Saint Honoré Cake
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The "St. Honoré" cake was created in 1847 at the Chiboust bakery, rue Saint-Honoré in Paris.
This classic French patisserie may look fancy at first but it is actually made with simple ingredients.
You will need:
- vanilla pastry cream
- vanilla whipped cream
- sweet crust (also called “sablé Breton”)
- choux pastry
- craquelin
- a crispy caramel
This delicious French pastry has it all! It is creamy, crunchy, and crispy at the same time.
We truly can’t wait for you to try this delicious chocolate cream puff recipe at home!
Bon appétit!
Difficulty: 
Prep time: 1 hr 30 mins / Cook time: 50 mins / Servings: 4 people
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Gourmet Vanilla Pastry Cream
0.5 oz (14g) - All-purpose flour
0.78 oz (22g) - Corn starch
3 - Egg yolks
2.1 oz (60g) - Xylitol
10.6 oz (300ml) - Milk
3.5 oz (100ml) - Heavy cream
¼ tsp (0.7g) - Vanilla powder
3 tsp (10g) - Vanilla extract
1.16 oz (33ml) - Water
2 tsp (6g) - Gelatin powder
0.7 oz (20g) - Cacao butter
1.25 oz (35g) - Butter
1.25 oz (35g) - Mascarpone
Sablé Breton
3 - Egg yolks
3 oz (90g) - Butter
¼ cup (60g) - Xylitol
1 tsp (3g) - Sea salt flakes
¾ tsp (2.5g) - Baking powder
1⅓ cup (180g) - All-purpose flour
Craquelin
1.25 oz (35g) - Butter
1.25 oz (35g) - Coconut sugar
1.4 oz (40g) - All-purpose flour
Choux Pastry
3 - Eggs
5.3 oz (150ml) - Milk
5.3 oz (150ml) - Water
1 tsp (6g) - Sea salt
1 tsp (6g) - Xylitol
4.7 oz (135g) - Butter
5.8 oz (165g) - All-purpose flour
Crispy Caramel
5.3 oz (150g) - Sugar
1.76 oz (50ml) - Water
2 tbsp (30g) - Corn syrup
Vanilla Whipped Cream
2 tbsp (30g) - Mascarpone
10.6 oz (300ml) - Heavy cream
1.16 oz (33g) - Powdered monk fruit
¼ tsp (0.7g) - Vanilla powder
3 tsp (10g) - Vanilla extract
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We advise that you prepare all the above ingredients before starting.
You will typically need: a scale, measuring cups, mixing bowls.
Gourmet Vanilla Pastry Cream
1 - To a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, corn starch, egg yolks, and xylitol. Then, whisk vigorously until well combined and set aside.
Tip: We store our ingredients in these mixing bowls and mini glass bowls from Duralex while cooking. We love Duralex for their quality products and low prices!
2 - Add the milk, heavy cream, vanilla powder, and vanilla extract to a saucepan (or like us a saucier pan) and set aside.
3 - Mix the water and gelatin powder using a spoon, and set aside to bloom.
4 - Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil. Then, pour half of the hot liquid over the egg yolks and whisk until fully incorporated.
5 - Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and place over medium heat. Then, bring the pastry cream to a boil while continuously whisking. When it starts boiling, allow to cream to cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
6 - Next, remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the cocoa butter.
7 - Once the cocoa butter is well incorporated, add the butter and mascarpone to the pastry cream and whisk until homogeneous.
8 - Finally, melt the gelatin into the microwave and whisk it into the pastry cream.
Tip: To ensure a nice and smooth pastry cream, we recommend you blend it. Our must-have hand blender is the Braun Multiquick Technology.
9 - Transfer the pastry cream to a food container, put the lid on, and refrigerate until needed.
Sablé Breton
1 - Prepare your dry ingredients by combining the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix them together with a whisk and set them aside.
2 - Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. Place the egg yolks in a bowl and keep the egg whites in the fridge for another recipe.
Tip: We advise you to store the egg whites in a small food container with a lid on to allow them to last longer.
3 - Pour the butter and the xylitol into a stand mixer bowl. Then, mix them using the paddle attachment and on medium speed until the butter becomes nice and creamy.
Tip: The KitchenAid Artisan Design Series and the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series are superstars among stand mixers and will look amazing in your kitchen!
For more information, check out our detailed article "The Best KitchenAid Mixers & Blenders".
4 - While mixing, add the egg yolks into the butter. Keep mixing until fully incorporated.
5 - Stop the mixer and add all the flour mix to the butter. Then, turn the mixer back on and mix the flour on low speed.
Tip: Mix until just combined, the dough should be a little crumbly but hold together when pressing it.
