By: Jill Mills Posted: Dec 14, 2025

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This festive Croquembouche features a stunning tower of cream puffs dipped in glossy amber caramel and sprinkled with shredded coconut to mimic snow. It’s the perfect centerpiece for any holiday dessert table.

A festive Croquembouche tower with a bow

When I want to impress around the holidays, there are a few dishes I turn to, like a Christmas tree charcuterie board, chocolate covered cherries, and croquembouche. Croquembouche, sometimes written as croque-en-bouche, is a classic French dessert. It’s essentially a tower of cream puffs held together with caramel coating and decorated with golden sugar threads. The contrast of smooth caramel and airy choux gives every bite a crackly-silky surprise. With golden sugar strands drizzled over the tower like molten gold, it’s crisp, creamy, and wildly fun to pull apart — the kind of dessert that makes jaws drop before the first bite!

The best part is that while this looks incredibly impressive and fancy, it begins with a simple choux pastry dough (like the one used to make French cruller donuts). I’ve included lots of tips for perfecting choux pastry below, so be sure to check out the “Recipe Tips” section before starting the recipe.

Why I Make Croquembouche Every Christmas

Perfect centerpiece. Don’t be surprised to hear a chorus of “oooh” and “oh wow!” when you set this croquembouche on the dessert table! It’s one of those show-stopping desserts everyone will comment on and remember.
The caramel filling. While different croquembouche recipes fill the cream puffs with different things, I opted for a delightful caramel whipped cream. It’s light and fluffy and the caramel flavor perfectly complements the caramel on the outside of the cream puffs.
Made for sharing. Each 12” croquembouche contains approximately 40-45 cream puffs, making it perfect for larger parties and gatherings. Keep in mind that this recipe, as written, makes enough for two towers.

Overhead view of ingredients needed to make croquembouche

Recipe Ingredients

While croquembouche looks (and sounds) fancy, it’s made entirely with basic pantry ingredients. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.

Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter in the choux pastry to fully control the flavor of this dessert.
Granulated sugar – A small amount of granulated sugar is added to the choux pastry with more used in the caramel coating.
Salt – Adds flavor to the choux pastry.
All-purpose flour – Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife for accurate measuring.
Eggs – Eggs add structure, moisture, and richness to the pastry.
Heavy cream – Whipped to make the cream filling.
Caramel sauce – Mixed into the whipped cream to create a caramel-flavored filling. I like to use my homemade caramel sauce.
Shredded coconut – Added to the outside to mimic snow in a festive twist.

How To Make Croquembouche

Here’s an overview of exactly how to make and assemble a stunning cream puff tower. Don’t let the number of steps intimidate you! While this does take some time and careful attention, there are no special skills required. The printable instructions can be found in the recipe card below.

Make the Cream Puffs:

Make the choux dough. Bring the butter, water, sugar, and salt to a boil. Remove from heat, add the flour, and stir until incorporated. Return to heat and continue stirring for 2-3 minutes, until it pulls from the pan and leaves a thin film on the bottom. Let cool a bit.
Make the cream filling. Beat the heavy whipping cream and caramel sauce into stiff peaks. Transfer to the fridge.
Add the eggs. Add the eggs one at a time to the choux dough, fully incorporating each one, until the dough is smooth, thick, and forms an “inverted triangle” when lifting a spatula out of the bowl.
Prep. Preheat the oven to 410F. Transfer the dough to a piping bag.

Pipe the dough. Dust a baking sheet lined with parchment paper with cornstarch. Use a 2cm round mold to press spacing guides 2-3cm apart. Pipe the dough into the marked circles.
Bake. Bake at 410F for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350F and bake for another 10 minutes.
Cool. Turn off the oven, prop the door open, and let cool for 5 minutes. Then, remove from the oven and cool completely.
Add the filling. Poke a hole in the bottom of each puff. Pipe in the chilled caramel cream filling. Transfer to the fridge.

Prepare Caramel Coating:

A tray of cream puffs dipped in caramel, half coated in coconut

Make the caramel. Combine the sugar and water over medium-low heat. Gently swirl the pan occasionally, but do not stir. Remove from heat once a light amber color is achieved.
Decorate the cream puffs. Dip each cream puff into the caramel. Immediately roll half of them in the shredded coconut.

Assemble:

The first layer of a Croquembouche on a plate

Make the base. Dip one side of 12 cream puffs into the caramel coating. Place them in a circle, tilting each one slightly inward. Hold each one in place for about 3 seconds to let the caramel set.
Add the other layers. Continue stacking the cream puffs, reducing the number by 2 in each layer. Alternate the coconut and plain puffs for contrast.
Decorate. Once finished, dip a fork into the caramel and wave it around the tower in circles to create golden strands.
Enjoy. Serve within 2 hours for the best texture and crunch.

Why did my choux puffs collapse after baking?

This usually happens due to underbaking or opening the oven door too early. Ensure you bake long enough at the right temperature and let the puffs rest in the oven with the door ajar before removing.

Recipe Tips & Tricks

Before getting started, take some time to read through these tips – especially if this is your first time making choux pastry.

Add the flour to boiling water. Adding flour to boiling water and butter instantly gelatinizes it, forming the base dough (panade) that holds its shape — this is the backbone of your choux.
Stir immediately! Don’t wait. Mix the flour right after adding it to avoid lumps. Quick action = smooth dough.
Cook the dough over heat. After the flour is mixed into the water and butter, return it to heat to continue cooking. This helps to remove moisture and ensure sturdy puffs.
Cool before adding the eggs. If you add eggs to hot dough, they’ll scramble. Allow the dough to cool until it’s just warm to the touch.
Inverted triangle trick. Lift the spatula with some dough — if it forms a slight inverted triangle, you’ve got the perfect piping consistency.
Don’t stir the caramel. Swirl for clarity and prevent crystallization.. Work quickly and keep the caramel warm over very low heat if needed. Once it starts to thicken, dipping becomes harder, so it’s best to dip puffs in batches.
Prevent the caramel from hardening. Work quickly and keep the caramel warm over very low heat if needed. Once it starts to thicken, dipping becomes harder, so it’s best to dip puffs in batches.
How many cream puffs do I need? Approximately 40–45 puffs are ideal for a 12-inch tall croquembouche tower. This may vary depending on puff size and layering. This recipe makes 2 12-inch croquenbouche towers.
Creating the tree – You can always cover a styrofoam cone with plastic wrap and add the baked puffs using a toothpick for each puff.

Close up of Croquembouche to show the brown sugar strands

Make Ahead & Storage

Assembled Croquembouche: These are best served within 2 hours of adding the filling and assembling. Storing assembled croquembouches isn’t ideal because the caramel can harden and puffs lose crispness over time.
Choux Puffs (unfilled): Choux puffs can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Avoid refrigeration. Re-crisp in a hot oven before use and wait to fill until just before serving.
Cream Filling: The filling can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Croquembouche

Why I Make Croquembouche Every Christmas

Recipe Ingredients