Choux Pastry For Profiteroles Cream Puffs Or Eclairs Food

PROFITEROLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Heat the milk, butter, and salt over medium heat until scalded. When the butter is melted, add the flour all at once and beat it with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together and forms a dough. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat for 2 minutes. The flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pan. Dump the hot mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the eggs and pulse until the eggs are incorporated into the dough and the mixture is thick.
• Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe in mounds 1 1/2 inches wide and 1-inch high onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You should have about 18 puffs. With a wet finger, lightly press down the swirl at the top of each puff. (You can also use 2 spoons to scoop out the mixture and shape the puffs with damp fingers.) Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned, then turn off the oven and allow them to sit for another 10 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Make a small slit in the side of each puff to allow the steam to escape. Set aside to cool.
• For the chocolate sauce, place the cream and chocolate chips in a bowl set over simmering water and stir just until the chocolate melts. Add the honey and coffee and stir until smooth. Set aside.
• For serving, cut each profiterole in half crosswise, fill with a small scoop of ice cream, replace the top, and drizzle with slightly warm chocolate sauce.

CHOUX PASTRY (FOR CREAM PUFFS, ECLAIRS, ETC)

Steps:

• Chop butter, melt in water and just bring to boiling. Immediately add flour, and mix well with wooden spoon, until it forms a dough that leaves the side of the pan (it looks really gross and clumpy at first, but as you keep stirring it fixes itself). Remove from heat and cool 2 minutes.
• For a sweet pastry, add the sugar to the beaten eggs. Stir in the eggs, mixing until it look like dough again (this is gross at first too).
• Now you have many choices: using a pastry bag or spoon, shape the dough as desired (for puffs: use a spoon or pipe a mound, eclairs: pipe a line, rings: pipe a circle, profiteroles: pipe a mound w/star tip) onto a greased cookie sheet. Keep in mind that it will grow to aprox 3xs its size when done.
• Bake at 425 'til it looks crisp and golden, about 30 mins for half dollar sized puffs. Cut in half, or cut a slit in the side to let the steam escape- if you don't do this fairly quickly they get soggy inside.
• They save for a while in tupperware, unless they're filled. You are supposed to fill them with freshly whipped cream that has a touch of powdered sugar and vanilla or almond added in, but I just fill them with buttercream frosting because its cheaper and tastes pretty good too.

BAKING PATE A CHOUX TO FORM PUFFS OR ECLAIRS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. Pipe out 1/2-inch balls for profiteroles or cocktail puffs, 1-inch balls for cream puffs, or 1/2 by 4-inch strips for eclairs. Be sure to leave enough room in between for them to triple in size. Brush with egg glaze and bake for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 400 and open oven door briefly to let steam out. Close the door and continue to bake another 1030 minutes according to their size. They must be well dried out or they may fall. Take one out of the oven and check it by breaking open and checking the interior walls: they should be dry, not wet and eggy. Return to the oven as necessary. Remove when done and cool on a wire rack.
• Baked puffs and eclairs freeze well for up to a month.
• Filling Puffs: Either slice open horizontally, spoon filling onto bottom, and replace the hat; or pierce a small hole with a paring knife in side or bottom of the puff and pipe in a soft filling using a pastry bag with a small plain tip.

PROFITEROLES (CHOUX PUFFS)

Steps:

• Bring water and butter to a boil in a 2 quart heavy saucepan over high heat, then reduce heat to moderate add flour all at once and cook, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture pulls away from the pan (about 2 minutes) remove pan from heat and add eggs, 1 at a time (2 egg whites at a time), stirring vigorously after each addition until smooth preheat oven to 425*F.
• Transfer dough to a pastry bag (I used a ziplock with a snipped end perfectly) and pipe mounds 1/3 inch in diameter about 1/2 inch apart on 2 large baking sheets lined with parchment.
• Gently flatten tips of mounds with a moist fingertip.
• Bake 1 sheet at a time, in middle of oven until golden brown and cooked through, 12-15 minutes.