Christmas tree cake made of profiteroles with tiramisu cream
8 servings
240 minutes
The tree cake made of profiteroles with tiramisu cream is a true winter masterpiece of Ukrainian cuisine. It combines airy profiteroles filled with delicate cream infused with the aroma of coffee and mascarpone. Each layer is held together by icing, creating a pyramid effect reminiscent of a decorated Christmas tree. Wrapped in a thin layer of biscuit and covered with fondant adorned with green leaves, this dessert not only pleases the eye but also offers a delightful taste – a balance of sweetness, creamy softness, and gentle bitterness of cocoa. Such a cake is an ideal choice for the festive table; it impresses with its sophistication and original decoration, making its preparation a true culinary art worthy of special occasions.
1
Prepare choux pastry. For this, mix milk and water, add butter cut into pieces, and sugar. Place on low heat and bring to a boil.
- Milk: 150 ml
- Water: 150 ml
- Butter: 120 g
- Sugar: 20 g
2
Add flour and mix. Stir until the dough becomes thick and homogeneous. It should easily come away from the walls.
- Wheat flour: 120 g
3
Remove the pot from the heat, add the eggs one by one to the dough, mixing well.
- Chicken egg: 6 pieces
4
Grease the baking tray with oil. Transfer the dough to a piping bag and pipe the profiteroles onto the tray with some space between them. Use a wet brush or a finger dipped in water to flatten the peaks and bake the profiteroles at 200 degrees until done.
- Butter: 120 g
5
To prepare tiramisu cream, soak the gelatin in cold water in advance. Whip 35-38% cream with a mixer until thick.
- Gelatin in plates: 7 g
- Cream 38%: 300 ml
6
Brew quality thick black coffee (50 ml will be enough). You can add a teaspoon of instant coffee. When the coffee cools slightly, add the squeezed gelatin sheets and mix well.
- Natural coffee: 50 g
- Natural coffee: 50 g
7
Add 200 grams of custard to the coffee with gelatin. Cool the mixture to room temperature and then gently mix with whipped cream.
- Custard: 280 g
- Cream 38%: 300 ml
8
Fill the profiteroles with the prepared cream.
- Custard: 280 g
9
Making fondant. Mix 80 grams of custard with two tablespoons of powdered sugar and mascarpone cheese.
- Custard: 280 g
- Powdered sugar: 1100 g
- Mascarpone cheese: 150 g
10
Gradually add 10% cream.
- Cream 10%: 100 ml
11
To assemble a pyramid cake, each pastry needs to be glued to another using prepared frosting with mascarpone cheese. Each layer can be dusted with cocoa powder.
- Cocoa powder: 2 tablespoons
12
Wrap the finished pyramid in a thin layer of freshly made, still warm biscuit (the thickness of the biscuit should not exceed 1 cm; it is convenient to bake such a biscuit on a large baking sheet lined with parchment and greased with oil). Wrap the tree in food film and place it in the refrigerator for a few hours (during this time, the biscuit will take the desired shape).
- Biscuit: 300 g
13
Preparing fondant. Pour small white marshmallows with corn syrup, add green food coloring, and place in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. They should swell well. Meanwhile, sift powdered sugar into a large bowl. Add the swollen marshmallows to the sugar and mix well with a spoon. When the mixture cools slightly, knead the fondant with your hands. The amount of powdered sugar can vary. The main thing is to achieve the desired consistency of the fondant (it should be soft but not sticky to the hands).
- Marshmallow: 500 g
- Corn syrup: 30 ml
- Food coloring: 6 g
- Powdered sugar: 1100 g
14
Dust the table with corn starch and roll out a portion of the fondant into a thin layer to wrap the tree cake. To stick this layer of fondant to the sponge cake, it can be smeared with a very thin layer of peach jam.
- Cornstarch: 50 g
- Peach jam: 100 g
15
Roll out the remaining fondant, cut out leaves, and stick them on the cake, moistening the previous layer of fondant with water. You can temporarily place foil under the leaves to give the branches of the tree some curves. Similarly, but in advance, you can also make decorations for the tree.