Easy Chocolate Profiteroles
20 mins 
18 profiteroles 
Profiteroles can be the perfect little pick me up in the afternoon with a cup of tea or coffee or as a dessert. Everyone loves them and they are not as difficult to make as you may think. If you haven’t tried making them before, then try this easy Chocolate Profiteroles recipe. The quantities in the recipe make about 18 small profiteroles, like the ones pictured, but you can make them larger if you prefer. We have filled ours with a light chocolate cream using Food Thoughts Organic Cocoa Powder, topped with a rich chocolate ganache made with Food Thoughts Luxury Dark Chocolate Chips. However, you can add more cream and a little butter to this to turn this a glossy pouring sauce instead. The best bit is that these easy chocolate profiteroles will freeze really well, as long as they are kept in an air tight container. Just take them out the night before you intend to use them and pop them in the oven for about 10 minutes to crisp them up. Little balls of heaven
You will need
- 80g unsalted butter (softened)
- 80g milk (ideally full-fat but semi-skimmed will work)
- 70ml water
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 90g plain flour (sieved)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp caster sugar
- FILLING
- 250ml double cream (cold)
- 1/2 tsp icing sugar
- 1 tbsp Food Thoughts Organic Cocoa Powder
- TOPPING
- 100ml double cream
- 100g Food Thoughts Dark Chocolate Chips
Method
FOR THE PROFITEROLES: Place milk, water and butter in a small pan and bring to the boil (stir until butter is fully melted). Take the pan off the heat and add the dry ingredients (flour, salt and sugar). Stir vigorously until the wet and dry ingredients are mixed and you have a smooth paste. Use a whisk as you add the eggs a little at a time and beat thoroughly until the mixture turns glossy and smooth. The consistency should be soft enough to drop off a spoon.
Place the dough in a piping bag (fitted with a plain wide nozzle) and place it in the fridge to chill for at least 30 mins. This stage is not essential but it helps the dough to retain its shape.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/ 390F, Gas 6. Place a sheet of baking paper onto a baking tray and draw or trace round a circular object about the diameter of a walnut - repeat until you have filled the tray, but make sure to leave space in-between. Depending on the size of your tray, you may need 2.
'Pipe' circular walnut sized balls of dough onto the sheet - you can achieve this by slowly raising the piping bag upwards as you continue to pipe. Turn the end of the nozzle upwards to stop at the correct height - try and make sure they are roughly as tall as they are wide. Repeat until the dough is used up. If the tops of the piped rounds have peaks then use a wet finger (water) to smooth the tips.
Place the tray/s into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 180C/150C fan assisted/335F/Gas 3 and at the same time turn the tray round in the oven so that they bake evenly (do this quickly to minimise heat loss). Cook for a further 10 minutes until well risen, crisp and golden.
Take the profiteroles out of the oven and turn them upside down onto a wire rack. Use a cocktail stick to prick a hole in the bottom (which will be facing upwards) - this allows the steam to escape from the cavity. Leave to completely cool.
FILLING: Pour the cream into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until it forms soft peaks. Sift in the icing sugar and Food Thoughts Cocoa Powder. Continue to beat - but make sure not to over beat as you need the cream to remain pliable to enable it to be piped.
Fit a nozzle into an icing bag and fill with the chocolate cream filling. Slash a small hole in the base or side of the profiterole (large enough for the nozzle to fit in). Hold the profiterole topside down in your palm and pipe the cream in through the hole. You will feel it filling, gaining weight and puff up more. Continue until all have been filled. Place the profiteroles back onto a tray and place in the fridge.
TOPPING: Make a dark chocolate ganache by heating the milk in a saucepan or microwaving it. When it has reached the boil, remove it from the heat and add the dark chocolate chips. Allow the chocolate to fully melt as you whisk it into the cream until there are no lumps. Put the ganache into the fridge until it starts to solidify but is still soft. Spoon the ganache onto the top of the profiteroles.
