MANASVI SHARMA BAWA

I am not one of those who lives to eat, but I do love to cook or so I have recently realized. I’ve come to understand flavours and recognizing what goes with what after a LOT of hits and misses. Indian cuisine being the kind I grew up with is all about flavours and the right mix of spices. Love me some spices.

Having said that desserts have always fascinated me more. I’m the kinds that eats desserts first and if its chocolate my soul is yours. So I like experimenting with baking. The complexities of a bake attract me. Cooking a savory meal is about instinct whereas baking is about precision and following the rules, some you set some are set for you.

This complexity and a Masterchef Australia binge made me want to try out the famous, Choux Pastry. Here is a recipe of my version of mini choux pastries with dark chocolate ganache;

Ingredients:

For the Choux Pastry;

1/2 cup of Plain Flour

1 cup cold water

3 tbsp of caster sugar

85 grams of unsalted butter (that’s about 3/4 of a cup)

1 tsp of salt

3 eggs (beaten)

For the Chocolate Ganache;

Cooking chocolate (As much as you like)

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp double cream

Zest of an orange (if you want)

Directions:

First off, preheat your oven at 200C.

~ In a saucepan add the water, sugar, butter and bring it to a warm temperature (Let the butter melt).

~ Now, add the plain flour and salt in the saucepan and whisk till the mix becomes sticky and starts leaving the sides of the pan. (The colour of the mix should be golden and NOT brown. This won’t take more than 3 minutes.)

~ Take this mix out in a large bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes.

~ Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, until the mixture is smooth and glossy and has a soft dropping consistency.

~ Lightly grease a large baking sheet. Using a piping bag, pipe the mixture into small balls in lines across the baking sheet. Gently rub the top of each ball with a wet finger – this helps to make a crisper top.

~ Bake for 25-30 minutes at 200C, or until golden-brown – if the profiteroles are too pale they will become soggy when cool.

Tadah! The choux pastry is ready…

Now for the Ganache…

~ Take a saucepan and add water in it. Now, take a bowl and place it on the saucepan with the base touching the water. (This technique is called “bain marie“)

~ Add butter, chocolate to the bowl and mix until the chocolate starts melting.

~ Remove the bowl from heat and add the cream and zest into the mix. Mix until its nice and shiny.

Assembling;

~Take half a sphere of the choux pastry, spread some ganache on it and then cover it with the other half.

You’re done!

Hope that was easy peasy for you. Comment below and tell me what you thought of this recipe.

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