Friday, May 02, 2008

Try anything new lately? - Profiteroles with Gianduja Gelato

Profiteroles with Gianduja Gelato

Pate a Choux has always been on my " things to conquer" list. For some inexplicable reason, I avoid making it for a very long time. The mere thought of making Pate a Choux is unnerving;what with the boiling of butter and water, stirring in flour all at once until the whole mixture comes together like a ball, piping and baking. Doesn't reading this makes you feel a little dizzy? And making the task sounds insurmountable?

profiterole2

Then the lovely profiteroles grace the cover of March 2008 Gourmet magazine, and I was seriously smitten. Have you seen that cover? It made me want to run into kitchen and whip up a batch right there and then. But I was too busy packing for our move in March, so the profiterole project was put on hold. Also, I haven't gotten my red hot Ice Cream Maker in March yet, so there was no rush for the profiteroles.

This is until I churned out a batch of Gianduja Gelato with Nutella on Wednesday night. Oh, you must have heard rave reviews of Mr Lebovitz's said gelato here, here,here and here. And I just want to add that all of them are right! The gelato is delizioso.Since gianduja connotes Nutella to me, I decided to swirl some into the gelato instead of Stracciatella that David suggested. In my overzelous, I probably use more Nutella than I should.(ok, that's almost a jar), And my gelato turned out to be richer than Oprah. So I think I will try to use melted bittersweet chocolate next time, and pairing the Nutella with some other flavors.

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Having said that, the Gianduja Gelato with Nutella is perfect, when nested inside the crisp puff of pastry in the form of profiteroles. Surprisingly when I confronted my fear of choux pastry face on, it wasn't half as daunting as I made it out to be. To the contrary, it was quite a breezy process. Just make sure that you read the instructions CAREFULLY. The first batch I made was inedible, because I misread the amount of butter. The recipe says 3/4 stick of butter. I misread it and used 3/4 cup of butter. Major mistake! The puffs were sizzling and sweating oil in the hot oven. I wasted 3 eggs and 1.5 sticks of butter, but there is no point crying over oily puffs. Moving on, the second batch rose beautifully and voila, I can now cross off pate a choux from my list.

Since my mini ice cream scoop is used to get the perfect amount of gelato in these profiteroles, I am submitting this entry to the Tasty Tools: Scoop Challenge, hosted by Joelen's Culinary Adventures. Check out Joelen's blog on 5 May to read about many more delicious treats that others scoop out with their ice cream scoops!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Profiteroles with Gianduja Gelato with Nutella Swirl
adapted from gourmet.com and Perfect Scoop

1 qt Gianduja Gelato with Nutella Swirl
3/4 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs

Chill a small metal baking pan in freezer. Form 20 gelato balls with scoop and freeze in chilled pan at least 1 hour (this will make serving faster).

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Butter a large baking sheet.

Bring butter, water, and salt to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until butter is melted. Reduce heat to medium, then add flour all at once and cook, beating with a wooden spoon, until mixture pulls away from side of pan and forms a ball, about 30 seconds.

Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well with an electric mixer after each addition.
Transfer warm mixture to pastry bag and pipe 18 mounds (about 1 1/4 inches wide and 1 inch high) 1 inch apart on baking sheet.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes total. Prick each profiterole once with a skewer, then return to oven to dry, propping oven door slightly ajar, 3 minutes. Cool on sheet on a rack.

23 comments:

Ginny said...

Oh Mandy, my dear, I'm drooling! Delicious!

Manggy said...

Aah, wonderful accomplishment and a heavenly dessert! (Hmm, I haven't made choux in a while...) Reading about the overbuttered puffs made me heart stop for a moment, haha :)

Susan @ SGCC said...

Oh, yeah! I saw that cover. Totally droolworthy! You did a great job with yours. They look beautiful. I was afraid of choux dough too until I made some with my mother. It wasn't as hard as I thought.

Aimei said...

Yum! I would love to have one!

My Sweet & Saucy said...

Ever since pastry school I have been dreaming of gianduja! I absolutely LOVE the flavor! This combo looks soooo delicious!

Brilynn said...

That cover was awesome and so are your puffs. I feel like I'm one of the last people on the planet to try this ice cream, it sounds delicious!

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

mandy, i don't know if it's bc of ur new layout but it takes 5 minutes to open ur 1st page, then another minute for the next..it's so frustrating i sometimes go cook n come back.

Anonymous said...

Oh, my, this looks heavenly! what a great recipe.

tigerfish said...

I love profiteroles and have never eaten one with such a generous gelato scoop in there!

Alejandra Ramos said...

This might be the perfect dessert for my upcoming dinner party. Can the choux be prepared ahead of time?

Anonymous said...

Hurrah for crossing another item off the list :) Glad to hear that they worked out, at least after the first time oily puffs ;) They look absolutely gorgeous - great presentation!

Jacque said...

Well, they do look delish! Congrats on your conquering of pate choux (or however that's spelled, lol).

Deborah said...

I am laughing - richer than Oprah - I'm going to have to use that sometime!! These look absolutely beautiful - the photos are stunning!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Those are the most sinful profiteroles I have ever seen!

Cookie baker Lynn said...

I think that's my favorite ice cream out of David's book. Your pate choux turned out beautifully and your pictures are gorgeous. Well done!

Cakebrain said...

Yum! I haven't made profiteroles in a long time and they're so easy! I don't know what I'm waiting for...yours look so inspiring! Gorgeous pics!

Emily said...

THOSE look scrumptious. I think I could eat about a dozen of them.

I still think Oprah is richer...

Nina Timm said...

For some reason it took a while for the main photo to download, but it was worth the wait....definitely richer than Oprah....

Mandy said...

ginny,
thanks!

manggy,
I know!!! I freaked out for a second seeing them sweating oil in the oven!

Susan,
thanks! It certainly wasn't as hard as I had imagined.

aimei,
come over anytime! ;)

my sweet and saucy,
Gianduja is certainly one delicious flavor. Who wouldn't like it right?

brilynn,
thanks! You have to try this gelato sometime!

terri,
really? oh no! I need to see what causes this! solving this technical stuff gives me headache.

farida,
thanks!

tigerfish,
I will make you this if you visit me! ;p

alejandra,
yes, the choux can be baked ahead of time, you can even freeze some with ice cream too, and serve them straight from the freezer. That's how I made mine.

ellie,
thanks!One thing off the long lists:p

jacque, deborah, Patricia,
thanks!

Lynn,
that's the first recipe I tried from David's book! I am going to try some others when we finish the 3 batches in the freezer. :)

cakebrain,
thanks! I am sure yours would turn out stunning!

Emiline,
I can eat a dozen of these too!

nina,
thanks for letting me know of the long downloading time. I need to see what's wrong with my website.....*headache*

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh, those look beautiful! I haven't made profiteroles for a long time now, and this might just be the kick in the rear I need. Hehe :P

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

You had me a gianduja!! Wonderful, wonderful dessert and beautiful photos. I actually made a dessert with gianduja over the weekend. I just love it!

Gloria Baker said...

Look absolutely delicious!!Gloria

Helene said...

Yeah for conquering pate a choux! I could have sworn you had the St Honore with us...duh!!!! The gelato is outstanding!!

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