Profiteroles with Cream & Chocolate by Flavia Rowse

Profiteroles with Cream & Chocolate by Flavia Rowse

Ingredients for Basic Choux Pastry:

Makes around 3 dozen choux puffs
250ml cold water
100g butter, cut into small pieces
130g sifted plain flour
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
To glaze:1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Ingredients for the Filling and Chocolate Sauce:

2 x Pints of Double Cream
½ x Cup Icing Sugar
110 g plain chocolate (70% cocoa)
15 g butter
2 tbsp water

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/400F/gas mark 6.
Place the water and the butter in a medium sized saucepan.
Allow the butter to melt and bring the water to a rolling boil.
Remove the pan from the heat, add the flour and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to come away from the sides of the pan.
On a clean dinner plate spread the mixture out to cool for a few minutes.

Return the choux to the saucepan and add the egg mixture little by little making sure that each addition of egg is absorbed completely until the mixture is soft, shiny and smooth. Choux pastry should be of a ‘dropping consistency’ – not too runny.
(‘Dropping consistency’ means that the choux will reluctantly fall from the spoon in a blob)

Spoon or pipe mounds of the pastry onto baking trays and just before they go to the oven flick over a little cold water (this will create extra steam in the oven and help them to rise)

Bake for 20 minutes until the buns are well-risen and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and pierce the bottom of each bun with a skewer to release the steam.

Return the buns to the oven (hole side up) to dry out for 5 minutes and then allow to cool on a wire rack.
The buns are now ready for filling.

Pour the double cream into a bowl and start to whisk with hand held electric whisks. Half way through whisking, add the sugar and whisk until the cream is just stiff enough to hold its shape. Meanwhile, put the chocolate, butter and water in a heat proof bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Leave until melted.

To fill the buns: Gently spoon the cream into a piping bag and cut a small hole at the bottom. Now squeeze the cream into the centre of the choux bun until it feels heavy with cream, now dunk the top into the chocolate to just cover half and place on a tray. Serve with extra chocolate for those chocolate lovers!

*For something a little more exciting, why not make a Croquembouche as seen on MasterChef and The Great British Bake Off.
The croquembouche mould is used to create the flamboyant French dessert piece montee, a favourite at continental wedding receptions. The dessert is comprised of numerous mini pastry puffs, filled with cream, all stacked together to form a pyramid (croquembouche means 'crisp in the mouth').

Watch Michelle Roux Senior demonstrate the Croquembouche on Masterchef