Karamelový Veterník
The crown jewel of Slovak cukráreň baking — golden choux pastry rings filled with rich vanilla diplomat cream and whipped caramel chantilly, crowned with a glossy caramel fondant glaze with crisp snap.
Ingredients
Choux Pastry (Odpaľované Cesto)
- 125 ml Whole milk & 125 ml Water
- 100 g Unsalted butter
- 150 g All-Purpose flour
- 4 Large eggs (~200–220 g)
- 3 g Fine sea salt & 5 g Sugar
Vanilla Custard Cream (Žĺtkový Krém)
- 500 ml Whole milk
- 4 Egg yolks
- 80 g Granulated sugar
- 45 g Cornstarch or Vanilla Pudding powder (Zlatý Klas)
- 1 tsp Pure vanilla paste
- 150 g Unsalted butter, softened (or 200 ml heavy cream 36% whipped)
Caramel Whipped Cream (Karamelová Šľahačka)
- 100 g Granulated sugar
- 400 ml Heavy whipping cream (minimum 36% fat), divided
Caramel Snap Fondant Glaze
- 100 g Granulated sugar (for dark caramel base)
- 60 ml Heavy whipping cream (warm)
- 150 g Confectioner's powdered sugar, sifted
- 30 g Liquid glucose syrup
- 1 pinch Fine sea salt
Method
- Prep Caramel Cream (Day Ahead): Melt 100 g sugar in a saucepan to a deep amber caramel. Carefully deglaze with 150 ml hot cream, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, stir in remaining 250 ml cold cream, and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours until ice-cold.
- Cook Choux Dough: Bring milk, water, butter, salt, and sugar to a rolling boil. Dump in all the flour at once and stir vigorously over medium heat for 2 minutes until the dough forms a smooth ball and leaves a white film on the bottom of the pot. Cool to warm. Beat in eggs one at a time until a glossy, slow "V"-dropping consistency forms.
- Pipe & Bake: Pipe large concentric spirals (approx. 9–10 cm wide) using a French star tip onto parchment-lined trays. Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes, then reduce to 170°C for 15–20 minutes until deeply golden and rigid. Do not open the oven door during baking. Cool completely and slice horizontally in half.
- Vanilla Cream: Whisk milk, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat until thick bubbling pudding forms. Cool to room temperature, then whip with softened butter until silk-smooth. Pipe a generous layer into the bottom choux halves.
- Whip Caramel Layer: Whip the chilled caramel cream base to stiff, pipeable peaks. Pipe a tall rosette layer over the vanilla cream.
- Make Caramel Snap Glaze: Melt 100 g sugar to a dark caramel and deglaze with 60 ml warm cream. Whisk in sifted powdered sugar, salt, and liquid glucose syrup over low heat until glossy and fluid.
- Glaze & Assemble: Dip the top choux crowns directly into the warm caramel glaze, let excess drip off, and place atop the whipped caramel cream layer. Chill for 1 hour before serving.
Chef's Tip: Adding liquid glucose syrup into the cooked caramel and powdered sugar glaze provides high mirror shine and prevents the caramel from cracking messily when sliced, delivering that authentic patisserie snap with every bite.