That MasterChef program taking Australian homes by storm has a lot to answer for. Miss 10 was very taken with the croquembouche (you know, that French profiterole Xmas tree type arrangement that was all the go as wedding cakes between the mudcake and cupcake fad). She begged me to make her one for her Hannah Montana movie and afternoon tea extravaganza. I said "No" But then I started to think it might be a fun, well maybe fun is not the word. Challenging, maybe.
And let's face it, we have well and truly worked our way through the Australian Women's Weekly party cake book.
And maybe, just maybe ... spending the time trying to conjure it up might just be more interesting than sitting through 102 minutes of Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana.
Hours of thought went into the croquembouche. A visit to a cooking shop had me scratching my head. The woman behind the counter said the cones cost $200 and if you wanted to hire them you would have to pay $80. She directed me to the other side of town.
I mentioned I had a back up plan. Cover a polystyrene Christmas shape with foil and then using long toothpicks fasten the profiteroles. She took the wind out of my sail, suggesting the hot toffee would melt the polystyrene. Undeterred, I decided that would be my best course of action.
And, then I turned my attention to the profiteroles. There was no way with work commitments I was going to get time to actually make the choux pastry balls. I went to the Safeway supermarket in nearby Camberwell and asked if I could buy them without the chocolate icing. I was told this was not possible but decided I would not give up. A few days later I rang and spoke to the manager who happily took an order for 32 icing-less profiteroles. I collected them on the morning and excitedly drove home. The worst case scenario was that the profiteroles had cost me $16. Once everyone was safely at the cinema I returned home (my husband was the happy soul who chaperoned during the movie) and undertook the croquembouche project. Affixing the profiteroles was easy enough. Making the toffee was a little tricky. How much cooking was too much? Finally, I decided it was ok and started the swirling process. At some point I decided it finished. And, even if I do say so myself, it looked great.
The kids returned home and were excited. I knew I was a MasterCheat but in their eyes I was a a MasterChef.
Party pies, cocktails franks and sausage rolls dispensed with, we decided to move on to the croq. Alas, the kids did not really like it.
Some did not like the toffee, others did not like the custard. I can't say I was too surprised. After a decade of attending and hosting birthday parties I have come to one conclusion when it comes to party cakes. The simpler the better. Some of the bigger hits I have had have been Sara Lee chocolate slab cakes and Dairy Bell ice cream cakes. The elaborate, creamed and iced numbers usually don't get eaten. I've seen parents blow $50 to $100 on these and invariably the kids are so full of other party food they barely have a mouthful.
Next year it will be a $4 Coles Mudcake. Just remind me of that when Miss 10 starts asking for some other fancy cake.
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