Delia Smith's Profiteroles Covered in Chocolate Sauce

Profiteroles - little choux buns filled with cream and covered in a chocolate sauce - make a rather special ending to a dinner party.

1. 1

   Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C). Place teaspoons of choux pastry on the baking sheets (leaving a 2.5cm/1 inch space between them), and then bake in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes. After that, increase the heat to gas mark 7, 425°F (220°C), and bake for a further 15-20 minutes (swapping the trays over halfway though) until the choux buns are crisp, light and a rich golden colour.
   
   Pierce the side of each one (to let out the steam), then cool them on a wire rack.
   
   To make the sauce, break the chocolate up into small squares and place it in a basin fitted over a saucepan of barely simmering water, together with the 5 tablespoons of water (making sure the basin does not touch the water), stirring until you have a smooth sauce.
   
   Just before serving, split the choux buns in half, fill each one with a teaspoon of whipped cream, then join the halves together again. Pour the melted chocolate over them and serve immediately.
   
   FOR THE CHOUX PASTRY
   
   This is the light, crisp, airy pastry which is used to make éclairs, profiteroles, or savoury gougères. It puffs up in the oven until it is eventually set by the heat of the cooking.
   
   The airiness, in fact, is caused because choux has a high water content which, during the cooking process, is turned into steam, which forces the pastry shell outwards and gives it some volume.
   
   What's so good about choux is that it doesn't call for any particular pastry skills (like lightness of hand or careful rolling). Of course, some people make hard work of it by recommending that it always has to be piped through piping bags. But personally - quite apart from the fact that piping requires experience and a steady hand - i find it a wasteful method, and i'm convinced that a freshly baked golden profiterole looks so much crustier if it's spooned, rather than piped, onto a baking sheet.
   
   METHOD
   First of all, put the water in a medium-sized saucepan together with the pieces of butter, and leave on one side while you weigh out the flour.
   As you are going to need to 'shoot' the flour quickly into the water and melted butter, fold a sheet of greaseproof paper to make a crease, then open it up again.
   Sift the flour straight onto the square of greaseproof. if the end product is going to be sweet, add the sugar to the flour, if it is to be savoury, season the flour well with salt and pepper instead. next, place the saucepan of water and butter over a moderate heat, and stir with a wooden spoon.
   As soon as the butter has melted and the mixture comes up to the boil, turn off the heat immediately as too much boiling will evaporate some of the water, then tip the flour in - all in one go - with one hand, while you beat the mixture vigorously with other (you can do this with a wooden spoon, though an electric hand whisk will save you lots of energy).
   Beat until you have a smooth ball of paste that has left the sides of the saucepan clean (this will probably take less than a minute).
   Then beat the beaten eggs in - a little at a time and mixing each addition in thoroughly before adding the next - until you have a smooth, glossy paste.
   At this stage, grease two baking sheets lightly, then hold each one under cold running water for a few seconds, and tap sharply to get rid of excess moisture (this will help create a stea steamy atmosphere, which in turn helps the pastry to rise).
   
   Your choux pastry is then ready to make the profiteroles opposite - or any recipe that calls for basic choux pastry.