Dark Chocolate Caramel Cream Puffs Food

DARK CHOCOLATE-CARAMEL CREAM PUFFS RECIPE - (4.6/5)

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. For cream puffs, in a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, and salt; bring to a boil. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto 2 greased baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time for 20 to 25 minutes (keep remaining dough covered while first batch bakes). Transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 15 minutes.* 3. Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium saucepan, bring cream just to a boiling over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add Ghirardelli® 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips. Do not stir. Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Stir in caramel topping. Cool for 15 minutes before using. 4. Using kitchen scissors, cut tops from cream puffs; remove any soft dough from inside. Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling into each cream puff. Replace tops. If desired, drizzle with additional prepared caramel topping and/or Chocolate Drizzle. 5. For Chocolate Drizzle, in a small microwave-safe bowl, combine 1/2 cup Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips and 1 teaspoon shortening. Microwave at half power or defrost setting for 1 minute. Remove and stir. If chocolate is not melted, return to microwave and repeat heating step, stirring every 15 seconds to avoid scorching. Stir until smooth. Footnotes * To make ahead, prepare and bake cream puffs as directed through Step 2; cover and store at room temperature for up to 24 hours or freeze for up to 3 months.

CARAMEL TOPPED CREAM PUFFS

Steps:

• Make the Cream Puffs: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine the water, butter, salt, and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until the flour is incorporated, about 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, 2 minutes to evaporate some of the moisture.
• Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer or mix by hand.) Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, add 3 of the eggs, 1 at a time, stopping after each to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add another egg and mix until completely incorporated.
• Using a pastry bag, pipe the dough in bite-size "kisses" (about 1 1/2 inches across) onto 1 of the cookie sheets.
• Dip your finger in flour and push down the points to smooth out any bumps. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until puffed up and light golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• Make the Caramel: Pour the sugar into the center of a deep saucepan. Carefully pour the water around the sugar, trying not to splash any sugar onto the sides of the pan. Do not stir; gently draw your finger through the center of the sugar to moisten it. Over high heat, bring to a full boil and cook without stirring, swirling the pot occasionally to even out the color, until amber-caramel in color, 10 to 20 minutes. When the mixture is done, remove the pot from the heat and rest the bottom in the ice bath for 15 seconds to stop the cooking.
• Dip the top of each cream puff in the caramel and place it caramel-side down, with the base sticking straight up, on the other greased cookie sheet. The caramel will pool slightly around the puff and will harden and develop a foot. (When you turn the puffs over later, this will be a smooth flat "lid" for each profiterole.) Let cool until set, at least 10 minutes.
• When ready to serve, carefully turn the puffs over and cut each 1 horizontally in 1/2 using a long serrated knife. Fill each with a small scoop of ice cream or sweetened, flavored whipped cream. Place the lid on top and serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL PUFFS

Steps:

• Make the puffs: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a sifter, combine the flour and cocoa powder. Sift onto a large piece of waxed paper and set aside until needed.
• Heat the water, 4 tablespoons butter, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, stir to dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the sifted dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir until the mixture comes together in a ball-like shape (it should be a bit like putty at this point). Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring energetically and thoroughly incorporating each egg before adding another. Divide the dough in level tablespoons (approximately 1/2-ounce per puff) onto 2 nonstick baking sheets, 12 evenly spaced portions per sheet. Place the baking sheets on the top and center racks of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to center halfway through the baking time (at that time also turn each sheet 180 degrees). Remove the puffs from the oven and cool to room temperature.
• Make the Chocolate Caramel Ganache: Place the chopped semisweet and unsweetened chocolate in a 4-quart bowl and set aside. Heat the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons butter in a 1 1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to keep the cream hot, but not simmering until needed. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and the lemon juice in a 3-quart saucepan. Stir with a whisk to combine (the sugar will resemble moist sand). Caramelize the sugar for 7 to 8 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a whisk to break up any lumps (the sugar will first turn clear as it liquefies, then, light brown as it caramelizes). Remove the saucepan from the heat. Carefully pour about 1/3 of the hot cream into the caramelized sugar. Use a whisk to stir the caramel until it stops bubbling. Add the remaining cream and stir until smooth. Immediately pour the hot caramel over the chopped chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes before stirring with a whisk until very smooth. Refrigerate the ganache until just slightly firm but not hard (if the ganache is too firm, it will be difficult to pipe).
• Using a sharp paring knife, cut each puff in half horizontally. Transfer the chilled ganache to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe about 1 heaping tablespoon (approximately 1-ounce) of ganache onto the bottom half of each puff, then place the top half of the puff onto each portion of ganache. Serve immediately, or store in a tightly sealed plastic container at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.