In the next episode of “From Classic to Iconic”, I’ve made a cake I’ve had on my list for a long time: the French classic – Saint-Honoré!
This is one of the cakes I always eat when I’m in Paris, so it’s something I’ve wanted to recreate for a long time.
A bit of background info about this classic: The Saint-Honoré cake was first created around 1847 at the Chiboust bakery on Rue Saint-Honoré in Paris and named after Saint Honoré, the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs in France.
It quickly became famous for both its flavor and technique, as the cake combines several classic elements of French pastry: puff pastry, choux pastry, caramel, and a cream filling. The elegant design also made it visually striking, helping it become one of the most iconic desserts in French pâtisserie.
My version includes an added hint of almond with almond praliné and almond joconde, as I think this perfectly complements the vanilla and caramel layers.
A classic Saint-Honoré traditionally features a puff pastry base, but since this cake needs to be frozen – which would make the pastry soft – I chose to incorporate a crunchy praliné and feuilletine layer instead to recreate a similar flaky texture.
I’m so happy with how this cake turned out, and it’s really fun to make!
Happy baking <3
For extra guidance while baking, watch my step-by-step video tutorial, where I show you how to make the cake from start to finish:
NOTES:
- When you start baking, begin by preparing the pastry cream and salted caramel, as they need time to set before they can be piped onto the cake. While it is setting, you can prepare the other layers to save time.
Day 1
Vanilla Pastry Cream:
- 3 gelatin sheets (1 sheet = 1.75 g, bloom value 240)
- 3 large vanilla bean pods
- 400 ml whole milk
- 108 g egg yolks (approx. 5.4 medium egg yolks)
- 80 g caster sugar
- 100 ml whole milk (for the cornstarch mix)
- 40 g cornstarch
- 30 g butter (room temperature)
- 120 ml heavy cream (min. 35%) (room temperature)
NOTE: When you start baking, begin by preparing the pastry cream and salted caramel, as they need time to set before they can be piped onto the cake. While it is setting, you can prepare the other layers to save time.
- Split the vanilla beans and scrape out the seeds.
- Heat 400 ml whole milk, the vanilla seeds and the empty vanilla pods until almost boiling. Take the pot off the heat and let the milk infuse, covered, for about 10 minutes to intensify the vanilla flavor.
