Chocolate Choux Buns Recipes

CHOCOLATE CHOUX BUNS WITH VANILLA CREAM FILLING

Steps:

• Place the butter in a pan of water and melt it over a low heat until it starts to boil. As soon as it boils take it out of the heat and immediately add the flour into the pan.
• Once it starts to boil, remove from the heat and immediately add the flour, stirring rapidly until the mixture forms a ball and does not stick to the side.
• Mix with a whisk until all the flour is fully incorporated with the liquid and there are no lumps in the mixture.
• When it looks silky, place it back in the heat, adjust it accordingly so that your dough does not burn. Keep mixing until it starts to separate from the pan and forms a ball.
• Take it out of the heat, and leave for a couple of minutes or so before adding the eggs.
• Once it's cooled add the eggs one at a time and keep mixing with a wooden spoon or a plastic spatula.
• Put the mixture in a piping bag and pipe a spiral shape on the prepared baking tray. Ensure that there is a gap in between each bun.
• Bake the buns in the centre of the oven for around 10-15 minutes at 180°C and then reduce the temperature to 170°c.
• It's important that the pastry cooks for around 20 minutes or until it turns golden brown. Remove the buns out of the oven and turn the oven off.
• Poke small holes into each bun. You can use a toothpick or a BBQ stick. This allows the steam to escape. Return your choux buns in the oven and allow to dry for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

CHOCOLATE CHOUX BUNS

Steps:

• Melt the butter with the water and caster sugar in a heavy-based pan.
• Bring to the boil, turn off the heat and immediately tip in all the flour.
• Beat thoroughly with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a smooth ball in the centre of the pan.
• Turn the ball into a bowl and cool for 15min. Preheat the oven to 220°C (190°C fan) mark 7.
• Gradually whisk in the eggs a little at a time until the mixture is shiny.
• Sprinkle water over a non-stick baking sheet. Put eight large spoonfuls of the mixture on to the baking sheet.
• Bake for 30min until risen and golden brown. Turn off the oven.
• Pierce each bun. Leave in the oven for 10-15min. Cool on a wire rack.
• Halve buns and fill with cream. Top with warm melted chocolate.

FILLED CHOCOLATE CHOUX BUNS

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200°C (180° fan) 400F gas 6.
• To make the choux pastry, bring 250 ml (approximately 1 cup) of water to a boil with the butter, sugar and salt.
• Pour in all the flour in one go, add the cocoa powder and stir vigorously over a low heat until the dough forms a ball and leaves the sides of the pan clean.
• Tip the dough into a bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time. Finally, beat in the baking powder.
• Fill a piping bag with the choux pastry and pipe 20 walnut-size heaps onto a cookie tray lined with baking parchment.
• Bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and slice each profiterole through horizontally. Replace the pastry lids and let cool.
• To make the filling, slit the vanilla bean and place in a pan with the cream. Bring the cream to a boil, remove from the heat and leave to steep.
• Beat the egg yolk and sugar until thick and creamy and stir in the hot cream.
• Pour back into the pan and cook over a medium heat stirring with a spatula. Do not allow to boil.
• Push the sauce through a sieve and let cool down to room temperature.
• Beat the butter with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy then whisk the vanilla cream into the butter little by little.
• Melt the chocolate over simmering water, let cool and mix into the cream.
• Spoon the filing into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Pipe a portion onto the bottom half of each profiterole and replace the top.

CHOCOLATE CHOUX BUNS

Steps:

