Profiteroles

(from 226-2tone’s recipe box)

SERVES 6

For profiteroles, the smooth, dense texture and rich flavor of a high-quality custard-style ice cream is preferable to the light, fluffy texture and milky flavor of Philadelphia-style ice cream, which is made without eggs. In our September/ October 2001 vanilla ice cream tasting, Edy’s Dreamery came out on top. If you’re serving several guests, prescooping the ice cream makes serving quick and neat, but if you’re assembling only a couple servings or your freezer lacks space, you can skip the prescooping step. Refer to illustrations below when assembling profiteroles.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
To develop a perfect profiteroles recipe—for a crisp, tender, and airy pastry encasing cold, creamy ice cream and napped by dark, luxurious chocolate sauce—we began with the pastry, using both milk and water for puffs that were crisp and browned nicely. We used the powerful food processor to incorporate whole eggs into the choux paste and baked the puffs on an uncrowded baking sheet to keep them from collapsing. We slit the baked puffs to release steam and then returned them to the oven for 45 minutes to ensure crispness.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2013/01/secrets-to-profiteroles/

Source: Cook's Illustrated Published January 1, 2002 (from RecipeThing user Bethany)

Categories: Desserts

Ingredients

  • 18 cream puffs (see related recipe for Pâte à Choux)
  • 1 quart custard-style ice cream, vanilla or coffee
  • 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate sauce, warmed if made ahead, (see related recipe)

Directions

  1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; freeze until cold, about 20 minutes. Using 2-inch ice cream scoop (about same diameter as puffs), scoop ice cream onto cold baking sheet and freeze until firm, then cover with plastic wrap; keep frozen until ready to serve. (Ice cream can be scooped and frozen for up to 1 week.)

  2. When ready to serve, use paring knife to split open puffs about 3/8 inch from bottom; set 3 bottoms on each dessert plate. Place scoop of ice cream on each bottom and gently press tops into ice cream. Pour sauce over profiteroles and serve immediately.

  3. STEP-BY-STEP – ASSEMBLING THE PROFITEROLES: 1. Scoop ice cream onto prepared baking sheet, freeze until firm, and cover with plastic wrap. 2. Use paring knife to split puffs about 3/8 inch from bottom. Set three bottoms on each dessert plate. 3. Place scoop of ice cream on each bottom and press tops into ice cream. Pour sauce over profiteroles.

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