Chocolate Profiteroles
By Sam BlockPublished on February 4, 2021
Time
55 minutes, plus 40 minutes drying, 30 minutes cooling and 40 minutes freezing
Yield
Makes 10 Profiteroles
Ingredients
2 large eggs plus 1 large white½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons whole milk 6 tablespoons water 1½ teaspoons sugar ¼ teaspoon table salt 4 cups ice cream 1 cup Classic Hot Fudge Sauce
Before You Begin
In step 4, the dough can be piped using a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch plain tip.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and nest it in second rimmed baking sheet. Beat eggs and white in 2-cup liquid measuring cup until well combined. (You will use ½ cup egg mixture. Discard excess.) Set aside.
- Sift flour and cocoa together into bowl. Heat butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt in small saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and immediately stir in flour mixture using wooden spoon. Cook, stirring constantly using smearing motion, until paste is slightly shiny with wet-sand appearance and tiny beads of fat appear on bottom of saucepan (temperature of paste should register 175 to 180 degrees), about 3 minutes.
- Immediately transfer hot paste to food processor and process with feed tube open for 5 seconds to cool slightly. With processor running, gradually add reserved ½ cup egg mixture in steady stream until incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue to process until smooth, thick, sticky paste forms, about 30 seconds longer.
- Using 2 spoons, scoop 2 heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing mounds 2 inches apart (you should have 10 portions). Using back of spoon lightly coated with vegetable oil spray, shape each portion of dough into 2-inch-wide, 1-inch-tall mound and smooth away any creases and large peaks.
- Bake puffs for 15 minutes (do not open oven door), then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until puffs are fairly firm (puffs should not be soft and squishy), 6 to 8 minutes. Turn off oven and remove sheet.
- Using paring knife, cut ¾-inch slit into side of each puff to release steam. Return puffs to turned-off oven and prop door open with handle of wooden spoon. Dry puffs until centers are just moist (not wet) and surfaces are crisp, about 40 minutes. Transfer puffs to wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes. (Cooled puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours or frozen in zipper-lock plastic bag for up to 1 month. Before serving, crisp room temperature puffs in 300-degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or thawed frozen puffs for 8 to 10 minutes.)
- Meanwhile, line second rimmed baking sheet with parchment; freeze until cold, about 20 minutes. Using 2-inch ice cream scoop (about same diameter as puffs), scoop 10 portions of ice cream onto cold sheet and freeze until firm. Cover with plastic wrap and keep frozen until ready to serve, or up to 1 week.
- When ready to serve, use paring knife to split open puffs about ⅜ inch from bottom. Set bottoms on individual serving plates. Place scoop of ice cream on each bottom and gently press tops into ice cream. Pour hot fudge over profiteroles and serve immediately.
Time
55 minutes, plus 40 minutes drying, 30 minutes cooling and 40 minutes freezingYield
Makes 10 ProfiterolesIngredients
2 large eggs plus 1 large white
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons whole milk
6 tablespoons water
1½ teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 cups ice cream
1 cup Classic Hot Fudge Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 large eggs plus 1 large white
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons whole milk
6 tablespoons water
1½ teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 cups ice cream
1 cup Classic Hot Fudge Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 large eggs plus 1 large white
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons whole milk
6 tablespoons water
1½ teaspoons sugar
¼ teaspoon table salt
4 cups ice cream
1 cup Classic Hot Fudge Sauce
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
On its own, pate a choux, the temperamental pastry dough that's glazed, filled, or coated for desserts like éclairs, cream puffs, and even churros, is buttery, rich, and crisp but a bit plain. We wanted to make it chocolate for our ice cream–filled profiteroles recipe—and disassociate it from the word “temperamental.” To turn the dough chocolate, we cut back on some of the flour and replaced it with cocoa powder. The inconsistency in pate a choux results is due largely to the variation in egg size—an exacting ratio of eggs to the other ingredients is necessary for success. To prevent problems for these most delicate pastry shells, we came up with a cup equivalent for eggs, whisking together the eggs and measuring out the perfect amount to ensure successful results every time. Traditionally the eggs are incorporated by hand in arm-straining fashion. We turned to the food processor, adding the eggs to the dough gradually to incorporate fully. For classic pate a choux, there are visual clues as to when the dough can come off the stove, but the cocoa powder makes this dough dark in color, so we encourage using a digital thermometer. With the traditional drizzle of hot fudge over the ice cream–filled puffs, we turned profiteroles into a double-chocolate experience (triple if you choose chocolate ice cream).
Before You Begin
In step 4, the dough can be piped using a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch plain tip.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and nest it in second rimmed baking sheet. Beat eggs and white in 2-cup liquid measuring cup until well combined. (You will use ½ cup egg mixture. Discard excess.) Set aside.
- Sift flour and cocoa together into bowl. Heat butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt in small saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to simmer, reduce heat to low and immediately stir in flour mixture using wooden spoon. Cook, stirring constantly using smearing motion, until paste is slightly shiny with wet-sand appearance and tiny beads of fat appear on bottom of saucepan (temperature of paste should register 175 to 180 degrees), about 3 minutes.
- Immediately transfer hot paste to food processor and process with feed tube open for 5 seconds to cool slightly. With processor running, gradually add reserved ½ cup egg mixture in steady stream until incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl and continue to process until smooth, thick, sticky paste forms, about 30 seconds longer.
- Using 2 spoons, scoop 2 heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing mounds 2 inches apart (you should have 10 portions). Using back of spoon lightly coated with vegetable oil spray, shape each portion of dough into 2-inch-wide, 1-inch-tall mound and smooth away any creases and large peaks.
- Bake puffs for 15 minutes (do not open oven door), then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue to bake until puffs are fairly firm (puffs should not be soft and squishy), 6 to 8 minutes. Turn off oven and remove sheet.
- Using paring knife, cut ¾-inch slit into side of each puff to release steam. Return puffs to turned-off oven and prop door open with handle of wooden spoon. Dry puffs until centers are just moist (not wet) and surfaces are crisp, about 40 minutes. Transfer puffs to wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes. (Cooled puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 24 hours or frozen in zipper-lock plastic bag for up to 1 month. Before serving, crisp room temperature puffs in 300-degree oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or thawed frozen puffs for 8 to 10 minutes.)
- Meanwhile, line second rimmed baking sheet with parchment; freeze until cold, about 20 minutes. Using 2-inch ice cream scoop (about same diameter as puffs), scoop 10 portions of ice cream onto cold sheet and freeze until firm. Cover with plastic wrap and keep frozen until ready to serve, or up to 1 week.
- When ready to serve, use paring knife to split open puffs about ⅜ inch from bottom. Set bottoms on individual serving plates. Place scoop of ice cream on each bottom and gently press tops into ice cream. Pour hot fudge over profiteroles and serve immediately.
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