Easter is here again and what better way to treat your family and children than with this cute and fun chocolate profiteroles!
This is yet another year for me being away from my family but there is no reason not to bake some joy in my home kitchen. :)
If you want to learn more about making choux pastry, you can check out my post on Chocolate Éclair.
RECIPE
Yield: 16 profiteroles
CHOCOLATE CHANTILLY CREAM
145 g Thickened Cream 35%Fat (A)
180 g Coverture Milk Chocolate
270 g Thickened Cream 35% Fat (B)
CHOUX PASTRY
50 g Full Cream Milk
75 g Water
60 g Unsalted Butter
5 g Caster Sugar
2 g Fine Salt
90 g Bread Flour 12% Protein
125 g Eggs
CHOCOLATE PASTRY CREAM
560 g Full Cream Milk
110 g Caster Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
100 g Egg Yolks
25 g Corn Starch
25 g Plain Flour
60 g Unsalted Butter
110 g Dark Coverture Chocolate 58%
METHOD
PREPARE THE CHOCOLATE CHANTILLY the night before. Place Cream (A) into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over the chocolate and whisk to combine ensuring that the chocolate are fully melted. Add cold Cream (B) and whisk to combine. Cover with a food wrap touching the surface and leave to chill overnight in the fridge.
For the CRAQUELINE, cream the butter and raw sugar together then add in the flour to form into a smooth dough. Place the dough in between two parchment paper. With the help of a rolling pin, roll the dough to approximately 1-2 mm thick. Place the sheeted craqueline onto a flat surface and store in the freezer until they are firm enough to cut.
When it is firm enough, using a 5cm round cutter, cut to individual discs. Return the craqueline back to the freezer until ready to use.
PREPARE THE CHOUX PASTRY. Pre heat the oven to 180˚C. Line a baking tray with a non stick baking paper
Place the milk, water, sugar and salt into a saucepan and bring to a mere simmer all around the side and centre of the pot. Once the liquid has come to a simmer, turn off the heat and add in the plain flour and very quickly stir to mix. The starch in the flour will start to absorb the liquid and turn to a doughy paste, this is called the panade.
Turn on the heat again to low and medium heat and continue to cook the panade for 2-3 minutes or until the base of the pan starts to form a crust and the panade begins to become smooth.
Remove from the heat and transfer the cooked panade into the stand mixer bowl and mix on low speed with a paddle attachment until it cools slightly but is still warm. The recommended temperature is 45˚C.
When the panade is cooled enough, whisk the eggs together and then gradually add in the eggs in a few additions, only adding each addition when the first addition is well absorb into the panade.
Note that you may not need all of the eggs or may need to add more eggs depending on how long you have cooked out the panade. The consistency you are after is a smooth and shiny appearance and when you scoop the large amount of choux pastry with your paddle or spatula, they drop back gradually into the bowl with a spike at the end. If the choux pastry drops too hard into the bowl or do not drop at all, you will need to add more eggs.
Transfer the choux pastry into a piping bag fitted with 15mm/1.5 cm plain pastry tip.
Draw 4 cm rounds as a template on a parchment paper. To help the parchment paper to stick to the baking tray, pipe some of the choux pastry on all four corners of the tray then adhere the parchment paper, ensuring that the pencilled side is at the bottom.
Pipe the choux pastry over the template ensuring you give the profiteroles some height when piping. Wet your finger and dap any spiky top so that they are flat at the top.
Place the individual craqueline disc on top of each profiteroles.
Bake in the pre heated oven at 180˚C for 30 minutes, then turn down the oven to 170˚C and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. Once the éclair has puffed up and form a crust and is light golden in colour, open the oven door slightly to release some of the steam, close the oven door again and bake for another 10 -15 minutes. Once baked, turn off the oven, and leave the oven door slightly open and leave to dry in the turned off oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the eclairs from the oven and leave to cool completely.
CHOCOLATE CREAM
Place the milk and vanilla bean paste into a pot and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk the sugar and egg yolks together until well combined, followed by the flour and corn flour.
When the milk has come to a simmer, gradually stream into the yolk mixture while constantly whisking. Once all the milk has been added, transfer the liquid custard mixture back into the saucepan and whisk to cook over medium heat until it starts to thicken. This will only take 1 -2 minutes, so don't walk away.
Transfer the thickened custard into a clean mixing bowl with the chocolate then whisk to combine. Add in the unsalted butter and continue to whisk until the butter are well mixed through. Cover the pastry cream with a plastic food wrap, touching the surface to prevent skin from forming. Leave in the fridge to cool completely.
ASSEMBLY
Whisk the chocolate pastry cream until they are smooth. Transfer into a pastry bag fitted with a plain pastry tip.
Trim off the top of the profiteroles. Run a small piping tip in to the profiteroles to open up the cavity. Fill the profiteroles with the smooth chocolate pastry cream.
Whisk the Chocolate Chantilly cream in a stand mixer until it reaches a pipeable consistency. Transfer into a pastry bag fitted with a straight star pastry tip. Pipe the top in a spiral to create a nest.
Finish with Chocolate Easter Eggs.
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