Would you like to tuck into a classic dessert served in the simplest to most elegant of restaurants, not only in France but all over the world?  Chocolate profiteroles are the answer (to everything) and here in Barcelona they are a familiar friend, also gracing US restaurant menus since 1851 and hanging round countries like Turkey, Italy and Greece.  A warning though:  once they are made please keep a very careful watch on them otherwise they will disappear long before the table is laid, leaving you sadly dessertless (I speak from experience).   There’s a certain je ne sais quoi about these featherlight cream-filled choux puffs, covered in warm liquid gooey dark chocolate, as they call out to you ‘eat us quick!’

And never fear sweet reader, your choux balls will be crisp and puffy, providing a nice home for whipped cream or other fillings.  Yes, we’ve all had our flat gooey choux disasters but if you follow a few simple tips you can avoid that!  Yes, okay, I promise…! Ahem… and moving swiftly along, choux can be created in less than an hour and are so easy that even my 10-year-old niece has made them, with a little supervision, following her children’s baking book instructions. And she had fun! 

In a minute you’ll see my own recipe photos and drawings, equally childlike!   And once you’ve made them and have choux pastry under your belt (or apron as it were) you can go crazy and make the elongated version reportedly first made by Carême:  éclairs, literally ‘flashes of lightning’, so named because they are eaten quick as a flash!  Well, they’ve recently been getting full makeover treatment from Mr Adams.

Master patissier Christophe Adam

Have you heard of Christophe Adam?  He describes himself as the ‘rock and roll’ guy of French patisserie and has an incredible array of éclairs lined up glistening and rainbow-coloured in his Parisian concept store, l’éclair du genie (you’ll see clusters of tourists hovering on the pavement outside, nibbling at  their patisserie goodies):

Nice-looking aren’t they?  The French blogger Verveine-citron has posted a review , for those of you with a smattering of patisserie French.  The gist of it is that the éclairs are beautiful and taste fine but she was a little disappointed.  I’d say it’s best to go with lower expectations, then you’ll be happily surprised like I was.  When you’re next in Paris! 🙂

Now that we’re all drooling (at the éclairs of course, not Christophe Adam), let’s make profiteroles!   And to put you in the mood, here’s a quick musical offering, a happy little samba choux song by Os Mutantes:  she’s my choux choux – well, that’s what I hear anyway! 🙂

Chocolate profiteroles recipe

Chocolate profiteroles

Preparation

Get your baking tray ready – (30x40cm) with baking paper on it and… start! 🙂

That’s the ‘pointe’ you’re looking for, that will eventually fall into your bowl with a ‘plop!’

You can also make the choux puffs with a teaspoon if you can’t find your pastry bag!  They might be slightly deformed, but perfectly edible, like the ones I made with my niece.

A fork in your oven door keeps it a little ajar for the last 10 minutes of baking so steam is released and the choux dry out.

Yay! They’re ready!

Slice in half horizontally with a sharp knife – this will let the steam out so your choux stay dry.

Let the choux puffs cool before filling with Chantilly cream (or vanilla ice-cream if you prefer). Finally, cover with warm chocolate sauce (yum!)

You can eat them immediately or later, as they’ll keep in the fridge till the next day if they survive that long!  I’ve tested this out and just had one for breakfast.  🙂

Chocolate profiteroles

Let’s listen to the choux choux song again!  Love these profiteroles (singing:  oh yeah, they are my choux choux babies…).  I think chocolate really does make you happy!  Call me a cliché (go ahead, I don’t mind), but I’d been a tiny bit down recently and these profiteroles and the song have cheered me right up!  Along with a lot of lovely 201 and Fiesta Friday bloggers that I’ve met! 🙂

Hope it works for you too sweet reader!  Till next time then, I wish you happy baking, blogging or eating!  Choux choux be doo … 🙂

P.S.  These little chocolate profiteroles seem so popular that I thought I should make more and take them along to Fiesta Friday, The Wednesday Roundup and What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!  Come with me, so you can have some too! 🙂