Profiteroles

It's finally feeling like summer, and the warm weather always puts me into the mood for ice cream! The hubs and I are not fussy about how we enjoy our ice cream. We'll usually enjoy our frozen treats straight of of the carton or generously scooped on sugar cones.

If I'm feeling particularly fancy and entertaining dinner guests, these delicious profiteroles will make an appearance. Composed of a choux puff that is filled with ice cream and topped with a chocolate sauce, profiteroles are a delicious sweet ending to any meal.

Pate a choux, the basis for these profiteroles, cream puffs, eclairs, and gougeres, is a dough that is first cooked on the stove, then piped on baking sheet. Once in the oven, this magical dough tranform into light and airy pastry puffs that are just slightly crisp on the outside and almost hollow in the middle.

The pate a choux is piped onto a baking sheet. As it bakes the dough transforms into these airy golden clouds.

Once cooled, these pastries are ready to be filled and served.

Here is what the puff looks like once you slice them open. They should be slightly moist inside and almost completely hollow.

Once the choux puffs are ready, all you need is vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce and you're ready for business! One scoop of vanilla ice cream is sandwiched in the puff.

Warm chocolate sauce is drizzled on top.

Now it's ready to eat...YUM!

Profiteroles

Pate a Choux

adapted from The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard

makes approximately 24 medium sized puffs

1 C. bread flour

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C. water

1/2 C. whole milk

6 tbsp butter

4 eggs

Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper

Bring the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt to a boil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.

Once the liquid mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium and add the flour all at once and stir well. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the dough begins to come away from the sides of the pan (approx 5 minutes).

Transfer the dough to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle and beat at medium speed until the dough cools to approximately body temperature.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. At this point, the dough should be smooth and shiny.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag with a plain round tip. Pipe mounds that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 1 inch high on the baking sheet two inches apart.

Bake until puffed and light golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

Transfer puffs to a wire rack to cool completely.

Assembling The Profiteroles

1 prepared batch of choux puffs

1 quart vanilla ice cream (I made David Lebovitz's fabulous recipe)

1 cup chocolate sauce (I cheated and used a pre-made jar)

Cut each choux puff in half.

Portion a small scoop of ice cream on the bottom half of each puff and put the top half back over the ice cream.

Place 2-3 profiteroles on each plate and drizzle with a generous amount of chocolate sauce.

Serve immediately and enjoy!