Benjamina Ebuehi’s coffee caramel and rum choux tower Christmas showstopper – recipe
Christmas is the perfect time for something a bit more extravagant and theatrical,And a very good way to achieve this is to bring a tower of puffy choux buns to the table and pour over a jugful of boozy chocolate sauce and coffee caramel while everyone looks on in awe,To help avoid any stress on the day, most of the elements can be made ahead: the chocolate sauce and caramel can be gently reheated before pouring, while the choux shells can be baked the day before and crisped up in the oven for 10 minutes before filling,Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr 15 min Serves 10-12120ml milk 120g butter ½ tbsp sugar A pinch of salt 160g strong white flour 4-5 large eggs, beatenDemerara sugar, for sprinkling400ml double cream ½ tsp vanilla bean paste ½ tbsp icing sugarFor the coffee caramel140ml double cream 2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder110g sugar 50g unsalted butter A big pinch of flaky sea saltFor the chocolate sauce 150g dark chocolate 1½ tbsp brown sugar 2-3 tbsp rum A pinch of saltHeat the oven to 210C (190C fan)/410F/gas 6½ and line two large baking trays with baking paper,To make the choux, put the milk, 120ml water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.
Tip in the flour and stir quickly until you have a thick dough,Cook for a minute, then transfer to a clean bowl and leave to cool for five minutes,Add some beaten egg a little at a time, beating well after each addition until the mix takes on a slightly thick, smooth dropping consistency (you may not need all the egg),Spoon the dough into a piping bag and snip off the end (or fit with a round nozzle),Pipe roughly 4cm-wide rounds of dough on to the lined trays, leaving just under 2½cm of space between them.
Sprinkle generously with demerara sugar and bake for 25-28 minutes, until deeply browned and puffy,Set aside to cool completely,For the coffee caramel, heat the cream and coffee in a small saucepan until warmed through and the coffee has dissolved,Put the sugar in a large saucepan and heat gently until it completely dissolves and turns a deep amber colour,Add the butter, whisking well to combine, then slowly pour in the coffee cream – be careful, because it will bubble and spit.
Simmer for 30 seconds, take off the heat and stir in the salt.Leave to cool and thicken.For the chocolate sauce, put the chocolate, 120ml water and sugar in a saucepan and simmer until melted.Once smooth and glossy, stir in the rum and salt, and take off the heat.To assemble, whip the cream, vanilla and sugar to soft peaks.
Fill a piping bag with the whipped cream, and fill a second one with three-quarters of the cooled caramel.Use a knife to make an opening in the base of each choux bun and fill three-quarters full with cream.Top up with caramel.(Alternatively, cut each bun in half and spoon in the cream and caramel.)Pile the filled buns on a large plate or platter, using a little caramel as glue to help.
To serve, gently reheat the chocolate sauce, if it has cooled and thickened, then pour all over the buns.If the leftover caramel has also thickened, reheat in a pan until runny and pour over the top, too.Serve immediately.
UK at risk of ‘sudden confidence crisis’ if markets lose faith in budget – as it happened
UK government borrowing costs have inched down today, as the bond markets continue to welcome the budget.The yield (or interest rate) on 10-year gilts has dipped by 1.5 basis points to 4.44%, while 30-year gilt yields are down 3.5bps
Asda hits out at government for ‘killing confidence’ among consumers
Asda has criticised the government for “killing confidence” among consumers but blamed “self-inflicted” problems that left gaps on shelves for a big reverse in sales.Total sales at the UK’s third-largest supermarket fell 3.8% to £5.1bn in the three months to the end of September compared with the same period a year before – diving back from 0.2% growth in the previous quarter
More than 1,000 Amazon workers warn rapid AI rollout threatens jobs and climate
More than 1,000 Amazon employees have signed an open letter expressing “serious concerns” about AI development, saying that the company’s “all-costs justified, warp speed” approach to the powerful technology will cause damage to “democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth.”The letter, published on Wednesday, was signed by the Amazon workers anonymously, and comes a month after Amazon announced mass layoff plans as it increases adoption of AI in its operations.Among the signatories are staffers in a range of positions, including engineers, product managers and warehouse associates.Reflecting broader AI concerns across the industry, the letter was also supported by more than 2,400 workers from companies including Meta, Google, Apple and Microsoft.The letter contains a range of demands for Amazon, concerning its impact on the workplace and the environment
After a teddy bear talked about kink, AI watchdogs are warning parents against smart toys
As the holiday season looms into view with Black Friday, one category on people’s gift lists is causing increasing concern: products with artificial intelligence.The development has raised new concerns about the dangers smart toys could pose to children, as consumer advocacy groups say AI could harm kids’ safety and development. The trend has prompted calls for increased testing of such products and governmental oversight.“If we look into how these toys are marketed and how they perform and the fact that there is little to no research that shows that they are beneficial for children – and no regulation of AI toys – it raises a really big red flag,” said Rachel Franz, director of Young Children Thrive Offline, an initiative from Fairplay, which works to protect children from big tech.Last week, those fears were given brutal justification when an AI-equipped teddy bear started discussing sexually explicit topics
Are England actually honest with themselves? If they are, they’ll know they have to change | Mark Ramprakash
It’s not over yet. There is still hope. Before the Ashes started I had plenty of it, because of England’s fantastic array of fast bowlers and because I felt they had improved on their crash‑bang‑wallop, one-size‑fits‑all approach to batting. Then the series got under way, and while the bowlers did their bit, the batters failed badly. After the two-day humiliation in Perth they are inevitably under the microscope – but while everyone is questioning England’s approach, how much are they challenging themselves?I based my optimism on some of what I had seen over the summer
Northampton coach Phil Dowson: ‘I tried working for a bank – it was tough’
Saints’ director of rugby on being converted to coaching, his ‘bromance’ with Sam Vesty and why Henry Pollock is smarter than he seemsNorthampton is not the most exotic destination on the planet, but there is plenty of romance and adventure in its rugby union team.In a town famous for boot‑making you might expect kicking, as frequently and as far as possible, to be the Saints’ modus operandi. But under the director of rugby, Phil Dowson, the team in green, black and gold prefer to keep ball in hand. Despite representing a quintessentially English town, they display a panache synonymous with the greatest French exponents of champagne rugby.Since Dowson and the head coach, Sam Vesty, took over in 2022, Northampton have won what was then the Premiership and gone deep in the Champions Cup – losing to Bordeaux-Bègles in last season’s final, knocked out by Leinster in a semi-final before that
‘We had six MPs and four factions’: inside Your Party’s toxic power struggles
Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm hired by company linked to Chinese military
Starmer says budget did not break manifesto tax pledge – as it happened
‘Unelected power’ of ultra-rich is reshaping British politics, report claims
Keir Starmer says Labour ‘kept to our manifesto’ over budget tax rises
Is Farage right to claim that racism allegations are response to a dislike of his politics?