Baking is an absolute passion of mine, and I find that the perfect way to while away a Sunday afternoon while Mr Lollipop is in work is to bake up some delectable treats. I think it is so therapeutic and relaxing, beating eggs and butter, whisking up some cream, and it's a great way to vent my frustrations. Mr Lollipop particularly enjoys coming home to the mouthwatering scent of something sweet and homely baking away in the oven, and he enjoys sampling them even more!
It was my brother's birthday on Monday and since you can't have a birthday without some scrumptious treats, I decided to make some profiteroles on Sunday afternoon. Beats a regular birthday cake, hands down! I'm not a massive fan of profiteroles because I don't like the chocolate sauce. Well, I love naked profiteroles, so I dressed them with some melted chocolate instead.
Ingredients:
Choux pastry
125ml milk
200ml cold water
85g unsalted butter
150g plain flour
1 teaspoon caster sugar
A pinch of salt
4 eggs
Filling
300ml whipping cream
A tiny splash of vanilla extract
Topping
I just topped mine with melted milk chocolate - I used a big 200g bar of Cadbury's and this was enough for mine. If you make more from your mixture (mine were a bit on the large side), then obviously you'll need more chocolate. If you'd prefer the chocolate sauce, you'll need:
200g chocolate - traditionally you'd use dark chocolate but if I was making it I'd use milk chocolate
30g unsalted butter
3 tablespoons clear honey or golden syrup
100ml milk
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200C.
2. Put the milk, water, sugar, salt and butter in a saucepan, and simmer on a low heat. Once the butter is melted and the sugar and salt dissolved, turn up the heat a little bit until you have a rolling boil.
3. Remove from the hob, tip in the flour, and beat like crazy until you have a ball of doughy mixture. Transfer into a large bowl and leave to cool for about 10 minutes.
4. Once cooled, beat in the eggs, one at a time. I found this really, really hard work and my arms ached trying to make a smooth paste - but it's worth it! I used all of my eggs, but apparently you may not need them all. The mixture needs to be smooth and glossy, and fall of your spoon when you shake it.
5. Line two tins with greaseproof paper (I didn't and mine didn't stick) and put your paste into a piping bag. Pipe dollops of the mixture onto the sheet, leaving a good 2-3 inch gap between them for expansion. You want your dollops to be about the size of a shelled walnut - mine were huge! If you have a peak on top, wet your finger and push it down a little bit, so it doesn't burn when it's cooking.
6. Put your profiteroles in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. Don't forget to keep an eye on them - you want your profiteroles to be puffed up and hollow, not hard like rocks. When they're done leave to cool on a wire rack.
7. Put the cream and vanilla extract into a bowl and whisk. I prefer whisking cream with a handwhisk, not an electric one, because I like my cream to still be soft - I find electric whisks overwhisk it. I like mine to have soft peaks.
8. When the profiteroles are completely cooled pierce a small hole in the bottom. Spoon your cream mixture into a clean piping bag and pipe inside through the hole. My piping bag was still in the dishwasher, so I just cut them open and spooned it in. Looked messier but tasted just as nice.
9. Break your chocolate up into a heatprof bowl, and place over a simmering pan of water to melt. You can either spoon the melted chocolate over the top of your profiteroles like I did, or continue on to make a sauce. Add the butter and honey and stir continuously until everything is melted and combined. Whisk in the milk until it's all warm and you have a smooth, glossy mixture. Pour it over the profiteroles just before serving.
10. Enjoy!
These were absolutely delicious. Some of my profiteroles were flat and others were perfectly formed, but I like the rustic look when it comes to cooking. I think it's a sign of being homemade! They looked a bit messy but they tasted delicious, and that's the main thing :)
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my diet. My brother took most of them into work with him for a birthday treat, so I only ate one. Two. Okay I ate two and sampled the chocolate when it was melting, but that's all! I also made a chocolate gateau for him, but the less said about that the better!
xoxo
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