My mum’s the queen of profiteroles. She made hundreds for one of the pop-up restaurants we did… I’ve since upgraded her piping set. These are worth every minute of your time in the kitchen.
Ingredients
- 2½ oz (75 g) unsalted butter
- 3½ oz (100 g) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
- 3 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
- finely grated chocolate, to serve
Cream Patissiere
- 4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 3½ oz (100 g) caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 oz (25 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 12 fl oz (350 ml) milk
- 1 vanilla pod (bean), split in half lengthways
Chocolate Sauce
- 3½ oz (100 g) good-quality dark chocolate
- 4½ fl oz (135 ml) double (thick) cream
How to Make It
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/gas mark 6) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Place the butter and 150 ml (5 fl oz) water in a saucepan over high heat until the butter melts and the water begins to boil. Immediately add the flour and a pinch of salt and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together. Reduce the heat to medium and keep stirring for a minute or so, until the mixture starts to stick to the base of the pan. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 1 minute before gradually adding the beaten eggs, stirring vigorously until you have a glossy dough with a dropping consistency.Spoon or pipe generous tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking tray and bake for 25–30 minutes or until golden. Make a small hole in the side of each profiterole for the crème pâtissière, then cool on a wire rack.
- To make the crème pâtissière, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until light and fluffy, then stir in the flour. Place the milk and vanilla pod in a pan and bring to the boil. Remove the vanilla pod and turn the heat down to medium–low, then add the egg yolk mixture, whisking until the crème pâtissière returns to the boil and thickens. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it onto the surface to stop a skin forming. Leave to cool before piping into the profiteroles.
- Break the chocolate into a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water) to melt. In a separate pan, gently warm the cream. Pour the cream into the bowl of melted chocolate and whisk until you get a glossy, thick sauce.
- Place the profiteroles on a serving plate, pour over the chocolate sauce and sprinkle with grated chocolate.
