Thread: Ophelia's Food Art

#8 Profiteroles



Chou Paste or Pate a Choux (the biscuit looking part)

2 cups water
1 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups sifted all--purpose flour
8 large eggs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In 2 quart pot, combine the butter and water. Mix together the flour, salt and sugar in a separate bowl. Bring the water and butter to a rolling boil, remove from heat and dump the flour mixture in all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon to incorporate.

Return the saucepot to high heat and cook, stirring, for about one minute. The mixture will form a ball and coat the pan with a thin film. You'll know when it's ready when it starts to look AND smell like instant mashed potatoes. It's funny, but true.

Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl or standing mixer equipped with the paddle attachment. Mix the dough for a minute or so, on low speed, to release some of the heat. Add the eggs, one at a time, completely incorporating each one before adding the next. Beat until the dough gets thick and ribbony.

Fit a pastry bag with a round tip and fill with the warm dough. Line a heavy cookie sheet with parchment paper and anchor it to the tray with a little dab of the dough at each corner. Pipe about forty to forty five 1 1/2-inch mounds about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Or 24 medium ones. Or 12 really freaking big ones. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden and puffed. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes or until they are golden brown and there are no droplets of moisture in the crevices. Turn off oven and leave the choux to dry for another 10-20 minutes in the oven. Use when cool, or freeze, wrapped in a plastic bag, for 2-3 months.

Notes:

In my whole life making these, I've many times undercooked rather than overcooked them. After the first 15 minutes (or longer depending on size), check to see if they are poofing up really good. Honestly, you want them really poofed up about halfway through the cooking time, so that the last half of the cooking time is to finish cooking the insides. Then that last 10-20 minutes, drying out in the turned off yet still hot oven, just really seals the shape. If you don't let them cook long enough, they'll fall flat as they cool. And that's a crying shame because they'll "look" done long before they are actually done. Trust me, I've done this. And cried. These bastards are truly better when slightly over done than underdone. Meaning they need to look done before they're done. Ok I'm done.

Crème Pâtissière (the gooey part under the whipped cream, also the lighter colored cream on the plate)

1/2 Cup sugar
4 tablespoons corn starch
Pinch of salt
2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

You see a dozen different ways to cook this, from combining and cooking ingredients separately, over a double boiler, tempering... nonsense. Combine everything in a pot, whisk really well so there are no deposits on the bottom of the pot, then cook over medium/high heat until thick and just beginning to boil, whisking the whole time. Cover with plastic wrap as it cools so it doesn't form a skin on top. Boom done.

Thick Chocolate Sauce (all the chocolate parts you see)

1 cup milk
1 cup cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Pinch salt
4 large egg yolks
6 ounces dark chocolate, melted

Same as pastry cream, mix everything (except the chocolate) and heat until thick and creamy. Don't boil this one though, it doesn't have as much corn starch to save the day. Once nice and thick, remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until smooth. When this sauce is hot, it's a wonderful, dark, chocolate coating or sauce. When cold, it's like Belgian chocolate mousse. Incredible.

Chantilly Cream

1 Cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat all 3 in a mixer until stiff peaks form.

TO ASSEMBLE:

Spoon hot chocolate sauce onto a plate and spread it into a circle. Put some of the still warm pastry cream into a small pastry bag (or small ziplock bag, with one of the corners cut impossibly small. Can always cut bigger if necessary). Draw lines across the chocolate with the pastry cream (if it's too thick, thin with a little milk or cream until it's easy to pipe). Take a tooth pick and draw it across the lines, perpendicularly. Take one of the cooled cream puffs and cut it in half. Fill the bottom with pastry cream and set it on the decorated plate. Put chantilly cream in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, and pipe on top of the pastry cream. Take the "lid" from the cut cream puff, and dip it generously in the still warm thick chocolate sauce. Set on top of the cream at an angle without smashing it down.

Notes:

Everywhere it says eggs in these recipes, I added an additional yolk. I don't think our eggs are as big as the french's eggs lol.