profiteroles
“There’s little more impressive, entertaining wise, than putting a plate of creme-filled profiteroles, drizzled entirely with dark chocolate, on the table at the end of the meal. I mean, imagine. You can make the actual profiteroles ahead and freeze them unfilled. Then just defrost and fill on the day. I love to serve these on the weekend to my family, even if it’s just us. They’re just so damned joyous! ”
profiteroles
makes 45 | prep time 40 mins plus chilling | cook time 1 hr 15 mins
125 g (4½ oz) unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
½ teaspoon salt
150 g (5½ oz/1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
5 free-range eggs
CRÈME PATISSIÈRE
1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups) milk
2 vanilla beans, halved lengthways, seeds scraped
8 free-range egg yolks
4 tablespoons plain (all-purpose) flour
4 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
220 g (7¾ oz/1 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
CHOCOLATE SAUCE
300 ml (10½ fl oz) thin (pouring) cream (35% milk fat)
250 g (9 oz) dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids), finely chopped
50 g (1¾ oz) butter, softened
For the chocolate sauce, heat the cream in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low. Add the chocolate, stirring gently, until melted.
Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and allow the sauce to cool to room temperature. Reheat when needed.
For the crème pâtissière, combine milk, vanilla beans and seeds in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.
Beat egg yolks, flour and cornflour together using an electric mixer. Add the sugar and beat until pale and thick.
Reheat milk to a simmer, remove vanilla, then slowly add to the egg yolks, whisking continuously. Return the mixture to a clean saucepan and cook on low heat for 8 minutes, stirring continuously, until thick.
Scrape vanilla crème into a bowl and cover the surface with a piece of baking paper before cooling completely.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Lightly grease two baking trays.
In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt with 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) water. Bring to the boil, then stir in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, on a medium heat, until the pastry comes away from the sides of the pan.
Transfer mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer and leave to cool slightly. Beat in eggs, one at a time on low speed, until the mixture is shiny and smooth.
Use a pastry bag and a plain 1.5 cm ( in) nozzle to pipe high mounds, about 2.5 cm (1 in) wide, onto the prepared trays, leaving space between for spreading. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 190°C (375°F) and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Turn off the oven and leave the profiteroles to cool in the oven.
Pipe crème pâtissière in through the base of profiteroles. Arrange on a platter. Drizzle over hot chocolate sauce.
QUICK TIP
This makes 45 profiteroles. You can freeze half the batch of unfilled puffs in an airtight container for another time, and only make half the quantity of crème pâtissière.
This recipe appeared in Margaret and Me (Murdoch), my third cookbook. Photography by Rob Palmer. Styling by Michelle Noerianto.