Lisa Faulkner's profiteroles recipe

Lisa Faulkner's profiteroles recipe is a classic recipes that makes an extra special dessert. These foolproof profiteroles take around 20 mins to prepare and 40 mins to bake, but they are so worth the effort - especially when you can reveal they are homemade! They are covered in a rich dark chocolate sauce that really makes the dessert. Serve with plenty of cream or ice cream. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days (as if!).

Ingredients

• 360ml water
• 90g butter
• pinch of salt and pinch of sugar
• 110 g plain flour, sifted
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 600ml whipped cream or ice cream, to fill

For the chocolate sauce

:

• 100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 3tbsp double cream

Method

1. Put the water, butter and a pinch each of salt and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil - make sure the butter is melted before you continue. Add the sifted flour all at once and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Put the pan back on the heat and cook for 2 minutes until the paste becomes pale. Leave to cool a little for 10-15 minutes.
2. Add the beaten eggs a little at a time and beat with a wooden spoon until each bit is incorporated fully - it will go glossy, then back to dull. Continue until all of the eggs have been added, the mix is shiny and it just drops off the wooden spoon. Leave to cool.
3. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag and snip the end to make a 1cm opening. Pipe small balls onto a dampened baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 180C, gas 4 for a further 20-25 minutes until golden.
4. To make the chocolate sauce, melt the chocolate with the cream in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has completely melted and mixed in with the cream.
5. When the profiteroles are cooked, turn them over and pop them back into the oven for 2 minutes to dry a little. Slit each profiterole and leave to cool on a wire rack.
6. Serve them filled with whipped cream or ice cream and topped with hot chocolate sauce.