CLASSIC FRENCH PROFITEROLES
The perfect combination of crunchy and chewy, warm and cold, light yet decadent,... With their Choux Pastry Buns, Vanilla Ice Cream and Warm Chocolate Sauce, Profiteroles are probably one of the most iconic French Dessert ever for a reason: they are simply heavenly!
Provided by A Baking Journey
Categories afternoon tea Dessert
Time 55m
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Melt the Butter and set aside to cool down. In a small bowl, mix the Flour and Brown Sugar. Pour over the melted Butter and stir with a fork or a small spatula until completely combined.
- Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper and spread as thinly as possible with a rolling pin. Place on a flat tray and transfer in the fridge to set for about 30 minutes.
- Place the Water, Butter and Sugar in a medium size pot on medium heat and leave to heat up until the butter and sugar have melted.
- Away from the heat, drop in the Flour at once. Using a wooden spoon or stiff spatula, stir the batter until it starts to come together then place back on the stove over low heat. Keep stiring to dehydrate the pastry as much as possible (at least a couple of minutes) to remove as much moisture as possible until you see a thin film create at the bottom of the pan (see note 1).
- Transfer into a large clean bowl (or the bowl of your Stand Mixer) and leave to cool down for 10 to 15 minutes. The batter should be at room temperature (or at least not steaming hot).
- Beat the eggs together in a seperate bowl. Slowly start to add the mixed eggs into the batter, a little bit at the time. Mix well between each addition of eggs until they are fully incorporated, then add a little bit more eggs and repeat (it is easier to do this step with a Stand Mixer). The pastry should be fluid and shiny, not too liquid or too hard (see note 2).
- Preheat your oven on 180'C / 350'F and grease the bottom of a baking tray (wipe any excess of grease with a paper towel).
- Place the Choux Pastry in a piping bag with a large round nozzle. Pipe small mounds of pastry, leaving room between each choux as they will puff in the oven.
- Optional: Take the Craquelin out of the fridge. Use a small cookie cutter, about the size of each choux, to cut out the craquelin and place them over each choux.
- Put in the oven for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden, then open the oven door to let the steam out and directly re-close it. Leave them to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes - If they Choux are not baked enough, they will fall down once cold. Transfer the Choux on a cooling rack and leave to cool down completely.
- Finely chop the Dark Cooking Chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl.
- In a small pot, heat up the milk until it starts to boil then directly remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Wait 30 seconds then stir with a spatula to melt the chocolate. Keep stiring until the chocolate is fully melted, shiny and glossy (see note 3)
- When ready to serve, slice each Choux in half. Place a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on the bottom of each Choux and place the Choux lid back on. Re-heat the Chocolate Sauce to be fluid if needed then pour it over the Profiteroles. Serve straight away.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 165 kcal, Carbohydrate 15 g, Protein 3 g, Fat 11 g, SaturatedFat 7 g, Cholesterol 39 mg, Sodium 33 mg, Fiber 2 g, Sugar 7 g, ServingSize 1 serving
PROFITEROLES WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- With a rubber spatula, scoop the pate a choux into the pastry bag and pipe out approximately 16 (1 1/2-inch rounds) spaced 1 to 2 inches apart on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with the beaten egg and place in the oven. Cook until golden and puffed, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a baking rack.
- Split the profiteroles nearly in half, leaving a little hinge at the back, and cradle a small scoop of vanilla ice cream inside each. Divide the profiteroles between bowls and pour over some chocolate sauce. Serve cold.
- In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water, salt, sugar, and butter to a boil, making sure the butter is completely melted. Off the heat, add the flour all at once and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return to the heat and continue beating until the dough forms a solid, smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. Take off the heat and empty the dough into a clean mixing bowl. Little by little add the beaten eggs, beating vigorously in between each addition, until the dough forms a smooth, supple mass. Divide the dough into 2 even quantities, 1 part to be used for the profiteroles, the other for gougeres.
PâTE à CHOUX PUFFS
The batter for these French puffs is made on the stovetop, then shaped and baked until the eggy mounds balloon into airy, hollow spheres. The puffs take to all sorts of fillings, from simple whipped cream (page 239) to scoops of ice cream, as for Anise-Orange Ice Cream Profiteroles with Chocolate Sauce (page 172). No special equipment is required to make them, and they come together with ingredients you probably already have on hand. A few things to keep in mind: Measure the ingredients carefully-too much liquid results in flat puffs. Dump in the flour just when the butter is melted; if you wait too long, too much of the water will cook off. The finished batter should be thick and shiny and should stick to the spatula when you lift it. Finally, be sure to bake the puffs until they're deep golden brown all the way around. If they're underbaked, they may collapse cooling; the darker color means the puffs will stay crisper, too.
Yield makes 25 to 30 pastries
Number Of Ingredients 8
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the water, butter, sugar, and salt to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring gently to encourage the butter to melt. As soon as the mixture begins to boil, add the flour all at once and stir rapidly with a spatula until the mixture forms a thick paste and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
- Remove from the heat. Wait for 2 minutes, stirring the paste a couple of times to cool it slightly, then vigorously beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each one is completely incorporated before adding the next. (I do this by hand, but some folks prefer to use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.)
- Using a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch (1-cm) tip, pipe the choux paste into mounds 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) high on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 3 inches (8 cm) apart. Or, use 2 teaspoons to drop the paste into mounds.
- If you want puffs with a shiny glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and milk and brush the tops of the puffs without letting the glaze drip down the sides, which will inhibit rising.
- Bake until the puffs are golden brown on the tops and sides, 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and let them rest in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and poke each puff in the side with a paring knife so that it releases its steam. Let cool completely.
- Pâte à choux puffs can be stored at room temperature for several hours. I prefer not to freeze them because there is a noticeable difference in quality between fresh and frozen puffs, but if you have leftovers, you can freeze them for up to 1 month and recrisp them in a low oven before serving.
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