11.10.11

petit profiteroles

Pâte a choux is a type of pastry dough that can be intimidating to make. If you don’t treat the dough properly it will puff while baking, then deflate once taken out of the oven. But prepared the right way, you’ll end up with a light yet rich pastry that can be made into éclairs, cream puffs and gougères. 
These profiteroles (a fancy name for cream puffs) are filled with silky milk chocolate custard and dipped into a dark chocolate ganache. So fancy!
choux pastry (makes 15 profiteroles)
1/4 C water
1/4 C whole milk
1/2 stick salted butter, cubed
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 C flour
2 eggs, room temperature

1. In a pot, combine everything except flour and eggs. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for a 3 minutes. Take off the heat and transfer to a bowl.

2. Add one egg at a time and beat to incorporate (the dough may look like it's splitting, but will come back together as you beat). At the end, the dough should be smooth, thick and shiny.

3. Pipe small "puffs" while still warm onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. I used a ziplock bag with the corner snipped. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes. Prop the door open with a wooden spoon and bake for another 10 minutes. The dough should be puffed and dry. Let cool completely before filling.

milk chocolate filling
1 C whole milk
2 egg yolks
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch, sifted
100g milk chocolate, melted (I use Lindt)

1. In a pot, bring the milk to a boil. In another pot, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and yolks.

2. When the milk is boiling, add a couple of tablespoons to the yolk mixture to temper. Continue adding milk until all of it is incorporated. Strain the mixture and return it to the stove over medium heat. Whisk for about 2 minutes until thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the melted chocolate. Strain again and let cool completely. 

chocolate ganache
1/3 C whipping cream
3 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped (I used Valrhona)

1. Bring cream to a boil and pour over chopped chocolate. Let sit for three minutes then stir until smooth.

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