Chocolate profiteroles with crème pâtissière recipe

As seen on Rick Stein’s Food Stories on BBC Two, this is Rick’s chocolate profiteroles with crème pâtissière recipe. After meeting chocolateers, Lara and Cameron in Glasgow, he takes home a bar of their chocolate made from raw cacao beans and turns it into a chocolate sauce to pour over home-baked profiteroles with crème pâtissière.

Ingredients for Rick’s chocolate profiteroles with crème pâtissière recipe

SERVES 4-6

• 150ml cold water
• 55g butter, cold and cut into small cubes
• 75g plain flour
• A pinch of salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 300ml double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

For the chocolate sauce

• 125g 70% dark chocolate, broken into squares
• 30g butter

How to make Rick’s chocolate profiteroles with crème pâtissière recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 200c /180c fan
2. Sift the flour and salt onto a large square of greaseproof paper, which you have previously creased down the middle and unfolded.
3. Put the water and butter into a pan and place over a medium heat, ideally you want the water to come up to a boil just as the butter has melted. Turn off the heat as soon as the water reaches a boil and use the greaseproof paper as a chute to add all the flour to the pan in one go using one hand, using the other hand to vigorously beat in the flour to form a thick and lump free paste (you could also use an electric whisk) it should form a ball that leaves the sides of the pan clean.
4. Transfer this plate and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then put back into the cool pan or a bowl and beat in the beaten eggs a little at a time, fully incorporating the egg before adding any more. Keep doing this until all the egg is used and you have a smooth, glossy paste.
5. Sprinkle a baking sheet, lined with baking parchment with a few drops of water and using a piping bag or two teaspoons, drop teaspoonfuls of the paste into the sheet, allowing space around them as they will puff up during cooking, the mixture should yield 16-20 profiteroles depending on size preference.
6. Bake for 10 minutes then increase the heat by 20c to 220/200c fan and cook for a further 15 or so minutes until they are well risen and golden. Pierce the base of each and make a small hole the size of a piping nozzle (to later fill with piped cream) return to the oven for two minutes holes uppermost to allow the insides to dry out a little. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
7. In a bowl of a pan of just simmering water (bowl not touching the water) add the butter and chocolate stir together until smooth and glossy. 
8. Whisk the cream, sweeten with sifted icing sugar and vanilla and spoon into a piping bag, filled with a 0.5-1cm plain nozzle, fill each profiterole with the whipped, sweetened cream. Serve drizzled with warm chocolate sauce and serve.

Happy cooking