Profiteroles

Ingredients

• 435 millilitres (1 ¾ cups) milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
• 3 egg yolks
• 70 grams (1/3 cup) caster sugar
• 50 grams (1/3 cup) plain flour, sifted
• 250 millilitres (1 cup) water
• 80 grams unsalted butter, chopped
• 150 grams (1 cup) plain flour, sifted
• 3 eggs at room temperature, lightly whisked

Tried and true

These profiteroles are one of my favourite sweet treats. The creamy, cool custard filling and crispy choux pastry is divine, particularly when topped with a slick of chocolate or caramel. I’ll admit it took me a couple of attempts to get the choux buns right and I’m very pleased I stuck with it as the results are amazing. These profiteroles take a little more skill than the usual fare I make, and I’ve included all the tricks I’ve learned from the many times I’ve enjoyed making them.

Method

Step 1

Make the crème patissiere first, in order to give it time to chill in the fridge. Warm the milk and vanilla paste in a saucepan over a low-medium heat. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until thick, then whisk in 1/3 cup flour. Pour the egg, sugar, and flour mixture into the saucepan with the milk, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to get as much mixture into the milk. Whisk together well to combine.

Step 2

Turn the heat up to medium and whisk the mixture continuously until it becomes thick. This will take around 5 minutes but could be slightly longer or shorter; if it takes a longer time, turn up the heat a little – you don’t want the custard to boil, but get almost hot enough to do so. As soon as it thickens, remove from the heat and pour into a heat-proof bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap (this prevents a skin from forming). Put the custard in the fridge to chill.

Step 3

Next up, the profiteroles. Preheat oven to 200°C and line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place the water and butter in a saucepan and bring just to the boil. Remove from heat and use a wooden spoon to beat in the second lot of flour (1 cup) until combined. The dough should form a ball, coming away from the sides of the pan. Set the dough aside for 5 minutes to cool.

Step 4

Gradually add the whisked egg, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition, until the dough is thick and glossy.

Step 5

Place the dough in heaped dessertspoonfuls, or put into a piping bag and pipe, about 3 cm apart on the lined trays. Use wet hands to pat down any peaks of dough and sprinkle trays with water to create steam. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Step 6

Turn off the oven and with a knife or skewer, pierce the base of each profiterole. Place profiteroles in the switched-off oven for 20 minutes to dry out then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Step 7

Once the profiteroles are cool, spoon the crème patissiere into a piping bag and push the tip into the hole in the bottom of the profiteroles to fill.

Notes

• If you don’t own a piping bag (like me!), use a sturdy snaplock bag and snip off the corner. You’ll need to make sure the hole in the bottom of each profiterole is big enough to easily fit the snipped corner of the bag for easy piping.
• Top with melted white or dark chocolate, or with hot caramel – just be really, really careful as caramel is extremely hot and burns badly. From, ahem, experience.
• You can store the unfilled profiteroles in an airtight container, and the filled ones in the fridge for a couple of days.

Recipe adapted from the Australian Good Taste Profiteroles as seen on Taste.com.au