Croquembouche (Cream Puff Tower) With Lemon Curd Mousse

Crunchy candy coated delicate cream puffs filled with a citrus Lemon Curd Mousse, stacked to form a tower.
Enraptured in the sweet stickiness this is a very sensual and seductive dessert that you can pick off one at a time

Prep

Cream Puffs
1 cup flour
pinch salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla sugar (optional)

Lemon/Orange Curd
2 lemons juiced
3 large oranges juiced, peel from one orange cut into large slivers
1 tbsp. cornstarch
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp. butter
1 cup whipped topping (cool whip)

Candy Coating
1 cup sugar
4 tbsp. water

Preparation

Pastry:
Bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Stir to melt butter.
Dump the flour into the pot and stir quickly to "cook" the flour for 1 min, incorporating to make a paste. Reduce the heat as the paste thickens. It will pull away from the sides.
Remove from heat. Beat eggs one at a time into the mixture until incorporated and absorbed.
Scoop out 1 tsp size balls onto an ungreased baking sheet 1/2" apart.

Citrus Curd

Mix yolks, starch and sugar in a small saucepot. Pour in juices. Should be approx. 1 cup of juice. Add peel and butter. Continuously whisk on med. high heat until thickened for approx. 10 min. Lower the heat when mixture bubbles. Do not let it stick to bottom of pan. When cooled remove peel, fold in whipped topping.

Pipe the mousse into the bottom of the cream puffs with a tip and piping bag.
or
cut the cream puffs in half and spoon in the mousse.

Candy Coating
Bring sugar and water to a boil. Boil for approx. 10 min to a hard crack stage on a candy thermometer, 250F. The colour should be golden brown.

Bake in a preheated 375F until golden brown. approx 20-30 min. Turn off oven and leave door ajar, continuing to dry the cream puffs.

Filling:
Either cut in half and fill with mousse or poking a hole at the bottom with a sharp knife. Insert tip of filled piping bag and fill cream puffs.

Spear the puffs with a wooden skewer and dip into golden brown syrup, just the top.

Place on baking sheet to dry.

Stacking

You may need to make a second batch of candy or if it hardens too quickly place back on burner to rewarm.

Dip in candy and place in a circle on your serving vessel or cake cardboard, fill in the circle with puffs.

Begin to dip and stick each puff stacking up to make a tower.

When finished use any extra candy to quickly swirl around the dessert making thin thread like filaments using the tines of a fork.