Teddybears Picnic & Profiteroles

My boys and I have had a great Sunday at the Teddybears Picnic today with my friend Frances, her partner and their gorgeous bub. We had a delicious lunch and I brought along some profiteroles for dessert and thought i'd share the recipe.

                                                          yum.yum.yum.yum.yum

Choux pastry

• 1 cupwater
• 80g butter, at room temperature, chopped
• 1 cup plain flour, sifted
• 3 eggs, at room temperature, lightly whisked
• 
  Creme patissiere
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, seeds separated
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 1/3 cup plain flour, sifted

Method

1. Place the water and butter in a saucepan. Bring just to the boil. Remove from heat and use a wooden spoon to beat in flour until combined.
2. Cook, stirring, over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture forms a ball and comes away from side of pan. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool.
3. Gradually add egg, beating well after each addition, until the dough is thick and glossy.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place heaped dessertspoonfuls of dough, about 3cm apart, on trays (or pipe using a piping bag)
5. Use wet hands to pat down any peaks of dough. Sprinkle trays with water to create steam. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until puffed and golden.
6. Turn off oven. Use a knife to pierce the base of each profiterole. Place profiteroles in oven for 20 minutes to dry out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
7. For the creme patissiere, warm milk and the vanilla seeds in a saucepan. Whisk yolks and sugar in a bowl until thick. Whisk in flour, then milk mixture.
8. Return to pan and cook, whisking, over low heat for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to chill.
9. Spoon creme patissiere in a piping bag fitted with a 5mm nozzle. Push nozzle into the base of each profiterole and fill with creme patissiere.

This was the recipe I used, but did a few things differently. I piped my choux pastry (I find its quicker and also makes the profiteroles a more consistent shape).  I also left my cooked profiteroles out on a wire rack overnight covered in a tea towel to dry out. You could leave them in the oven for 20 min like the recipe says of course, but I have always had a better result when theyve had a night to dry out properly. 

*Its very important to smooth over the tops of the buns with a bit of water to smooth out any peaks, as they will definitely be first to burn!!!

Give them a go and let me know what you think :)