Choux Pastry: Preheat
your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of
the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
or you can lightly butter or spray the pan with a non stick vegetable spray.
In a bowl, sift
or whisk the flour.
Put the
butter, sugar, salt, water, and milk in a heavy saucepan. Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil. (Make
sure that the butter melts before the water boils to reduce the amount of
evaporation.) Remove
from heat and, with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, add the flour, all at once, and stir
until combined. Return the saucepan to the heat and,
stirring constantly, cook over low heat until the dough comes away from the sides of
the pan and forms a thick smooth ball of dough (about one minute). Transfer the dough to
your electric stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer
or wooden spoon),
and beat on low speed to release the steam from the dough (about a minute). Once
the dough is lukewarm add about 3/4 of the lightly beaten eggs (dough will
separate and then come together) and continue to mix, on low speed, until you
have a smooth thick paste (dough will fall from a spoon in a non-ragged "V"
shape). (See video for demonstration.) Add more beaten egg, if necessary, until you get the correct consistency. Spoon or pipe
(or use an ice cream scoop) 8 mounds of dough (a scant 3 tablespoons (40 grams))
onto the baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart. With a pastry brush,
gently brush the tops and sides of the dough with a lightly beaten egg.
Bake for 10
minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (180 degrees
C). Bake for a further 25 to 30 minutes or until the shells are
golden brown and when split, are dry inside. Remove from oven and place the
baking pan of a wire rack. Cool the choux pastry completely before filling.
Chocolate
Ganache: Place the finely chopped chocolate in a medium sized
stainless steel (heatproof) bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream and butter over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately
pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand a few
minutes. Then gently stir with a whisk until smooth. (The ganache can be
made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Reheat in a heatproof
bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water or in the microwave.)
Assemble: Split
the pastry shells in half, fill the bottom halves of the shells with
a scoop of ice cream, and replace the top. Drizzle each
Profiterole liberally with warm Chocolate Ganache. Serve
immediately.
Note: Truffles can be made with
any leftover Ganache. Truffles are just small balls of chocolate that
can be rolled in cocoa powder, powdered sugar, or toasted chopped
nuts. Make sure the chocolate ganache is well chilled before forming
into balls. You can use your
hands to form the truffles, or else a melon baller or small spoon.
Truffles can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks or else frozen
for a couple of months.
Makes 8
Profiteroles.
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