If choux pastry scares you then look no further, this really is an easy recipe, and what a pastry to use your imagination with, once you've made the pastry, you can pipe, fill and cover in any combination of flavours that you love, I've kept this simple with whipped cream and white chocolate but the list could be endless.
Please make sure you have a 2 piping bags or a reusable one for this recipe, a nozzle is ideal but you can do it just by snipping the end of the piping bag.
Prep time 10 mins
Cooking time 45 mins (from start to end of bake)
115g unsalted butter, cubed
3tsp sugar
125g plain flour
120ml milk (whole is best but I normally only have semi skimmed available)
120ml water
4 eggs, whisked, saving 1tsp for eggwash before putting them into the oven
300ml double cream
100g White chocolate bar, broken into pieces
2tbsp Decorative sprinkles, (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200c and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Into a medium saucepan, over a medium heat, add the butter, milk, water and sugar, heat until the butter is melted, once simmering turn the heat down to low and then add all the flour, mixing well until it all comes together and there are no floury pockets.
Keep the heat low and cook the flour out, this should take about 2 mins and will require you to squash the mixture against the pan to make sure all of the flour has contact with the heat and not just the outside.
Once you are happy that the flour is cooked out, remove from the heat, put into large mixing bowl and allow to cool, this is really important because we're about to add the eggs and we don't want them to cook.
Add the eggs in bit by bit in about 5 intervals, (don't forget to reserve 1tsp for glazing) beat well with a wooden spoon after each addition, soon enough it will all come together, so don't give up beating it, what you are looking for is all the ingredients to be incorporated together and a very thick consistency, it should not be runny in at all.
Put the mixture into your piping bag and pipe, golf sized balls it should easily make 12-16 and use your finger to push down any point at the top, this will burn in the hot oven if you leave it. Brush with the reserved egg and put in the oven. Clean your piping bag, or prepare a new one.
Cook for 15 mins at this high heat and then turn down to 175c and cook for a further 15-20 mins. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN AT ANY POINT OR THEY WILL DEFLATE!!
While the pastry is cooking, whip your double cream using an electric whisk, you can do it with a hand whisk but it takes much longer, keep cool in the fridge.
Take the pastry out once its cooked and leave on a cooling rack, once fully cooled use your clean piping bag to pipe the whipped cream inside from the underneath of the profiterole/bun.
Melt your white chocolate either in short 20sec blasts in the microwave or in a glass bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
Drizzle the chocolate all over your profiteroles and sprinkle on your.. erm.. sprinkles !!
Pipe these in any shape you like, long for eclairs or larger balls for choux buns.
Lakeland do a brilliant silicon piping bag, and the nozzles change on the outside of the bag, so if you've already used it and want to change the nozzle you don't have to waste any mixture or get your hands really mucky, its £13.99 but will last pretty much forever, it was my choice for a certain Tv cooking show I took part in very recently.
