Profiteroles
are nothing more than small cream puff shells filled with sweet whipped cream
and covered in a rich chocolate sauce. They’re fairly easy to do at home and are
of medium expense. Even with this in mind, here in Italy they cost “an arm and a
leg” in the pastry shops.
Ingredients
for 8 persons:
For the Shells:
Water - 1 ¾ cups
Butter - 5 oz.
Flour (all purpose) - 9 oz.
Salt - a pinch
Eggs (large) - 8
For the filling:
Heavy whipping cream - 2 cups
Sugar - ½ cup to start
For the
sauce:
Bitter
baker’s chocolate - 9 oz.
Butter - 3 ½ oz.
Sugar - 3 oz.
How to do it:
In 2 quart
sauce pan, put the water, butter, and salt and bring to a boil over medium-high
heat.
Very slowly (while stirring with a whisk), add the flour and stir until the
mixture becomes dough-like and no longer sticks to the sides of the pan.
Add the eggs and mix thoroughly.
Using a pastry syringe, place ½ inch dough balls, 2 inches apart on a greased
baking sheet.
In a 400 degree oven, bake for 15 minutes or until a golden brown.
Let them cool to room temperature, them place them in the refrigerator until
ready to fill.
For the
filling:
Put a medium sized glass or stainless steel bowl in the freezer for 15 minutes
to get it nice and cold.
Take the bowl from the freezer and put the heavy whipping cream into it.
With an electric mixer on high speed, whip the cream until it just starts to
thicken.
Add the sugar and whip until quite thick.
Taste.
If the cream is sweet enough, finish whipping.
If it isn’t sweet enough, add more sugar and finish whipping.
Whipped cream should be stiff enough to peak and hold its shape when scooped
with a spoon and turned upside down.
Get the shells from the “fridge” and get ready to start filling.
If you have a pastry syringe with a large cone tip the profiteroles will come
out much prettier, but its not a must.
Fill the shells with whipped cream with a syringe or cut them in half with a
serrated knife, fill each half and put the halves back together.
Put the filled shells back in the fridge while you make the sauce.
For the
sauce:
In a double
boiler, or a reasonable facsimile, melt the chocolate with a tablespoon of water
added to the pan. Add the sugar and butter.
If you like a sweeter sauce, add a little more sugar.
Be careful not to use too much sugar as the sauce can become grainy.
Heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Let the sauce cool to room temperature.
Get the filled shells from the fridge and start placing them on a 12” or 14”
round serving plate and building a pyramid with them.
Cover the shells with sauce as you go so that all will be uniformly covered.
Decorate with more whipped cream if you have it.
Serve cold; 3 or 4 to each person.
