| |
Cream-Puff Pastry Rosettes
(Profiteroles)
|
|
|
| What You Need: |
|
|
PATE A CHOUX, OR CREAM-PUF PASTE
1 cup water
6 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted after measunng
1 teaspoon sugar
5 eggs
½ teaspoon water
FILLING
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners' (powdered) sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
CHOCOLATE SAUCE
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small chunks
½ cup strong coffee
Confectioners' (powdered) sugar
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| How To Cook: |
|
|
1. PATE A CHOUX: In a heavy 2-to 3-quart saucepan, bring the 1 cup of water and the butter to a boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. As soon as the butter has completely melted, remove the pan from the heat and pour in the flour and sugar all at once. Beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon for a few seconds until it is well blended. Then return it to moderate heat and cook, still beating vigorously, for 1 or 2 minutes, or until the mixture forms a mass that leaves the sides of the pan and moves freely with the spoon.
|
2. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and use the spoon to make a well in the center of the paste. Break an egg into the well and beat it into the paste. When the first egg has been absorbed, add 3 more eggs 1 at a time-beating well after each egg is added. The finished paste should be thick, smooth and shiny.
|
3. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly butter two large baking sheets. Spoon the patea choux into a pastry bag that has a ¼-or ½-inch plain tip, and press the paste out onto the sheets in mounds, about 1 inch in diameter and ½ inch high. Space the mounds approximately 2 inches apart; they will double in size as they bake. If you don't have a pastry bag, drop teaspoonfuls of the paste onto the baking sheers, allowing the same 2 inches of space between them.
|
4. Beat the remaining egg with ½ teaspoon of water in a small bowl until they are well mixed. With a pastry brush, lightly paint the top of each profilerole with the egg-and-water mixture. Bake in the upper and/or lower third of the oven for 6 minutes, then reduce the heat to 400°F and bake for 5 minutes longer.
|
5. Reduce the heat to 325°F and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the profiterole shave doubled in size and have turned a light golden brown. They should be firm and crusty to the touch. Turn off the oven and make a tiny incision near the bottom of each profiterole with the tip of a sharp knife to release the steam. Let the profiterole srest in the oven for a few minutes to dry out. Then remove them from the baking sheets and set them on wirecake racks to cool.
|
6. FILLING AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE: No more than 1 hour before serving the profiteroles, whip the cream with a wire whisk, rotary or electric beater in a chilled mixing bowl until it begins to thicken. Sprinkle the confectioners' sugar and the vanilla over it, and continue beating until the cream is firm enough to hold unwavering peaks on the beater when the beater is raised out of the bowl.
|
7. Gently break the top off each profiterole or slit it in half with a small, sharp knife. Fill the bottom half with a spoonful of heavy cream, replace the top and gently pressthe profiterole together again. Dust the top lightly with confectioners' sugar. Melt the chocolate with the coffee in a small, heavy saucepan over hot water, stirring constantly until the mixture is perfectly smooth.
|
|
8. To serve, pour a little of the warm chocolate sauce into individual dessert dishes and float two or more of the profiteroles on top. Or, if you prefer, you may serve the profiteroles on dessert plates with the chocolate sauce poured over them.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
