We're stepping it up a bit with this recipe but not in a hard way more in a way that will build your skill level and even more impress your family and friends. You will need an electric mixer for this one and also two piping bags with a round nozzle and a star nozzle, but if you don't have this you can always use freezer bags or something similar and you just snip the end off and also some ingredients that you might not have at home and need to get are matcha powder, unsalted butter, some chocolate melts 200g/7oz and 2 1/2 cups (600ml/20fl oz) thickened cream/heavy cream/whipping cream. Also if you want to do this in stages you can make the profiteroles on one day and store them in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to a three days. You can then make the matcha cream and chocolate ganache and assemble them on another day.
Todays recipe is going to up skill you in heaps of ways. We are going to divide the recipe into 3 parts. Firstly you are going to make the french classic choux pastry. Its easy and uses only 5 ingredients. If you know how to make choux pastry you can go on to not only making profiteroles but also cream puffs, eclairs, churros and Croquembouche that large triangle of stacked profiteroles used for many celebrations. Next you are going to make chocolate ganache - smooth, silky and shiny. It is a staple in any chefs kitchen. You can use it as an icing on cakes and cupcakes, a filling for macarons, to make truffles, a filling for trifles and tiramisu and of course as a dipping sauce for eclairs, donuts and profiteroles. And thirdly you are going to learn all about matcha powder - tasty and healthy crushed green Japanese tea leaves. Putting these all together and you are going to make Matcha Cream Profiteroles with a chocolate ganache topping. This recipe will make about 18 - 30 depending on the size of your choux pastry and will take you 70 minutes.
If you don't need these detailed instructions and are ready to cook
then scroll down to the bottom of the page for just the recipe.
1) Now firstly get 4 eggs out of the fridge now - Crack them open into a bowl and set aside. Don't put this bowl in the fridge - we need these to be room temperature.
2) Ok now importantly you are going to clear the decks and feed the cat – you can’t begin until you have your house in order. What I mean by that is I have found I always make mistakes when I get distracted or work in a mess. Getting your house in order is so important to successful and happy baking.
· feed the pets
· make a cuppa
· empty the dishwasher (or load it if you couldn’t be bothered the night before)
· if you have little ones, change their nappy and feed them
· check your mobile and emails if you need to
· make room on your kitchen bench – I learnt the hard way by losing a cake over the edge :( all because I refused to move the fruit bowl
· wipe down the kitchen bench
· place current dishcloth and tea towel in laundry and grab a fresh set
· wash your hands
3) Turn your oven on 200C/392F with a fan or 220C/425F without a fan.
Make sure you have your oven rack in the centre of the oven (or if you have two trays space these oven racks out close to the centre) and remove any baking trays.
4) Now - we are going to make the choux pastry. You are going to grab all your ingredients and equipment and place them on the kitchen bench –
. you are going to need a medium sized saucepan and a wooden spoon.
. now you need to get 2 cups from your cupboards that are the same size - you need tea cup size, not big coffee mug. These are going to be used to measure out milk and flour. If you have a jug with measurement increments on the side then this would be perfect for the milk and if you have scales then you can weigh the flour in a bowl on the scales.
So you are going to get your milk out of the fridge and fill one of the cups full of milk or if you have a measuring jug fill it to the 250ml mark or the 8fl oz mark.
Pour this milk into your saucepan. Put your cup or measuring jug in the sink and your milk back in the fridge.
. while you are at the fridge take your unsalted butter out. Place the butter on a small chopping board and get out a knife. The butter should have a measurement guide on the paper wrapping so use this to cut off 115g/4oz of the butter.
Wrap up the remaining butter and pop this back in the fridge. If your butter comes in a tub you will need another cup and dessert spoon and fill this cup half full of butter using the dessertspoon to pack it down. Now chop the butter into large chunks and place this into the saucepan with the milk in it. Put your knife and chopping board in the sink and your cup and dessert spoon if you used them.
. find some salt and a teaspoon. Measure out 1/4 teaspoon of salt and place this into the saucepan with the milk and butter in it.
. now for the messy bit. You need some plain flour and your last cup. If you have scales you can get that and a bowl. You need to fill the cup full almost to the top with flour (don't pack it in - just loosely) or weigh out 120g/4oz.
Put your flour and scales away.
. okay so you are going to take over to your oven your saucepan with the milk, butter and salt in it - you are also going to take over your flour that you measured out and your wooden spoon.
