Chocolate Profiteroles With Coffee Ice Cream And Bittersweet Chocolate Sauce Recipes

PROFITEROLES WITH COFFEE ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Make profiteroles:
• Chill a small metal baking pan in freezer. Form 18 ice cream balls with scoop and freeze in chilled pan at least 1 hour (this will make serving faster).
• Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Butter a large baking sheet.
• Bring butter, water, and salt to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until butter is melted. Reduce heat to medium, then add flour all at once and cook, beating with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from side of pan and forms a ball, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well with an electric mixer after each addition.
• Transfer warm mixture to pastry bag and pipe 18 mounds (about 1 1/4 inches wide and 1 inch high) 1 inch apart on baking sheet.
• Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes total. Prick each profiterole once with a skewer, then return to oven to dry, propping oven door slightly ajar, 3 minutes. Cool on sheet on a rack.
• Make chocolate sauce:
• Heat sugar in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling pan occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber.
• Remove from heat, then add cream and a pinch of salt (mixture will bubble and steam). Return to heat and cook, stirring, until caramel has dissolved.
• Remove from heat and add chocolate, whisking until melted, then whisk in vanilla and Cognac (if using). Keep warm, covered.
• Serve profiteroles:
• Halve profiteroles horizontally, then fill each with a ball of ice cream. Put 3 profiteroles on each plate and drizzle generously with warm chocolate sauce.

PROFITEROLES WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM AND CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• With a rubber spatula, scoop the pate a choux into the pastry bag and pipe out approximately 16 (1 1/2-inch rounds) spaced 1 to 2 inches apart on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with the beaten egg and place in the oven. Cook until golden and puffed, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a baking rack.
• Split the profiteroles nearly in half, leaving a little hinge at the back, and cradle a small scoop of vanilla ice cream inside each. Divide the profiteroles between bowls and pour over some chocolate sauce. Serve cold.
• In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water, salt, sugar, and butter to a boil, making sure the butter is completely melted. Off the heat, add the flour all at once and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return to the heat and continue beating until the dough forms a solid, smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. Take off the heat and empty the dough into a clean mixing bowl. Little by little add the beaten eggs, beating vigorously in between each addition, until the dough forms a smooth, supple mass. Divide the dough into 2 even quantities, 1 part to be used for the profiteroles, the other for gougeres.

PROFITEROLES WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE AND ICE CREAM

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl for the egg wash. Set aside.
• Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Transfer Pate a Choux to a pastry bag fitted with a 5/8-inch plain tip. Pipe dough into 2-inch rounds about 1 inch apart. Gently smooth the pointed peaks with a moistened finger, rounding tops to ensure even rising. Brush tops with reserved egg wash. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes. The profiteroles should feel light and airy. Remove puffs from oven and transfer sheets to wire racks to cool completely.
• Make the chocolate sauce: Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of hot water to melt gently, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Put the milk, cream, and superfine sugar into a pan and bring to a boil, whisking continuously. Take off the heat. Still whisking, pour on the melted chocolate, then return to the heat. Still whisking, let the sauce bubble briefly over medium heat. Turn off the heat and whisk in the pieces of butter, one at a time. Pass the sauce through a fine chinois into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and keep warm in a bain-marie.
• Using a serrated knife, slice off the top third of each puff; set aside. Place a scoop of ice cream on the bottom of each puff; replace tops. Dust with confectioners' sugar and drizzle with chocolate sauce. Serve immediately.

CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM PROFITEROLES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. If using hazelnuts, place on a baking sheet and roast until quite dark, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly, then use a clean kitchen towel to rub off skins, discarding the skins. Crush nuts coarsely with a rolling pin or meat mallet and set aside.
• To make the puffs, put 1 cup/240 milliliters water, the butter and the salt in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes together and forms a sticky ball. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring, for a minute or 2 more.
• Transfer dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed to cool dough slightly, then increase speed and begin to add 4 eggs, 1 at a time. Make sure each egg is fully incorporated into dough before adding the next. When all eggs have been added, scrape down sides of bowl and beat again until dough is smooth and glossy.
• Line a pair of 12-by-18-inch baking sheets with parchment. Put dough in a pastry bag (or use two soup spoons) and form mounds that are 21/2 inches in diameter, 12 mounds per sheet, spaced evenly. Brush each mound with beaten egg, smoothing pointy tops with a finger. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 375 degrees and continue baking until puffs are well browned and crisp, about 25 minutes more. Cool to room temperature. (If desired, puffs may be baked in advance, frozen and recrisped at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.)
• Put cream and sugar in a small mixing bowl and whip to a soft, light consistency.
• To assemble profiteroles, cut puffs in half horizontally. Place 2 tablespoons softly whipped cream on the bottom half of each puff, then a scoop of ice cream. Replace the tops. Transfer filled profiteroles to dessert plates or bowls, 2 per serving. Drizzle with warm chocolate sauce and sprinkle with reserved crushed hazelnuts, if using. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately.

BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Place double boiler (or a makeshift version) over medium heat and bring water to a simmer. Put sugar, cream, chocolate and butter in top part of double boiler. Let simmer, without stirring, for about 15 minutes, until cream is hot, sugar is dissolved and chocolate has completely melted.
• Add Grand Marnier and whisk until glossy and smooth, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and keep warm. Sauce may be refrigerated for later use, but cool completely first, then reheat in a double boiler.

CHOCOLATE PROFITEROLES WITH COFFEE ICE CREAM AND BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Make the profiteroles:
• Into a bowl sift together the flour and the cocoa powder. In a small heavy saucepan combine the butter, the water, the granulated sugar, and a pinch of salt and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Reduce the heat to moderate, add the flour mixture, and cook the mixture, beating it with a wooden spoon, until it pulls away from the side of the pan, forming a ball. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and with an electric mixer at high speed beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Drop the mixture by rounded tablespoons onto a buttered baking sheet, forming 12 mounds, baking the profiteroles in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are puffed and crisp, and let them cool on a rack. The profiteroles may be made 1 day in advance and kept in an airtight container. Reheat the profiteroles on a baking sheet in a preheated 375°F. oven for 5 minutes, or until they are crisp, and let them cool on the rack.
• Make the chocolate sauce:
• In a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water melt the chocolate with the water and the cream, stirring until the mixture is smooth, and stir in the kahlûa. The sauce may be made 1 week in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated. Makes about 1 cup.
• With a serrated knife cut each profiterole in half crosswise, discard any uncooked dough from the centers, and sandwich a small scoop (about 1 1/2 inch in diameter) of the ice cream between the top and bottom of each profiterole. Sprinkle the profiteroles with the confectioners' sugar, pour about 1/4 cup of the sauce onto each of 4 dessert plates, and arrange 3 profiteroles on each plate.

PROFITEROLES WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the cream and butter in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Heat the mixture until bubbles appear around the sides of the pot, but do not allow the cream to boil. Mix in the chocolate and vanilla; remove from the heat and stir until the chocolate melts and the sauce is smooth. May be served warm or chilled.;
• Profiteroles: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• To make the pate a choux: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the water, butter, sugar, and salt to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, stirring to melt the butter completely. Add all the flour and baking powder at once and continue to stir until all the flour is incorporated and the dough becomes a mass that pulls away from the sides of the pot. Remove from the heat and scrape the dough into a mixing bowl. Using a standing or hand-held mixer, beat the dough on medium speed to cool it off a bit. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically. When all eggs have been incorporated, the dough should be a thick, smooth, and glossy paste.
• Form 24 golf ball-size mounds on the lined baking sheet about 2-inches apart allowing room for them to spread; keep the mounds as high and round as possible. You can use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip or a large spoon, your choice. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F. and continue to cook for 25 minutes. Do not open the oven door or remove the pans from the oven until the puffs are firm to the touch. The profiteroles should be golden brown and well-risen. Allow the shells to cool before filling.
• Using a serrated knife, slice the pastry puffs almost in 1/2. Place 3 profiteroles on each dessert plate and fill with a scoop of ice cream. Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the top; garnish with powdered sugar and fresh mint if desired.