Profiteroles with Salted Caramel Cream and Chocolate Sauce

Beach Volleyball, Indoor Volleyball...volleyball, volleyball, volleyball. My family are volleyball-mad. My husband has played the game since he was a kid and is still playing it. He's represented his State in indoor volleyball and is a multiple Gold Medallist in the Australian and Pan-Pacific Masters Games in beach volleyball (not that I'm bragging... okay, so I'm bragging.) Both of our sons play the game and train at least twice a week and now we are watching it practically 24/7 on TV thanks to the Olympics. I, on the other hand, have never played volleyball - I watch, cheer and support... and make Profiteroles with Salted Caramel Cream and Chocolate Sauce for the athletes... It's a team effort.


Profiteroles with Salted Caramel Cream and Chocolate Sauce
from Delicious
Makes 30

For the Profiteroles:

90g plain flour
1½ tsp caster sugar
80g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
3 large eggs

For the Salted Caramel Filling:
50g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2  tablespoons  soft light brown sugar
½ tsp sea salt
450ml whipping cream
2  tablespoons  icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped

For the Chocolate Sauce:
100g good-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
125ml whipping cream

Make the Profiteroles:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. 

Sift the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt into a bowl and set aside.

Heat 220ml water and the butter in a pan over a medium heat until the butter melts. Increase the heat and bring to a vigorous rolling boil. Quickly tip the flour mixture into the water and butter. Remove from the heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a thick paste that comes away cleanly from the sides of the pan.

Transfer the dough to an electric mixer. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until you have a smooth, glossy mixture with a thick dropping consistency.

Fill a piping bag with the dough and pipe the mixture on to the baking sheet, leaving space to allow them to rise (they roughly double in size). Bake on the top oven shelf for 15-18 minutes until risen, golden and crisp. 

Remove them from the oven and pierce the bottom of each bun with a sharp knife so the steam can escape, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the Salted Caramel Filling: 

Put the butter, golden syrup, soft brown sugar and salt into a small pan and gently heat until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Whip the cream with the icing sugar until soft peaks form, then fold in the vanilla bean paste or vanilla seeds if using. Fold in the cooled salted caramel, then chill for 10 minutes until cold and firm. Lightly whip again, then spoon into a piping bag fitted with a medium-size plain nozzle. 

Insert the nozzle of the piping bag into the hole you pierced in each bun, gently fill with the caramel cream, then stack into a tower on a serving plate. 

Make the Chocolate Sauce:

Place the cream in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to just below boiling point, then remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted and smooth.

Just Before Serving:
Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the profiteroles. Save a little sauce and put it in a jug for extra drizzling at the table.