Crack in the Mouth

Bittersweet Sugar Flower Decorations

Crack in the Mouth; that is the meaning of the French word Croquembouche. The name only describes the sensation of biting into one of the crunchy caramel coated puffs after you have pulled it from the tower of sugar. It's beautiful and delicious, and pulling it apart is at least half the fun of eating it. I can see why it is a cake made for Wedding celebrations in France, it is festive. My Croquembouche was not shared at a wedding, but it was shared with people I love very much.

I almost didn't finish mine. I was in a hurry, and it was the final day of class before Thanksgiving. Originally my plans were to celebrate my favorite holiday, in Massachusetts, with my brother. A saddening phone call from home briskly changed those plans. My brother and I decided at the last minute to drive to Ohio after I finished class, so we could spend some short, but invaluable time with our family. What was I to do with a tower of cream puffs and delicate sugar flowers? My roommates would both be gone to their respective Thanksgiving celebrations and it would be no good by the time I returned from Ohio. I decided it was going to have to go with me. In that case, I took lots of photos, fearing the worse of it's 12 hour commute in my brothers truck to Ohio.....

I did not design a fancy sugar stand for my Croquembouche. Playing on the safe side, I made a simple plate out of poured red sugar and adorned it with some orange sugar circles to match the orange and red Bittersweet flowers and vines I had pulled the day before. Everything was glued together with lots of hot caramel. Chef assured me it would hold. I had my doubts. I held it on my lap on the short drive back to my apt. I set it on the kitchen counter and went to finish packing my bag and think up a plan of how to transport the Croquembouche. I was starting to think I was just going to have to leave it to my roommates.

Close up of the Decorations on the Piece

At 3am as I was getting ready to leave, my roommate Leah suggested a way to fashion a box around my masterpiece that worked amazingly well. My brother gingerly carried it to his truck, placed it in a corner, and surrounded it with a blanket and pillow to hold it in place. I crossed my fingers and climbed into the passenger seat. See you in Ohio Croquembouche!

We arrived at my sister's house just the next day, tired and and ready to be off the road. My brother retrieved the box from the back of the truck. I carefully undid the tape that was holding the box together to reveal what was inside. It looked perfect. Only one or two flowers had lost some of their petals. The piece was otherwise solid......but not for long. My sister, brother and I admired it for a few mins and then after dinner, the real damage began. We only ate about 1/3 of the piece. The next day it was removed from the fridge and packed again into the truck for another hour and a half drive. By this point, I was obviously no longer concerned for how it looked, I had photos to show.

The Finished Croquembouche

By the end of Thanksgiving day, the Croquembouche had made it's rounds to 3 houses. Family members began lovingly calling it the "croaking bush". We had a lot of good laughs because of it. There were definitely more turkey leftovers then cream puffs the next day.

Most times when I travel back to home I fly. Taking an elaborate pastry treat with me is not an option. This was a rare and special trip. I'm really happy that I was able to finish the piece before leaving for Ohio. I'm even happier for the joy it brought to my family. This is really what making pastries is about to me; the look of joy and delight on peoples' faces when they see and eat the desserts I have prepared.

It is not an easy task to comfort people in difficult times. Often times words fail me (a crack in my mouth?), but I have found cooking/baking is my best way of showing my love. If I'm cooking for you, it most likely means you're someone really special to me.

A late posting for Thanksgiving, but hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and have much to be thankful for this year.

-Jenni