Profiteroles with Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy-bottomed saucepan (2-quart)
• •Stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand mixer
• •Piping bag with 1/2-inch round tip
• •Rimmed baking sheets
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Small ice cream scoop

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the liquid base

   Combine the butter, milk, water, sugar, and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the butter melts completely. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil. The moment it boils fully, remove from heat. Do not let the liquid reduce or the proportions will suffer.

   Good butter matters here more than anywhere. French or European-style butter with higher fat content produces puffs that are richer and crisper.
2. 2

   Add flour and form the paste

   Add all the flour at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return the pan to medium heat. Keep stirring. The dough will come together into a ball that pulls away from the sides of the pan. A thin film will form on the bottom. This takes about two minutes. The paste should look smooth and slightly glossy.

3. 3

   Cool the paste slightly

   Transfer the paste to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or to a large bowl if using a hand mixer. Let it cool for three to four minutes, stirring occasionally. The paste should feel warm but not hot. If you add eggs to scorching paste, you will have scrambled eggs, not choux.

4. 4

   Add eggs one at a time

   Beat in the eggs one at a time on medium speed. After each egg, the mixture will look broken and slippery. Keep beating until it comes back together before adding the next. After all four eggs, the dough should be thick, glossy, and fall from the paddle in a slow, heavy ribbon. It holds a peak but the peak slowly softens.

   Fresh eggs from hens that eat well produce choux with deeper color and better structure. Seek out eggs from a farmer you trust, or at least from pastured hens.
5. 5

   Pipe the puffs

   Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a half-inch round tip, or use a sturdy zip-top bag with the corner cut. Pipe mounds about one and a half inches wide, leaving two inches between them. They will double in size. Use a wet fingertip to smooth any peaks.

6. 6

   Bake until golden and hollow

   Bake at 425°F for fifteen minutes. The puffs will rise dramatically and begin to color. Reduce heat to 350°F without opening the door, and bake another twelve to fifteen minutes until deeply golden all over. They should feel light and sound hollow when tapped. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and let them dry inside for five minutes.

   Do not open the oven during the first twenty minutes. The steam inside creates the hollow center. Opening the door releases it and your puffs will collapse.
7. 7

   Cool completely

   Transfer puffs to a wire rack. Poke a small hole in the bottom of each with a skewer or knife tip. This releases steam and keeps them crisp. Cool completely before filling. A warm puff will melt your ice cream before it reaches the table.

8. 8

   Make the chocolate sauce

   Place chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it just begins to simmer, tiny bubbles at the edges. Pour hot cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute, then stir from the center outward until smooth and glossy. Stir in the butter and salt. The sauce should be pourable but thick enough to coat a spoon.

9. 9

   Assemble and serve

   Slice each puff in half horizontally. Place a small scoop of vanilla ice cream in the bottom half. Replace the top. Arrange three puffs per serving in shallow bowls. Spoon warm chocolate sauce generously over the top, letting it pool around the base. Serve immediately. These wait for no one.

   The contrast of warm sauce and cold ice cream is the whole point. Make your sauce just before serving, or rewarm it gently over a double boiler.

Chef Tips

• •Quality vanilla ice cream means ice cream made with real vanilla beans, cream, eggs, and sugar. Read the label. If you cannot pronounce the ingredients, keep looking. Or make your own.
• •Bittersweet chocolate with seventy percent cacao gives the sauce depth without bitterness. Taste your chocolate before you chop it. If you would not eat it plain, do not melt it.
• •Unfilled puffs keep in an airtight container at room temperature for two days, or frozen for a month. Crisp them in a 350°F oven for five minutes before filling.
• •For a celebration, dust finished profiteroles with powdered sugar. But only if you want to. The chocolate sauce is already enough.

Advance Preparation

• •Choux puffs can be baked up to two days ahead and stored in an airtight container. Recrisp in a 350°F oven for five minutes before filling.
• •Chocolate sauce can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Rewarm gently over a double boiler, stirring until pourable.
• •Assemble profiteroles only at the moment of serving. Ice cream melts. Puffs soften. This is a dessert that rewards immediacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 165g)