Croquembouche! The Team Building Challenge

What do you do when your classroom is being used to administer the 10th grade PLAN and you have been told to relocate to the Foods classroom downstairs?  Create a Traditional French Wedding Cake (Croquembouche) tower build off!

Supplies:  Pre-made cream puffs purchased from the freezer section (I had students purchase them)
       Make a caramel sauce (I used 2.5 cups sugar with 2/3 cups of water, boil, then cool)

Rules:

1. Divide the class into two teams and give them the same amount of cream puffs.  For us this was one box of 33 puffs.
2. Give each team a bowl of hot caramel sauce.
3. Set the timer at 10 minutes.
4. The team with the tallest, hollow center, free-standing tower wins.

Additional Challenge:
   The whole class or team has to yell "Croquembouche" when

• anyone enters the room
• anything falls on the floor
• a cream puff falls from the tower
• when your team finishes the tower and you are done

At the end of the day, this was a fun, team building, problem solving activity to discuss what a Traditional French Wedding Cake looks like, taste like, and how its made!! Game On!