The perfect combination of crunchy and chewy, warm and cold, light yet decadent,... With their Choux Pastry Buns, Vanilla Ice Cream and Warm Chocolate Sauce, Profiteroles are probably one of the most iconic French Dessert ever for a reason: they are simply heavenly!
Melt the Butter and set aside to cool down. In a small bowl, mix the Flour and Brown Sugar. Pour over the melted Butter and stir with a fork or a small spatula until completely combined.
Place the dough between two sheets of baking paper and spread as thinly as possible with a rolling pin. Place on a flat tray and transfer in the fridge to set for about 30 minutes.
Choux Pastry Buns
Place the Water, Butter and Sugar in a medium size pot on medium heat and leave to heat up until the butter and sugar have melted.
Away from the heat, drop in the Flour at once. Using a wooden spoon or stiff spatula, stir the batter until it starts to come together then place back on the stove over low heat. Keep stiring to dehydrate the pastry as much as possible (at least a couple of minutes) to remove as much moisture as possible until you see a thin film create at the bottom of the pan (see note 1).
Transfer into a large clean bowl (or the bowl of your Stand Mixer) and leave to cool down for 10 to 15 minutes. The batter should be at room temperature (or at least not steaming hot).
Beat the eggs together in a seperate bowl. Slowly start to add the mixed eggs into the batter, a little bit at the time. Mix well between each addition of eggs until they are fully incorporated, then add a little bit more eggs and repeat (it is easier to do this step with a Stand Mixer). The pastry should be fluid and shiny, not too liquid or too hard (see note 2).
Preheat your oven on 180'C / 350'F and grease the bottom of a baking tray (wipe any excess of grease with a paper towel).
Place the Choux Pastry in a piping bag with a large round nozzle. Pipe small mounds of pastry, leaving room between each choux as they will puff in the oven.
Optional: Take the Craquelin out of the fridge. Use a small cookie cutter, about the size of each choux, to cut out the craquelin and place them over each choux.
Put in the oven for 20 minutes or until puffed and golden, then open the oven door to let the steam out and directly re-close it. Leave them to bake for another 10 to 15 minutes - If they Choux are not baked enough, they will fall down once cold. Transfer the Choux on a cooling rack and leave to cool down completely.
Chocolate Sauce
Finely chop the Dark Cooking Chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl.
In a small pot, heat up the milk until it starts to boil then directly remove from the heat and pour over the chopped chocolate. Wait 30 seconds then stir with a spatula to melt the chocolate. Keep stiring until the chocolate is fully melted, shiny and glossy (see note 3)
Putting the profiteroles together
When ready to serve, slice each Choux in half. Place a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream on the bottom of each Choux and place the Choux lid back on. Re-heat the Chocolate Sauce to be fluid if needed then pour it over the Profiteroles. Serve straight away.
Notes
Disclaimer: I highly recommend using the measurements in grams/ml instead of in cups/spoons for the best results.To find more information about the craquelin topping, read my Choux au Craquelin recipe. For more information, tips and trick on Choux Pastry, read my Choux à la Crème Recipe.Notes:
Press the dough again the sides of the pot to dry it out as much as possible using the wooden spoon or spatula, . If the dough is not dry enough, it will not puff in the oven.
It is important to check the consistency of the batter before adding all the eggs; sometimes the choux will need a little bit more or a little bit less eggs depending on the flour, the size of the eggs or how dehydrated the batter got on the stove. To know that the choux batter has the right consistency and you can stop adding more eggs, place a finger against the batter and lift it up. Holding your finger straight (parallel to the ground), the pastry should slightly fall back to form an oval. If the pastry looks too stiff and doesn't fall back, add a little bit of egg. If the batter look to be super runny, you have added too much eggs.
If the chocolate has not fully melted, place the bowl over a small pot filled with a little bit of water on low heat. The "Bain-Marie" will finish to melt the chocolate without burning it.