Hi all, I've got a design/tasting appointment tomorrow and one of the things that the bride mentioned is a croquembouche with a bride cake and groom cake. I am very hesitant to do a croquembouche because I'm concerned about transportation and the effects of it sitting out. I always picture a croquembouche being presented immediately after it's completed and then eaten right away.

We all know that at most weddings the cakes/desserts sit out for hours. Will the profiteroles get soggy? I don't like the idea of pastry cream sitting around for who knows how long either. I know that if it's at all humid the spun sugar will get sticky and sag. Aughhghgh!!!

My gut feeling is there are too many things that can go wrong and I should advise against going this route.

Any advice or words of wisdom?

I would definitely tell the bride all of that and see if you can't come up with a gorgeous cake for them.

Or you could just charge a ton of money for the croquembouche - so they will want something normal. =o)

generally a croquembouche needs to be assembled on the same day it is served. If it's made ahead, not only will the choux get soggy, also the carmelized sugar used to assemble the tower will get sticky from moisture in the air. The choux and filling can be made ahead of time, but the final filling and assembly should be done as close to the time it will go on display as possible, and not a day or two before as a wedding cake can be. And, if you've never assembled one before, I suggest trying one out ahead of time. They can be tricky to assemble (unless you use a cone/form in the middle--traditionally the center is hollow).

I'd generally not do them in the warmer months from May-Sept, but they sure are fun to put together! (Especially if you're not the one who has to clean up the mess afterwards. )

Here's a thread from last year that had some great info/pics....

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=602518&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=croquembouche&&start=15

A possible idea for a work around --some folks use chocolate instead of the caramel.

Thanks for the advice and ideas everybody. Think I will give the bride the pros and cons and the price tag and see what she wants to do. I'd actually like to do this, just don't want too much stress worrying about all that can go wrong.

I've seen them done laid out flat on a giant love heart shaped board. Only one/two story high!

It was pretty and simple. Of course your probably looking for something that is bigger

I'd be most concered of the caramelized sugar getting sticky. I suggest you change the filling and use chocolate instead of the caramelized sugar.

I made a huge tower for my father's birthday and omg that was so so time consuming.

I would definitely discuss it with the bride... while chocolate might be delicious, if I ordered a traditional croquembouche and received it assembled with chocolate and the baker hadn't previously discussed it with me, I'd be pissed, because it's NOT what I ordered.

Work around the fact that the sugar can be a real problem as we were discussing, therefore a work around for that issue is chocolate--not snooker the bride.

OP said in opening post that she was gonna discuss it with the bride.

Yeah why not stack up petit fours instead & surprise her.

So when do you talk to the bride Lorijom?

Meeting with her in about 1 1/2 hours. I plan to bring up all issues and work arounds with her and we'll see. I'll report how it goes when I get back. Wish me luck

So what's the word? How did the meeting with the bride go? Yes or no on the Croq? Don't leave me hanging! lol

Sorry for the late update.

Turns out the bride had never actually tasted a croq, just liked the idea of something different.

Once I explained all the things that could go wrong she decided to scrap the idea and go with cheese cakes or a fruit and cookie tower, plus two decorated cakes. It was a really fun meeting. Bride had no clue what she wanted with the decorated cakes so it was fun for me because I could sort of guide her and you all know that's the perfect meeting

Cake table will look as follows - two 3 tier cakes decorated exactly the same but each with different highlight colors - blue and black. In between the cakes will be the tower. Should be striking and beautiful when done.

Thanks again everybody for all the great advice and ideas, cc'ers are the best