Choux pastry, ice cream and chocolate sauce, it doesn’t get much simpler than that. It also creates a crowd favourite that has stood the test of time, profiteroles.
To elevate them slightly, I like to add a layer of craquelin, which results in very neat, pleasingly sweet, crisp buns.
Serves 4
WHAT YOU NEED
For the choux pastry
50ml (3½ tablespoons) water
20ml (1½ tablespoons) whole milk
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar
35g (2½ tablespoons) unsalted butter, diced
35g (4½ tablespoons) plain (all-purpose) flour
1 large egg
Craquelin
50g (¼ cup) caster (superfine) sugar 50 g (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons) plain (all-purpose) flour
pinch of fine sea salt
50 g (3½ tablespoons) unsalted butter, diced
Chocolate sauce
75g (2½ oz) milk chocolate, finely chopped
75g (2½ oz) dark chocolate, finely chopped
150ml (scant ⅔ cup) whipping (heavy) cream
50ml (3½ tablespoons) whole milk
To serve
1 x 460ml (1 us pint) shop-bought vanilla ice cream
WHAT TO DO
To make the craquelin, put the sugar, flour and salt in a bowl and combine. Add the butter and rub together until a crumbly dough is formed. Gently press together to form a dough with no lumps of butter. Place the dough between two sheets of baking parchment and roll out to a thickness of 2 mm (⅛ in). Freeze until needed.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C Fan (375˚F) and line a large baking tray (pan) with baking parchment.
To make the choux pastry, put the water, milk, salt, sugar and butter in a saucepan and place over a low heat. Cook until the butter is melted, then increase the heat and bring to a rolling boil. Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously to form a dough. stir on the heat for 1–2 minutes or until a thin film forms on the bottom of the pan.
Tip the dough into a bowl and beat for a few minutes to cool slightly. Add the egg and beat until fully combined. The finished dough should have a slight gloss and when lifted from the bowl should fall from the spatula in a V-shaped ribbon.
Scrape the pastry into a piping bag fitted with a small round piping tip and pipe into 12 small 3 cm (1¼ in) wide rounds. remove the craquelin from the freezer and use a 3 cm (1¼ in) round cookie cutter to cut out discs of the dough. Place one atop each round of pastry.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until golden. Turn off the oven and briefly open the oven door to allow any steam to escape. Allow the buns to cool in the oven for about 25 minutes, this prevents them collapsing.
To make the sauce, put the two chocolates in a large jug and melt in the microwave (see page 24). Pour the cream and milk into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then remove the pan from the heat and pour a third of the liquid over the chocolate, stirring to combine. Add the remaining cream in two additions, stirring well until the mixture is smooth and silky. use whilst still warm.
To serve, slice the choux buns in half and fill each with a small scoop of ice cream. serve three buns per person and top with a generous pour of the chocolate sauce.
If you want to make these in advance the baked choux buns can be stored in a sealed container for up to two days.
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