Now that classes have ended, I have a wide open schedule, so I decided to try a recipe for my weekly sweet treat that is a bit more difficult than the past few bakes. I decided to try chocolate profiteroles. Profiteroles, or creme puffs to us English speakers, are made from choux pastry, which is a mixture of butter, water, flour, and eggs that is heated together in a saucepan, and then baked in the oven, where they puff up Those pastries are then opened, sandwiched together with whipped up whipping cream, and then covered with melted chocolate. Easy enough, right?
I was sadly mistaken. I honestly did not anticipate running into as many problems as I did. The first day that I began trying to make the profiteroles, I made two batches of the choux pastry, and both turned out too runny. I didn’t know what I did wrong. The recipe that I was following wasn’t super detailed, so I didn’t know which step I could’ve messed up. I went to the internet to try and find a solution to runny choux pastry and chose one that told me to start making another batch of the pastry up until the point that I add the eggs (so just the combination of water, butter, and flour), and then add those three ingredients to the complete mixture that I had already made that was too runny. This solution worked to make the mixture less runny, but it made the profiteroles bake wrong. They were too dense, and they looked more like biscuits than cream puffs. Not to mention, I tried a bit of the not-fully-cooked dough, and it just didn’t taste right. I was done trying to make profiteroles for the day.
The following day, I was visiting my boyfriend and his family, and he encouraged me to try making them again. This time, I not only had some help from my boyfriend, but I also followed a different recipe for the choux pastry that I found on the internet, which was a bit more detailed. The mixture turned out pretty well, not too runny, but it might’ve been a bit too dense. We ended up adding closer to 5 ounces of flour, rather than 4.7 ounces. Also, we added three large eggs instead of four large eggs because I was nervous about making the mixture too runny again. The profiteroles baked in the oven for a total of 40 minutes, but some of the insides were still just slightly under-baked. I’m not sure if the mixture needed more eggs added to it, if the profiteroles needed to be piped smaller, or if they just needed to be baked in the oven for a longer period of time or at a higher temperature. I guess I just need to test out the recipe a few more times before mastering it.
Below I’ve included both the first recipe that I tried, and the recipe from the internet that seemed to work out better for me. I ended up using the method for the whipped cream filling and the chocolate sauce for the final profiteroles that comes from the first recipe that I tried from Mary Berry’s cookbook. Let me know if you’re able to get the first recipe to work!
First Chocolate Profiterole Recipe
Choux Pastry
Put 4 tbsp butter, cut into cubes, into a heavy saucepan with ½ cup water and heat until the butter melts. Bring to a boil.
Remove from the heat and add ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour and a pinch of salt, if preferred. Stir vigorously until the mixture forms a soft ball.
Let cool slightly, then gradually add 2 lightly beaten large eggs, beating well between each addition, to form a smooth, shiny paste.
Ingredients
Butter for greasing
1 quantity choux pastry
1 large egg, beaten
1 ¼ cups whipping cream, whipped
5 oz (150g) 38% cocoa solids dark chocolate, chopped (or semi-sweet chocolate chips)
⅔ cup heavy cream
Method
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Butter a baking sheet and sprinkle with water. Put 12 tablespoonfuls of choux on the pan and brush with beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375°F (190°C) and bake for 20 minutes. Split each profiterole in half and cool on a rack
Make the Wicked Chocolate Frosting: gently melt the chocolate with the heavy cream in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth and shiny (be careful not to let it get too hot).
Sandwich the profiteroles together with the whipped cream, place on individual plates, and drizzle with the chocolate frosting.
Ingredients:
8 fl oz water
4 oz unsalted butter cubed and at room temp.
4.7 oz AP flour, sifted use 5 oz / 145 g for a firmer shell (like for eclairs)
8 oz eggs weighed with the shell, about 4 large eggs
1/2 tsp sea salt use less if using table salt, or fine salt
1 tbsp white sugar optional
1/2 tsp vanilla extract optional
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Place salt, water, sugar (if using) and butter in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the water is starting to boil (butter should be melted at this point), add the flour in one go (do this with the saucepan away from the stove/heat) and vigorously mix the flour in, so that it absorbs all of the water (use a wooden spoon or spatula to do this). When the flour has absorbed the water and it's forming a dough, return the pan to the stove (medium heat).
Cook the dough for 2 – 5 minutes while you mix and move it around in the pan until you get a dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan, forms oil droplets on the bottom of the pan, and when you stick a spoon in the dough, it stays upright.
Transfer the dough to a bowl, and let it cool down slightly for a few minutes. Add the vanilla extract (if using), and then with a hand-held mixer (or whisk), mix the dough while adding the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Make sure the eggs are lightly beaten so that you can stop adding eggs immediately, when you reach the right consistency (i.e. a dough with a glossy sheen with pipeable consistency. You may or may not use up all the eggs, please see the post for details).
Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper and mist the surface with water (either using a mister or lightly sprinkle water with your hands – this is an optional step).
Pipe the desired shape on to the baking sheet – either using a piping bag fitted with a large tip (I use Wilton 1A or 2A tip, or you can cut the pastry bag opening instead), or spoon it on to the tray, using a teaspoon. Then with a damp finger, flatten the apex and any points.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 – 40 minutes in the center of the oven, or until the choux pastry shells puff up and are golden brown on top. Do not open the oven door, at least until you have reached the 25 minute mark. Importantly, baking time depends on the size of your pastry shell. If you prefer a drier shell, bake for a couple of minutes longer.
During the last 5 – 10 minutes of baking, prick each shell with a skewer or toothpick and let them dry out in the oven while baking.
Remove from the oven, and let the choux pastry cases cool completely in a draft-free area. Preferably in a place that is not cold. (Letting them cool in an open but turned off oven is even better, but not necessary).
Fill with a sweet or savory filling and serve immediately. Or you can store cooled choux pastry shells in an air-tight container for up to one day. To store them for longer, keep them in the freezer in an air-tight container.
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