6 - Place the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap. Fold one side of it over the dough, then flatten it with your hands. Repeat on the opposite side. Finish folding the plastic wrap in a square shape like so.
7 - Roll out the dough with a rolling pin (marble/wood) in order to push it outwards. Next, place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Tip: This process will allow the dough to set faster and will help you roll it out later.
8 - Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll it out with a rolling pin until ¼ inch (5 mm) thick. Then, remove the parchment paper on top.
Tip: Adding flour to some types of dough results in a crumbly texture. Rolling between 2 sheets of parchment paper prevents this from happening.
9 - Place a large tart ring on top of the dough and cut all around the edges to make a large disk. Place the parchment paper back on top of the dough and transfer to the refrigerator until needed.
Craquelin
1 - Combine the butter, flour, and coconut sugar into a mixing bowl. Then, gently mix everything together using your hand, until it forms a dough.
2 - Place the craquelin dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll it out thinly using a rolling pin.
3 - Remove the parchment paper on top and cut small disks using cookie cutters.
4 - Next, place the parchment paper back on top of the craquelin and transfer it to the freezer.
Choux Pastry
1 - Preheat your oven to 355°F (180°C).
2 - Crack the eggs into a pouring jug and set them aside.
3 - Add the milk, water, butter, xylitol, and sea salt to a saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil.
4 - When boiling, add the flour to the saucepan and cook for at least 3 minutes while continuously mixing with a spatula to dry the dough.
5 - Transfer the dough to a stand mixer bowl and mix for about 2 minutes on medium speed (with the paddle attachment) to help the dough cool down.
Tip: The KitchenAid Artisan Design Series and the KitchenAid Professional 600 Series are superstars among stand mixers and will look amazing in your kitchen!
For more information, check out our detailed article "The Best KitchenAid Mixers & Blenders".
6 - While continuously mixing, add the eggs one at a time to the dough. You know the choux pastry is ready when it is completely smooth and shiny.
7 - Transfer the dough to a piping bag with a medium round tip. Then, line a baking tray with the parchment paper with the "sablé Breton" on it. Gently remove the excesses dough with an offset spatula and dig small holes on the disk of dough with a fork.
8 - Then, pipe the choux pastry all around the edges and in the center of the "sablé Breton" disk. Finally, pipe small choux as well, making sure to make them the same size as the craquelin disks.
Tip: You will need 10 choux per "Saint Honoré" cake.
9 - Next, take the craquelin out of the freezer and rapidly pick up the disks one by one using an offset spatula and place one disk on each choux. Then, transfer the choux into a 355°F (180°C) oven and bake for about 30 minutes. When baking, do not open the oven until the timer runs off. Otherwise, your choux may fall back. Once baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.
Tip: if your kitchen is too warm and the craquelin becomes too soft, place it back in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
Crispy Caramel
1 - Add the sugar, water, and corn syrup to a saucepan. Briefly stir to combine and place over medium heat.
2 - Without over stirring, slowly cook the caramel until it becomes slightly golden brown. Then, turn off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes.
Tip: Remove as soon as it starts to turn brown. The caramel being very hot, it will get slightly darker even if the saucepan is off the heat.
3 - Carefully dip the top of each choux into the caramel and immediately transfer them into a dome silicone mold of the size of the choux. Let the choux sit inside the silicone mold until the caramel has set, then remove it from the mold and set them aside.
Tip: If you want to learn more about silicone molds, check out our detailed article: "What Is Food Grade Silicone And How To Use It: All You Need To Know".
Assembling The Saint Honoré
1 - Dig a hole on the bottom of each choux using a small pastry tip.
2 - Transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag and fill up each choux with it.
3 - Next, pipe the pastry cream on top of the "sablé Breton" from the edge to the center like so.
4 - Arrange 9 choux at an equal distance all around the disk and set it aside.
Vanilla Whipped Cream
1 - Add all the ingredients to a stand mixer bowl and whip until stiff peaks using the whisk attachment.
2 - Next, transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag with a Saint-Honoré pastry tip and start by piping some whipped cream between each choux. Then, proceed by piping 2 layers of the whipped cream to get more volume. Finally, place the last choux on top of the whipped cream.
Tip: For more details, watch the full piping method.
3 - Enjoy!
Watch our video for more details!
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Disclaimer: baking/cooking times vary according to each appliance. Make sure to always control halfway through for success.
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🎬 Everything we used for this recipe:
🍶 Kitchenware: Coming soon!
🍳 Ingredients: Coming soon!
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The information provided in this recipe is not nutritional or medical advice. Please read our disclaimer.