A great Christmas dessert treat, these chocolate profiteroles will please all members of the family come 25th December. Easy to make, these delicious little buns will keep for two or three days in an airtight tin.  

Makes 20

Cooking time: 30 – 40 mins

What You’ll Need:

For choux pastry:

• 2oz/50g plain flour
• Half a teaspoon castor sugar
• One and a half ounces/40g unsalted butter
• Three and a half fl oz/105ml water
• 3 large eggs.

 To fill the profiteroles:

• Fresh, whipped cream (or a can of aerosol cream will work well.)

For the chocolate sauce:

• 8oz/225g plain chocolate
• 3 tablespoons of water

What To Do:

• Gather all the ingredients for the choux buns together and sift the sugar and flour into a bowl.

• Line two oven trays with baking paper and switch on the oven to preheat at Gas mark 6/200C/400F

• Put the butter and water into a medium sized pan and slowly heat until the butter has melted.  Then bring to the boil.

• Turn the heat right down as low as possible, then tip the flour and sugar mixture in all at once, beating vigorously until it forms a soft, smooth dough that leaves the sides of the pan clean.

• Remove from the heat and leave to cool for about four minutes. Then gradually add the eggs a bit at a time  (you may not need it all), whisking after each addition, until the mixture forms a ribbon off the spoon – stiff enough to hold its shape, soft enough to pipe through a tube.

• Now, either take a piping bag with a medium plain tube and pipe small rounds of the mixture onto the baking tray, leaving enough room for expansion, or alternatively you can use two teaspoons to form little mounds instead, using a wet finger to smooth them.

• Put in the oven for about twenty to twenty-five minutes, until they are puffed up and golden brown, turning the trays round halfway to stop the bases catching.

• Leave the oven on, remove the trays, and pierce the end of each bun with a skewer to let the steam out.  Then put back in the oven for a couple of minutes to crisp up.

• Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

• Once cool, they can be stored unfilled in an airtight container for a couple of days, or frozen for later use, if desired.

• To serve, cut the choux buns in half and set aside until you have made the chocolate sauce.  (If you put the cream in first, they will go soggy)

For the chocolate sauce:

• Melt the chocolate and water together in a basin over a pan of simmering water, stirring until you have a smooth sauce of pouring consistency.

• The put a teaspoon of whipped cream in each bun and join the two halves together.

• Divide the filled buns between individual dishes and then pour melted chocolate over them and serve immediately.

Recipe from Trisha Ashley, author of Wish Upon A Star (Avon).

Why not make a day of it and try preparing some of these delicious chocolatey desserts?