Gü Chocolate Cookbook

Candied Citrus Fruit

Caramelised Nuts

Citrus Dust

Chantilly Cream

Chantilly cream is a sweetened whipped cream that we like to use at any opportunity. Here is the basic recipe (and it really couldn’t be simpler) and then throughout the book there are several variations to keep things interesting, see variations.

MAKES ABOUT 100ML

100ml whipping cream or 60ml double cream and 30ml single cream

2 tsp caster sugar

EQUIPMENT

Electric hand mixer (optional)

1. Pour the cream into a large bowl and add the sugar. Whisk by hand or using an electric hand mixer until it forms soft peaks. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

♦ GÜ TIP This basic recipe for Chantilly cream can be further flavoured by adding the seeds scraped from ¼ – ½ of a vanilla pod or the finely grated zest of an unwaxed orange or lime with the sugar. Alternatively, for something a little spicy, add a pinch of ground spices of your choice, like cinnamon or cardamom.

♦ GÜ TIP Throughout this book we have given you several other variations. See:

– Hot Chocolate with Orange Chantilly cream

– White Chocolate Eton Mess, which includes a white chocolate Chantilly cream

– Profiteroles with Almond Chantilly Cream

– Chocolate Millefeuille with Chocolate Chantilly Cream

Choux Pastry

with a Crispy Craquelin Topping

Here is our definitive recipe for choux pastry topped with a clever secret method to ensure you have crispy choux pastry every time you make it. It’s called craquelin and is a very simple pastry that is rolled out thinly and laid on top of the choux pastry before it’s baked. You don’t have to make the craquelin, but it does ensure a particularly golden and crispy end result.

MAKES 30 PROFITEROLES OR 12–15 ÉCLAIRS

FOR THE CRAQUELIN (OPTIONAL)

50g unsalted butter, softened

60g demerara sugar

60g plain flour

FOR THE PROFITEROLES OR ÉCLAIRS

100g plain flour

100ml whole milk

75g unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

½ tsp caster sugar

3 eggs, beaten

EQUIPMENT

Free-standing mixer (optional)

Piping bag witted with a 1cm piping nozzle (optional)

1. If you are making the craquelin, mix together the butter and sugar using a spatula until combined. Then gradually mix the the flour. Roll out paste between two sheets of baking parchment to about 2mm thick, then place in the freezer for about 30 minutes to set while you make the choux pastry.

2. To make the choux pastry, preheat the oven to 240ºC/Gas mark 9. Line two baking trays with baking parchment, putting tiny blobs of the mixture under each corner of the paper to stop it slipping around.

3. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Pour the milk into a saucepan with 100ml water and the butter, salt and sugar and bring to the boil. Then remove the pan from the heat.

4. Tip the flour into the boiling mix, all in one go, and beat vigorously with a spatula, until you have a thick smooth paste, and the mixture creates a thin skin around the edges of the pan. This help to cook the flour and dry out the mixture. It will take about 5 minutes of constant beating back over the heat, which is every important to the finished dish. If you don’t beat it for long enough, your choux will be too soft.

5. Leave the cooked paste to cool for a couple of minutes or, if you want to speed up the process, tip it into the bowl of a free-standing mixer and beat for a few minutes to let out the steam.

6. Gradually add the beaten eggs, little by little, beating well after each addition, until you have a smooth, silky and glossy texture. If it looks as though the mixture is separating into glossy lumps, just beat harder and they’ll come back together again. Keep testing the consistency as you add each egg, the mixture needs to create a soft peak when poked with your finger.

7. Spoon some of the mixture into the piping bag fitted with the nozzle (be careful not to overfill as it will be tricky to pipe out) and pipe out 4cm round profiteroles, leaving a little space around to allow them to rise. Top up the bag as necessary. Alternatively, just spoon out the mixture using a teaspoon.

8. If you are using craquelin, remove it from the freezer and cut out discs or rectangles about 5mm smaller all round than the profiteroles or éclairs, and drape on top of each on the cover.

9. Place the choux pastry in the oven and switch it off for 15 minutues. Then re-start the oven, setting it to 160 °C/Gas mark 3 and cook the profiteroles or éclairs for a further 10–15 minutes until they are golden and crispy. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack and fill as described in the recipes suggested, below.

♦ GÜ WAYS TO USE THIS RECIPE We’ve given you several recipes for profiteroles and éclairs in this book. See the following:

– Profiteroles with Almond Chantilly Cream

– Coconut Snowball Profiteroles with Coconut Snow

– Chocolate Eclairs Filled with Creamy Chocolate Custard

♦ GÜ TIP If you’ve got more choux pastry than you need, pipe the raw choux onto trays, then freeze them and transfer to an airtight container. Alternatively, freeze the cooked choux buns, defrost and pop back into a hot oven briefly to crisp up again.

Three Chocolate Sauces