. turn your stove top hob onto a medium low heat - if you have a small burner you may need to have this on medium heat and let the butter melt - about 3 minutes
. once the butter is more or less melted using your wooden spoon stir the mixture until it almost comes to a boil - this is called scalding. You want to to be very hot but not bubbly away - about 3 minutes.
.now it's time to add the flour and stir in with your wooden spoon. Keep mixing until it forms a ball. You need to do this quite quickly. It will all come together and come away from the sides of the pan - about 30 seconds
. turn down the heat to low and cook this off for about 2 minutes while moving around with your wooden spoon.
. remove this from the heat and place this dough into a medium sized bowl. So you need to grab a bowl. The aim of this is to try to cool down the dough a bit before you add the eggs. Spread out the dough with your wooden spoon to allow some heat to escape. Place your saucepan and empty cup in the sink and turn off the stove top.
. so while waiting for the dough to cool a bit we are going to get ready for piping and baking the choux pastry.
. firstly you are going to line a baking tray - so you need to grab a baking tray and some baking paper. Tear off enough baking paper to line the tray and pop that on your tray. Put your baking paper away. If you only have a small baking tray you will need another tray so iI just line my roasting pan.
. if you have an cooling rack you can place that on the kitchen bench.
. get a small bowl and put some water in it. You only need a small amount - say 1/4 a cup
. now if you have a piping bag and round nozzle place that on the kitchen bench or if not get out a freezer bag or a large sized ziplock bag and you are also going to need some scissors to cut off the tip, but don't cut now.
. okay so let's get back to our nearly complete dough. Give it another stir with your wooden spoon to release a bit more heat. Take your eggs and get a fork or small whisk and blend your eggs until they are all incorporated together, Now you are going to add the egg to the mixture in four increments and stir in between making sure that the egg is blended each time. It will take a few minutes to get everything mixed together. It will start off as a sloppy mess each time you add some of the egg mixture, it sort of looks like slimy gnocchi but keep going, it will come together. Now the consistency you are looking for is a slow flowing thick lava. I like to think of it as a donut batter just before you deep fry it.
. Now you are ready for piping. So using your wooden spoon fill your bag 2/3 full and rotate the top of the bag to stop the dough spilling out. Using your scissors cut off the tip of the bag about 1/4" up.
Pipe a small bit of dough underneath your baking paper on your baking tray in four corners, then press down with your fingers to secure the baking paper. These little choux pastries are so light that the paper will move when you try and pipe them and bake them.
. You are going to pipe away confidently - just go for it. The perfect size to pipe is 1 1/2 inches wide and 1 inch high but who cares about that just do the best you can. They are going to look spectacular regardless of their sizes. In fact I really prefer the rustic look. A little tip is to not start piping with the tip on the baking tray, rather start piping with the tip about 1/2" off the tray. When you want to stop piping don't just pull away, you need to stop squeezing with your hand and then remove the piping bag. And lastly keep the piping bag vertical when piping. So leave a fair bit of room between your piped dough as they will spread a lot. I only have one small baking tray so I need to use two trays; the other is a big roasting pan - but it seems to work fine. I pipe rows of 5, 4, 5 then 4 in the baking tray and the remainder in the roasting pan so this makes sure that have enough space to expand.
. So once you have finished piping they may each have a little peak on them. These will over cook so you need to dip your finger into the water bowl that you have to the side and gently massage down the little tip on the top of each one.
. Now you are ready to bake these but just before you put them in the hot oven sprinkle some water over the tray. This will help your choux pastries rise and crisp up due to the steam being produced by the water droplets.
. Bake for 15 minutes - put a timer on. When the timer goes off turn off the oven and leave them in the oven with the oven door slightly open for 10 minutes longer
. You now have time to clean up, do your dishes and clean down your bench.
Pause this podcast now and press play when you are ready to remove your choux pastries.
. Remove your perfectly baked and light golden brown choux pastries from the oven and let cool completely on your cooling rack if you have one.
. Store in a covered container for up to three days until you are ready to move on to the next stage or keep going now with the next stage which is chocolate ganache.
Pause this podcast now and press play when you are ready to make chocolate ganache.
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5) Chocolate Ganache Time
. Okay from your fridge you are going to get out your cream and from your pantry you are going to get some vanilla extract and some chocolate melts or block chocolate - just make sure it contains cocoa butter in the ingredients.
You are also going to need a microwave proof bowl, a teaspoon and a spatula or small wooden spoon.
. So in this bowl you are going to put the cream - you need 1/2 cup (120ml/4fl oz)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 200g/7oz of chocolate - just eyeball the amount based on the weight of the chocolate.
