2 days ago
8
Christmas is the perfect time for something a bit more extravagant and theatrical. And a very good way to achieve this is to bring a tower of puffy choux buns to the table and pour over a jugful of boozy chocolate sauce and coffee caramel while everyone looks on in awe. To help avoid any stress on the day, most of the elements can be made ahead: the chocolate sauce and caramel can be gently reheated before pouring, while the choux shells can be baked the day before and crisped up in the oven for 10 minutes before filling.
Coffee caramel and rum choux tower
Prep 10 min
Cook 1 hr 15 min
Serves 10-12
120ml milk
120g butter
½ tbsp sugar
A pinch of salt
160g strong white flour
4-5 large eggs, beaten
Demerara sugar, for sprinkling
400ml double cream
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
½ tbsp icing sugarFor the coffee caramel
140ml double cream
2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
110g sugar
50g unsalted butter
A big pinch of flaky sea salt
For the chocolate sauce
150g dark chocolate
1½ tbsp brown sugar
2-3 tbsp rum
A pinch of salt
Heat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½ and line two large baking trays with baking paper. To make the choux, put the milk, 120ml water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Tip in the flour and stir quickly until you have a thick dough. Cook for a minute, then transfer to a clean bowl and leave to cool for five minutes.
Add some beaten egg a little at a time, beating well after each addition until the mix takes on a slightly thick, smooth dropping consistency (you may not need all the egg). Spoon the dough into a piping bag and snip off the end (or fit with a round nozzle).
Pipe roughly 4cm-wide rounds of dough on to the lined trays, leaving just under 2½cm of space between them. Sprinkle generously with demerara sugar and bake for 25-28 minutes, until deeply browned and puffy. Set aside to cool completely.
For the coffee caramel, heat the cream and coffee in a small saucepan until warmed through and the coffee has dissolved.
Put the sugar in a large saucepan and heat gently until it completely dissolves and turns a deep amber colour. Add the butter, whisking well to combine, then slowly pour in the coffee cream – be careful, because it will bubble and spit. Simmer for 30 seconds, take off the heat and stir in the salt. Leave to cool and thicken.
For the chocolate sauce, put the chocolate, 120ml water and sugar in a saucepan and simmer until melted. Once smooth and glossy, stir in the rum and salt, and take off the heat.
To assemble, whip the cream, vanilla and sugar to soft peaks. Fill a piping bag with the whipped cream, and fill a second one with three-quarters of the cooled caramel. Use a knife to make an opening in the base of each choux bun and fill three-quarters full with cream. Top up with caramel. (Alternatively, cut each bun in half and spoon in the cream and caramel.)
Pile the filled buns on a large plate or platter, using a little caramel as glue to help. To serve, gently reheat the chocolate sauce, if it has cooled and thickened, then pour all over the buns. If the leftover caramel has also thickened, reheat in a pan until runny and pour over the top, too. Serve immediately.
