Directions

Start with the choux pastry.

In a pot pour the water, milk and butter along with a little pinch of salt. When warm, add the sifted flour and cook while mixing on medium heat for at least 5 minutes. You need to make sure the flour is well cooked and free of lumps.

When ready, a dough ball will be formed with no lumps as the cooked flour easily melts. A good way to tell if it is ready is to check whether there is a layer of dough stuck at the bottom of the pan. If there is it means that the heat was strong enough to cook the dough. Remove from the pot and let it cool slightly in a clean bowl.

When cool, mix with a spatula while you incorporate 1 egg at the time. Do not add the second egg if the first has not been fully incorporated. Once all the eggs are in and the dough is smooth and sticky, place it into a pastry bag.

Line a baking tray with parchment or silicone and with the help of the pastry bag create little dollops of choux pastry equally distant from each other. A couple of notes on this point.

1. Add a little pastry on the corner of the tray to make sure the parchment doesn’t fly away in the oven
2. Aim at making dollops of pastry as big as a £1 coin.
3. Do not stress if the dollops are larger than you imagined they would be, the important thing is that they are all the same to cook evenly.
4. Always allow a couple of cm between each dollop as they grow in size when cooked.

Once all the pastry is finished, wet your finger and gently touch the top of each bun to remove the pointy tops, then gently brush them with the egg wash for extra golden colour. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius with no fan where possible for about 12/14 minutes or until golden. Turn the tray around if not cooked evenly. Let the choux buns cool and pierce them with a paring knife on the bottom.

To make the filling.

Pour the yolks, the liqueur, the vanilla and the sugar into a heatproof bowl and whisk well. Now place the bowl over a pot of simmering water making sure the water never boils and do not actually touch the bowl or the direct heat will scramble the eggs. Now whisk while it cooks until it creates a silky rich custard, creamy and hot to the touch and without the alcohol smell. Let it cool and gently incorporate both the mascarpone and whipped cream.

For the chocolate sauce.

Bring the water, cream and sugar to the boil then pour it over the chocolate adding a little pinch of salt. Mix well until the chocolate is well melted, then let it cool slightly before use. If it cools too much and it firms up, warm it up just enough to make it creamy again. You want the sauce to coat the choux buns, not to run over them.

To build the dessert.

Patiently fill each bun with the filling using a pastry bag, then toss each bun into the warm sauce. Dip well and turn them around to make sure they’re coated and place them carefully onto the dish which will be the base for your tower. Proceed until you have a tall pyramid alike structure then garnish with a few dollops of whipped cream and gold leaves (optional).

The profiteroles can be served straight away or kept in the fridge for no longer than 1-2 days. Make sure to serve and enjoy with a cold glass of Prosecco DOC Rosé.

Recipe by Danilo Cortellini

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