European Profiteroles

Submitted by Summerwine

"The European version of Chocolate Éclairs. I believe this is actually French but it seems to be a big hit in Great Britain. I wrote it down from a TV cookery show. These are miniature cream puffs filled with cream and covered in chocolate. They are absolutely lovely. In parts of Great Britain they stack them in a pyramid shape and drip the chocolate over the top. You could do this in individual dessert cups as well. Hubby will always pick this as his dessert when we go to a restaurant and he now loves it a home! TIP: Make sure the chocolate that you use suits your taste, i.e., milk chocolate compared to dark chocolate. It will make all the difference as to how this turns out for you. A custard type cream would be delicious as well! :)"

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photo by Summerwine

Ready In:: 55mins
Ingredients:: 11
Serves:: 8

ingredients

For the pastry
200 ml cold water
¹⁄₂ teaspoon caster sugar
85 g butter
¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt
115 g plain flour
4 medium eggs, beaten
For the cream filling
600 ml double cream
1 tablespoon icing sugar
For the chocolate sauce
15 g butter
4 tablespoons water
175 g good quality chocolate, broken into pieces

directions

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
To make the pastry, place the butter, water and sugar into a large saucepan.
Mix together the flour and salt; set aside.
Melt the butter over a low heat; increase the heat and all at once add the flour and salt; Remove from the heat and quickly beat the mixture until a smooth paste is formed, stirring continuously to dry out the paste.
Once the paste comes away from the side of the pan, put it into a large bowl and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, mixing briskly until the paste is smooth and shiny; continue adding the egg until the mixture is a soft dropping consistency. You don’t always have to use all the egg. The mixture will be shiny and smooth and will fall from a spoon if it is given a sharp jerk.
Lightly oil a large baking tray. Dip a teaspoonful into some warm water and spoon out a teaspoon of the profiterole mixture. Dip your finger into warm water and rub the top of the mixture then spoon on to the baking tray. This gives it a more a crisper topping.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown, if too lightly colored they will become soggy when cool.
Remove from the oven and poke a hole the bottom of each profiterole. Place onto the baking tray with the hole facing upwards and put back into the oven for 5 minutes to dry the inside of the profiteroles.
To make the filling: lightly whip the cream and icing sugar until soft peaks form. Make sure you do not over whip!
When the profiteroles are cold, using a decorator bag (or a freezer bag with the end tip cut) and a plain nozzle, Squeeze the cream into the holes of the profiteroles. If you cannot find a freezer bag you can spoon in the cream with a small spoon.
Make the chocolate sauce by melting the chocolate with the water and butter over a double boiler or a pan of low boiling water. Stir gently until smooth and glossy, but do not allow to boil.
Allow chocolate to cool slightly.
Built the profiteroles on a serving dish and pour over the chocolate sauce.
Savour the luxury!