THIS week I made my Mum and Nan a wonderful roast dinner for Mother’s Day - a leg of lamb with fresh rosemary from the garden, topped with all the trimmings.
To finish off I made them homemade profiteroles. Choux pastry is a lot easier than people think.
When making choux follow the instructions carefully, and do not second guess the quantities. Don’t tip the flour in before the water has boiled and don’t add the egg all at once.
Ingredients (serves four)
75g butter
95g flour
Pinch of salt
Three eggs
Method
Place the butter and 215ml water in a heavy saucepan. Bring slowly to the boil, so that by the time the water has boiled the butter has completely melted
Working as fast as you can, beat the mixture hard with a wooden spoon. It will become thick and smooth and leave the sides of the pan. Beat in the salt,
Stand the bottom of the saucepan in a basin of cold water to bring down the temperature
Beat the eggs together in a basin. When the flour mixture is cool, beat in the eggs a little at a time, making sure the egg is well incorporated before adding more.
If the eggs are large, it may not be necessary to add all of them. The mixture should be of dropping consistency, meaning the mixture should fall off the spoon rather reluctantly, all in one blob. Avoid adding too much egg so that it tends to run off. If it won’t fall off the spoon, even when jerked, add a little more egg.
Use a large plain nozzle for choux pastry and pipe onto baking trays lined with baking parchment
Small puffs will take 20-30 minutes and large 45-50 at 200c gas mark 6
Once cooled, pipe whipped cream into the buns and top with warm chocolate sauce - yum!
Next week I feel I may go back to basics. I will go back to my college days twenty years ago and start from the beginning, showing how to make delicious stocks which in turn become sauces and so on, a week by week guide from my apprenticeship years. Practical basics in the kitchen have stayed with me and enabled me to whip up food from basic staples.
