mixture of full-fat cream cheese, eggs, sour cream, sugar and cornflour, it’s baked at a high temperature until set but soft in the middle. The cheesecake rises, but then sinks as it cools, a process that gives it such a distinct dip and cracked exterior, while the ‘burnt’ surface takes on a caramel flavour.
WHERE TO FIND IT: La Viña in Donostia, San Sebastián, where it was invented by chefpatron Santiago Rivera in the early 1990s.
Japanese cheesecake
Also known as ‘cotton cheesecake’ or ‘souffle cheesecake’, Japan’s version is famous for its ethereal, fluffy texture. Its origins lie in a trip to Germany in the 1960s, taken by Japanese chef Tomotaro Kuzuno. Having become a fan of cheesecake while in Berlin, he started working on his own version, which was less sweet and far lighter. Its distinctive airy texture is created by separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites to incorporate air into the mixture. It’s then baked in a bainmarie, which helps retain the delicate texture.
WHERE TO FIND IT: In 1990, Tetsushi Mizokami opened his first specialist cheesecake shop in Hakata-fu, Fukuoka. This grew into the Uncle Tetsu chain. uncletetsu.com
Kasekuchen
Quark, a fresh cheese made from cultured milk (buttermilk), is a much-loved ingredient in the German kitchen, where it’s transformed into dips and spread on bread. It’s also the key ingredient in this traditional cheesecake, its dense texture and tangy flavour adding a distinctive character when mixed with eggs, sugar and baked on a pastry base.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Elegant Princess Cheesecake, in the Mitte district of Berlin.