.Pop this bowl in the microwave for 1 minute . You can pop away your vanilla and unused chocolate and cream. Now when your minute is up it's time to then stir. You are going to stir this for another minute. This should be enough to completely melt the chocolate, but if not you can pop it back in the microwave for another 10 seconds.
. Your ganache is now ready to use - it just needs to cool down a bit, so place this to one side.
6) Time to make your filling
. You now need your electric hand held mixer, a bowl, a spatula, a cup or a measuring jug, a dessert spoon, a teaspoon, cream, sugar and matcha powder.
. With your cold cream you are going to measure out 2 cups (480ml/16fl oz) thickened cream/heavy cream/whipping cream and pour this into the bowl. Measure out 4 dessert spoons of sugar and place this in the bowl and finally 2 teaspoons of matcha powder.
. Now whip this mixture on medium-high speed. This should only take a couple of minutes, if that to achieve a soft billowy whipped cream. You need to watch this carefully as soft whipped cream can quickly change to grainy curdled cream and what you are looking for is a soft whipped cream with medium peaks. When you hold up the beater out of the mixture the peaks of cream will be quite sturdy but will droop down, however it won't lose it shape entirely.
If you don't know about matcha powder, it comes from the matcha plants found near Kyoto, Japan. The whole leaf is used and grounded down to a fine powder. It is said to be favoured by Buddhist Monks for focus and clarity and marketed as a superfood. One serve is said to offer the same benefits of consuming 10 cups of regular green tea as it is so concentrated. You can add about 1/2 teaspoon to smoothies, juices, desserts or just enjoy it as a tea.
7) Time to assemble your profiteroles
. Wash and dry your hands.
. Have your choux pastries, filling and chocolate ganache near you.
. Take a bread knife and slice through the centre of each profiterole
. If you have a piping bag and star nozzle fill this with the matcha cream or use a dessert spoon and fill the bottom cut half of the choux pastry.
. Take the top half of the choux pastry and dip the head into the chocolate ganache and then pop this on top of the matcha cream.
. Take some matcha powder out of the packet with your finger tips and dust over the top of the ganache of each profiterole.
14) Eat and Enjoy - Well done – you CAN cook…
NOTES
Simple Ingredient Changes to Suit Your Dietary Requirements
Gluten free – replace the plain flour with gluten free plain flour.
Storage Requirements
Choux pastry shells can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in a sealed container in the fridge.
Assembled profiteroles to be kept in the refrigerator in a sealed container at all times - remove from refrigerator just before required. Should only be out of the refrigerator for 2 -4 hours depending on the temperature of the environment.
Filled profiteroles will keep in the refrigerator in a sealed container for 3 days.
MATCHA CREAM FILLED PROFITEROLES RECIPE
Time- 60 mins Makes - 18-30
Preheat oven to 200C/392F fan forced
Lined baking tray
Ingredients
Choux Pastry
1 cup (250ml/8fl oz) milk
1/2 cup (115g/4oz) butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (120g/4oz) plain flour
4 eggs, at room temperature whisked
Chocolate Ganache
1/2 cup (120ml/4fl oz) thickened cream/heavy cream/whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g/7oz chocolate melts or in block form chopped
Filling
2 cups (480ml/16fl oz) thickened cream/heavy cream/whipping cream
3 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons matcha powder
Method
Choux Pastry
. in a saucepan place milk, salt and butter cubed
. cook on medium low heat until butter has melted
. stir mixture until mixture begins to scald
. add flour and stir with wooden spoon quickly until it forms a ball
. turn down heat to low and keep stirring mixture for 2 more minutes - remove from stove top and place in a bowl to help reduce temperature
. when the mixture has cooled down, add 1/3 of the egg mixture and stir until incorporated. Add next 1/3 stir and repeat again
. pipe out round domes onto lined baking trays, 1 1/2 inches wide by 1 inch high. Use wet fingertips to flatten pointed tops on domes
. bake for 15 mins
. let cool before filling and decorating
Chocolate Ganache
. in a microwave proof bowl place cream, vanilla and chocolate melts in.
. microwave for one minute and stir until chocolate melts
. set aside to cool slightly
Filling
. whip cream, sugar and matcha powder until sturdy soft peaks form
Assembly
. cut choux pastries in half and pipe bottom half with filling
. dip tops of pastries in chocolate ganache and place on top of filling
. dust ganache with matcha powder to complete profiteroles
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