Profiteroles

This dessert has three parts: the choux pastry, the chocolate sauce and the whipped cream.

Time it takes:

For the choux:  20 min to prepare
                         25-30 min in the oven

For the chocolate sauce: 10 min

For the whipped cream: 5 min


Material:

• 2 pots
• 1 wooden spoon
• electric whisk
• parchment paper
• cookie sheet

Ingredients (for 24 profiteroles, count 3 profiteroles per person)

     For the choux: 

• 250g water
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 100g butter
• 150g flour
• 4 eggs
• pinch of salt

     For the chocolate sauce:

• 100g dark chocolate
• 50g milk
• 100g liquid cream

     For the whipped cream:

• 200g cream (make sure it's nice and cold)
• 4 tbsp powder sugar

     In addition (optional):

• a few strawberries
• a banana
• some almonds
• cinnamon

Recipe:

      Prepare the choux:

• Start by turning on your oven to 210
• In a pot, put the water, the salt, the sugar and the butter cut in pieces and let it boil while stirring.

• Take the pot off of the heat and pour the flour in (all of it at a time). Mix with a wooden spoon.
• Put the pot back on the heat and keep on mixing with the wooden spoon until you obtain an homogeneous ball of batter that should absolutely not stick to the pot.

• Take the pot off the heat and add one egg.
• Mix well until you obtain an homogeneous batter. 

• Add the second egg and mix again to get an homogeneous batter.
• Repeat for the third and fourth egg. Note that it is extremely important to make sure that the batter is very homogeneous and the egg well mixed before incorporating another egg.

• Put some parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
• Take two spoons to make little piles of batter on the cookie sheet. These will rise so make sure to leave enough space in between the piles.
• Put the sheet in the oven and let it cook for 15min at 210, then lower the heat to 180 and let it cook for another 10-15min. The choux are ready when they're puffed and nicely golden. To make sure they rise, put a knife in the crack of the oven door so that it doesn't close fully.
• Once the choux are done, let them cool down on the sheet.

• Note that the choux are much better fresh and don't keep very well ... at most one day!

       Prepare the whipped cream: 

• Pour the cream in a bowl. Use the electric whisk to whip it. To make sure you have a good solid and very light whip cream, make sure to also make circular movements with the whisk.
• When the cream starts rising add the powder sugar.
• Keep whisking until you get a nice puffy whipped cream.

      Prepare the chocolate sauce:

• In a pot, pour the milk, the cream and the chocolate cut in pieces. 

• Heat it up on the stove at medium heat. Do NOT let it boil or it will be ruined.
• Keep on stirring the sauce gently to obtain a nice glossy homogeneous sauce.

• Note that if you don't want to do that, you can also replace the chocolate sauce with nutella!

     Assemble the profiteroles:

• Cut the choux in half.
• Stuff them with whipped cream and put them on a plate.
• Cover them with the chocolate sauce.
• Add some almonds on top.
• Add a few strawberries on the side.