250g choux pastry with 1⁄2 sheet frozen craquelin (see recipe, linked below)
300g good-quality vanilla ice cream
For the hot chocolate sauce
170g good-quality 65-70% cocoa dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
200g whole milk
To serve
Chantilly cream (optional; see recipe, linked below)
20g flaked almonds, toasted
Method
To make the choux buns,
preheat the oven to 190C/
170C F/Gas 5. Fill a piping bag
fitted with a 1cm plain nozzle
with the choux pastry-click here, then pipe 24 x 2cm-wide buns on to
a non-stick baking tray, evenly
spaced out. Cut out 24 x 3cm
discs of frozen craquelin-click here, place
one on each and bake for 30-32
minutes, then set aside to cool.
Using a serrated knife,
horizontally slice the buns two-
thirds of the way up, creating a
round lid to sit on top of each
roll, and set the lids aside. Place all the bun bases on a small flat
tray that fits in the freezer and
put them in the freezer to cool.
Pipe the ice cream into the
bases using a piping bag with a
medium fluted nozzle, or simply
use an ice-cream scoop. Put the
buns, without their lids, in the
freezer until ready to serve. For the sauce, put the chocolate
in a medium bowl. Bring the
milk to the boil in a small pan,
pour it over the chocolate and
leave to sit for a few seconds to
melt, then whisk to combine.
Using a large fluted nozzle,
pipe a dollop of Chantilly
cream-click here, if using, into the centre
of each plate, then place three
profiteroles around it, with a
fourth one on top. Alternatively,
pile them all on a serving plate.
Pipe Chantilly in the gaps or
serve it on the side. Drizzle
some warm chocolate sauce
over the top and decorate with
the almonds. Serve with the
remaining sauce on the side.
Recipes and photographs taken from Bake with Benoit Blin by Benoit Blin, photographs by Sam Folan (Hardie Grant, £26).
