I have yet to meet a person who doesn’t enjoy profiteroles. These light choux buns are filled with cream and crushed fresh raspberries and are served drizzled with a rich chocolate sauce – delicious! I’ve found that choux pastry works extremely well with gluten-free flour and your guests won’t be able to tell the difference.
a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle/tip
2 baking sheets, greased and lined with baking parchment
Makes 20 profiteroles
Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F) Gas 6.
To make the choux buns, sift the flour twice to remove any lumps. Heat the butter in a saucepan with 150 ml/⅔ cup cold water, until the butter is melted. Bring to the boil, then shoot in the flour all in one go (very quickly) and remove from the heat. Beat hard with a wooden spoon until the dough forms a ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the pan. Leave to cool for about 5 minutes. Add the eggs a small amount at a time and use a balloon whisk to beat them into the dough. The mixture will form a sticky paste which holds its shape when you lift the whisk up. Spoon into the piping bag and pipe 20 balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. With clean hands, wet your finger and smooth down any peaks so that the pastry is smooth. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, then use a sharp knife to puncture each bun to allow the steam to escape. Return them to the oven for a further 2–5 minutes, until crisp. Cool on a wire rack and then cut in half.
Whip the cream to stiff peaks, fold in the raspberries and icing/confectioners’ sugar and use to fill the profiteroles.
To make the chocolate sauce, put all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat, stirring, until melted. Serve the filled profiteroles immediately, with the warm sauce spooned over the top.
These profiteroles are best eaten on the day they are made as they contain fresh cream.