Who isn’t in love with profiteroles? These chou à la crème pastries are light as air, topped with chocolate and filled with a delicate baileys whipped cream.
Many would think the profiterole comes from France. However, the original recipe is actually the invention of an Italian chef named Panterelli. This chef was pa
rt of the escort of Catherine de Medici, who arrived at the French royal court around 1530, intended to become the wife of Henry of Valois, known as King Henry II. More about the history of the profiterole can be read here.
As far as the name profiterole, we can trace it in the English language back in 1600, deriving from the French language. The original meaning was a type of small reward (profit), when a treat was offered as recompense.
Today I decided to experiment with crafting these beauties for the upcoming French bistro supper club this saturday. I got to debut my iSi Gourmet Whip, filling it with whipped cream, vanilla bean, and a shot of baileys. So much fun.
Ingredients
- 50g butter (preferably unsalted), cut into cubes
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 75g white flour, sifted with a pinch of sea salt
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 150 ml of water
- 250g whipped cream
- 1 shot of baileys
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste / vanilla essence
- 50g dark chocolate buttons
- 50g of full cream milk/cream
Instructions
- Heat oven to 200C fan / 220C convention.
- Put the butter and the caster sugar in a saucepan with 150ml of water. Turn heat to low and cook until the butter and sugar have melted, then bring to the boil.
- Take off the heat, add the flour all at once and beat with a wooden spoon or spatula until the dough comes away from the sides of the pot.
- Let the mixture cool for 5-10 mins (or fix a paddle attachment to the kitchenaid and beat it for a minute or two to cool down and let the air out). Slowly add the eggs one by one and beat until you have a stiff, glossy mixture.
- Line baking tray with parchment paper or silicon mat. Spray the mat with some water (this helps pastry to rise). Using a 1/2 inch round pastry tip (alternatively you can use two teaspoons), squeeze a round dollop onto the mat and space it out 5 cm from the next 'blob'. Level each tip of the uncooked profiterole with a wet finger (helps it to rise better). Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes until it is well risen and brown.
- Remove from the oven and poke or cut a slit in the base of each one so it can dry out a bit and won't go soggy. Cool on a wire rack.
- In the meantime, make the baileys whipped cream. Mix together the cream, vanilla bean paste and shot of bailey. Pour into the iSi gourmet whip and charge it with the cream charger. Give it a vigorously few shakes.
- Once the profiteroles have cooled, attach the injection tip to the gourmet whip. Holding it upside down, pump up the profiterole with a tablespoon of whipped cream. You will feel it puff up. Transfer to plate.
- Make the chocolate ganache. In a small pot, heat the milk up to a low simmer and add the chocolate. Let it melt and slowly mix it till it thickens. Set aside.
- Decorate the profiteroles on the serving plate. Dust some icing sugar to the filled up profiteroles and drizzle the chocolate ganache on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
* Profiterole shells can be made in advance and stored for 1-2 days in an airtight container. Just reheat them in an oven when ready to use (cause they will go soggy). * Fill free to omit the baileys shot.
