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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Profiteroles

Look at these beauties:


On Saturday we went to my stepbrother's house for dinner. Since this was our first time seeing him and his wife in quite awhile we wanted to make something special for dessert. SP thought profiteroles would be nice and it just so happened that Everyday Baking showed an episode where they made profiteroles the week before. Everything can be made in advance, so it was perfect for traveling. SP was in charge of making the dough, which I then carefully measured out on the greased baking sheets:


The dough puffed nicely and was beatiful and airy:


We packed them up, along with the chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream, and assembled them once we got to K & V's house. I cut each puff in half, scooped some ice cream, topped with the other half of the puff and then drizzled on the sauce. I loved how they looked plated:


And the best part was they were delicious. A perfect end to a tasty meal.

Cream Puffs with Ice Cream and Hot Fudge Sauce
As seen on Everyday Baking

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for baking sheets
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
2 to 3 pints vanilla ice cream, for serving

Hot Fudge Sauce
1/4 cup light corn syrup
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, broken or cut into small pieces
3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. with racks in upper and lower thirds. Butter two large rimmed baking sheets.

Combine butter, 1 cup water, and salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until butter melts. Reduce heat to medium. Add flour; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from heat; cool 1 minute.

With an electric handheld mixer, beat in eggs, a little bit at a time, until completely incorporated (dough should look shiny and be soft enough to slowly fall off a spoon).

Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto baking sheets (you should have 24 to 28), about 2 inches apart. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush puffs with egg wash (do not let it drip on sheets).

Bake, rotating sheets between racks halfway through, until puffed and brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven; turn oven off. With a toothpick, poke a hole in each puff. Return to oven (still off) for 10 minutes (this helps puffs dry out).

When cool, halve each puff horizontally with a serrated knife. Working in batches (to prevent ice cream from melting), place a small scoop of ice cream (2 to 3 tablespoons) in each bottom half. Replace tops; press gently. Arrange on one rimmed baking sheet; freeze until firm. Cover with plastic wrap; freeze up to 2 days.

Arrange 3 filled puffs in each of eight shallow bowls; drizzle with warm Fudge Sauce. Serve immediately.

Hot Fudge Sauce

In a small saucepan, combine corn syrup and chocolate. Stir over medium-low heat until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in heavy cream until smooth. Serve right away, or let cool to room temperature before transferring to an airtight container. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 weeks. To serve, warm over low heat or in microwave.)

5 comments:

  1. This looks delicious! I've made churros with a similar profiteroles dough and should really make the dough again!

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  2. Even I, the non-dessert person, have to admit that those look great. You and SP did a great job.

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  3. that looks amazing. it's something I would totally try to make.

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  4. Oooh, look at you, all fancy! Those are gorgeous!

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  5. Joelen - I'm all about easy when it comes to baking.

    Melissa - Thanks!! They were darn good, too.

    Erin - Easy to make and looks like a million bucks = my kind of dessert. :)

    Brooke - Coming from you, that's a high compliment!

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