Profiteroles & Chantilly Cream

 

Jason made these years before in cooking school at The French Culinary Institute (called choux à la crème) but I wanted to find an Italian version. So I emailed our friends Paola and Antonio the owners of our favorite artisan gelateria, Maki and asked them for their favorite profiterole recipe. Anything dessert related especially if chocolate is involved they are our favorite place to turn. Below is the recipe Antonio learned while taking a cooking courses at La Cucina Italiana as well as the "Profiterole Pyramid" topped with a healthy helping of chocolate cream!! 

Profiteroles - Cream Puffs - Choux à la Crème

makes 50
250 ml water
150 gr flour, sifted
100 gr butter
4 eggs (both yolk and white)
salt/sugar: just a pinch

Bring the water, together with the butter, the salt and a pinch of sugar, to the boil.

Add the flour and mix well keeping the pan on the fire for just a couple of minutes, until the mixture is well amalgamated and it comes off the sides of the pan.

Let it cool down a little before adding the eggs, one at a time: mix well the egg before adding the following one.

Put the mixture into a sac a poche or pastry bag and place the profiterole or 'choux' (they should be as big as a walnut) on a baking tray covered with parchment paper.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes at 180/200° C until they puff up and get a nice golden color.

Tip:  Antonio would reduce the amount of butter (20gr less) should he need to fry the profiterol (he would also add a pinch of baking soda) while the above recipe is good if you want to cook them in the oven.


Filling: ( You can also fill with custard cream or even whipped cream)

284 ml/10fl oz whipping cream
1 vanilla pod
powdered sugar (icing sugar) to taste


Place the cream into a bowl. Cut the vanilla pod in half lengthways with a sharp knife and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds to the cream.

Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Add icing sugar, to taste, and mix in gently.

Topping: Since we asked chocolate makers for their recipe, of course they top their profiteroles with a healthy drizzle of chocolate sauce.

500 ml milk
5 egg yolks
150 gr sugar
35-40 gr corn flour, sifted
250 gr dark chocolate
250 ml cream

Bring the milk to the boil then add the chocolate.

In a separate bowl, mix sugar and egg yolks. Then add the flour, mix and finally add the end the hot milk/chocolate

Cook the mixture very gently for a couple of minutes just until it starts boiling. Remove from heat and add the cream.

Tip: If you want the classic profiterole pyramid, just dip them into the chocolate sauce (after you've filled them with cream) and place them on a plate and decorate.

Enjoy!

photo: Food&Wine

Thanks Paola and Antonio for sharing this recipe!!