• The mousse filling should be made several hours in advance. First, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (make sure the base of the bowl doesn't touch the water). Then beat the egg yolks into the chocolate and allow the mixture to cool. Now, using an electric hand whisk, whisk the egg whites to the soft peak stage. Stir 1 tablespoon of the egg white into the chocolate mixture to loosen it, then carefully fold in the remainder. Cover the bowl and chill the mousse in the fridge for about 3 hours. You can watch how to whisk eggs in our Cookery School Video on this page. To make the choux pastry, you are going to need to 'shoot' the flour quickly into the water and melted butter, so begin by cutting out a square of baking parchment, fold to make a crease, then open it out again. Sift the flour straight on to the square of parchment and add the sugar. Next, put 5 fl oz (150 ml) of cold water in a medium saucepan, together with the pieces of butter, then place the saucepan over a moderate heat and stir with a wooden spoon. As soon as the butter has melted and the mixture comes up to the boil, turn off the heat immediately, as too much boiling will evaporate some of the water. Then tip in the flour - all in one go - with one hand, while you beat the mixture vigorously with the other. You can do this with a wooden spoon, although an electric hand whisk will save you lots of energy. Beat until you have a smooth ball of paste that has left the sides of the saucepan clean - this will probably take less than a minute. Then beat in the beaten eggs - a little at a time, mixing in each addition thoroughly before adding the next - until you have a smooth, glossy paste. At this stage, hold the greased baking sheet under cold running water for a few seconds, and tap it sharply to get rid of excess moisture. This will help create a steamier atmosphere, which in turn helps the pastry to rise. Place rough dessertspoons of the choux pastry on the greased and dampened baking sheet and bake on a high shelf in the pre-heated oven (200C) for 10 minutes. After that, increase the heat to gas mark 7, 425ºF (220ºC) and bake for a further 20-25 minutes until the buns are nicely brown and puffy. Pierce the side of each one and put them back in the oven for a further 2-3 minutes to crisp up, then cool on a wire cooling tray. It's best not to put the filling in until about an hour before serving. They are best made and eaten on the day but if you want to get ahead you and make, cool and freeze but they will go soft but they can be crisped up in the oven (from frozen) before you fill them. Then keeping the heat at its lowest, allow the chocolate to melt slowly - it should take about 5 minutes to become smooth and glossy. Then remove it from the heat, give it a good stir and leave to cool for 2-3 minutes. Next, stir the crème fraîche into the chocolate and spread some of the topping over each bun and finally, sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts. Note: this recipe contains raw eggs.

CREAM PUFF "CRACK BUNS" (CHOUX AU CRAQUELIN)

Steps:

• Mix butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt together in a large bowl using a spatula. Place dough between two sheets of waxed paper or inside a zip-top bag. Press or roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Trim off the edges slightly to get a rectangular shape, if desired. Freeze crust until ready to use.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
• Combine water, butter, and salt in a saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add flour; stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes together into a smooth dough and pulls away cleanly from the bottom of the pan. Transfer to a bowl and spread out with a whisk to speed up cooling. Cool until warm, about 10 minutes.
• Whisk eggs, one at a time, into the pastry, mixing well after each addition. Finish mixing with a spatula. Scoop pastry into a pastry bag and pipe into 6 to 8 buns on the baking sheet. Smooth out tops with a wet finger.
• Use a cookie cutter to cut crust into circles about the diameter of the buns. Lightly push crusts onto the buns, just enough to secure them.
• Place buns in the preheated oven. Immediately reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake until browned and fully puffed, 30 to 40 minutes. Transfer buns onto a cooling rack and place rack back on the baking sheet. Place in the turned-off oven, leave door partially open, and let cool completely, at least 20 minutes.
• Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring after each interval, 1 to 3 minutes.
• Spread a few teaspoons of melted chocolate onto the bottom of each bun. Gently press each chocolate base back on the baking sheet to spread it evenly. Let chocolate harden, about 1 hour.

STRAWBERRY & WHITE CHOCOLATE CHOUX BUNS

Steps:

• Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Heat oven to 200C, 180C fan gas 6. Heat the butter in a nonstick pan with 125ml water until melted. Increase the heat until boiling then remove from the heat and quickly beat in the flour until the mixture comes together as a ball. Cool 5 mins then beat the eggs with 1 tbsp water then beat into the pastry a little as a time to make a thick glossy mix.
• Spoon onto the baking tray in 8 equal size blobs then add the almonds if using poking them into the mixture. Bake for 25-30 mins until well risen and golden. Take from the oven make a slash in the sides and return to the oven for 5 mins more to dry out.
• While baking make the filling. Mix the custard powder with a little of the milk then, with the remaining milk and vanilla put in a non stick pan and cook, stirring over the heat until thickened. Stand for 5 mins then beat in the yogurt and set aside to cool, stirring frequently to make sure a skin doesn't form. When cold, stir in the grated chocolate.
• Reserve 1 tbsp of the custard mix then use the rest to fill the buns. Distribute all but 8 halves of strawberries between the buns, then blob a little of the remaining custard filling on top and add the reserved strawberries. Lightly dust with the icing sugar before serving if you like.

CHOCOLATE STICKY BUNS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, butter, sugar, salt, egg and 1-1/2 cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Meanwhile, combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and cocoa in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour into two greased 9-in. round or square baking pans; sprinkle with pecans. Set aside. , Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12-in. x 10-in. rectangle; brush with melted butter. Combine the sugar, cocoa and cinnamon; sprinkle over rectangles to within 1/2 in. of edges. , Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side; pinch seam to seal. Cut each roll into nine slices; place, cut side down, over syrup and pecans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. , Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until well browned. Cool for 1 minute before inverting onto serving platters.