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Our most beautiful foods are often times the simplest. Scrambled eggs. Steak on a grill. French Fries. These foods are easy to make, and with a careful hand, they are amazing to eat!
The same is true about profiteroles. I know those little puffs of dough filled with creamy goodness look so difficult, but I assure you they are not. And the ingredients are in your cabinet and refrigerator right now.
But how to make them gluten free – that is the challenge.
So here’s my stab at it. I filled these with a mocha whipped cream and served them with chocolate sauce. However, you can also fill them with ice cream or a lemon cream and they are just as wonderful. Elongate the dough before baking, fill with vanilla cream, top with chocolate icing and you have eclairs. What could be more fabulous?
And for the record, they were made as dessert for a $100/plate Drag Dinner given by my church (you read that right). They went over beautifully and no one was the wiser that they were eating gluten free….
Profiteroles (Pate a Chou or Cream Puffs)
1 1/4 cup water
2 oz. (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free all-purpose flour
1 tsp. xanthan gum
3 large eggs
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment.
In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, salt, and water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and add the flour & xanthan gum. Using a wooden spoon, stir vigorously to combine. Continue to stir, smearing the dough against the sides of the pan to cook the flour and work out any lumps, for 2 minutes. The mixture will be thick and very sticky. Unlike the gluten-filled batter, this will not pull easily away from the pan, so don’t expect it to. During this process, it’s normal for a thin layer of dough to stick to the bottom of the pan and sizzle.
Remove the pan from the heat and scrape the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. On low speed, mix until the dough feels merely warm to the touch, not hot, 3 to 5 minutes.
With the mixer still on low, beat in the eggs one at a time. After each egg is added, the dough will separate into small lumps and then come back together. After the dough pulls back together, briefly (about 20 seconds) increase the speed to medium low to mix the dough well. Reduce the speed to low before adding the next egg. After the addition of the last egg, scrape the bowl well and beat on medium low for a final 30 seconds. Again – the dough will be very sticky. This is the way of the GF flour and xanthan gum.
Scrape the dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large tip. (Or you can use a large zipper plastic bag and snip one corner to create a pastry bag.) Twist the top of the bag to push the dough toward the tip. Hold the bag at a 90-degree angle and set the tip of the pastry tube on the paper, squeeze the pastry bag, piping out a 1.5 inch ball of dough. Once finished, flatten the little tops of the dough with a wet finger.
Bake until the shells are puffed, crisp, and thoroughly golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. If you find that they’re baking unevenly, rotate the pan. Remove from the oven, transfer to a rack, and let cool completely, about 15 minutes, before filling or storing.
Fill with Mocha Whipped Cream (recipe below)
Makes about 18 cream puffs.
Mocha Whipped Cream
8 oz. heavy cream
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tsp instant espresso
1/2 tsp. coffee liqueur
In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. Add the chopped chocolate, espresso, and coffee liqueur and whisk vigorously until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a stainless bowl. Refrigerate, covered, until the cream is well chilled, about 3 hours. Whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks. Chill until needed.
Serve 2-3 cream puffs per person with whipped cream and a homemade or good quality chocolate sauce. Everyone will think you brilliant.
amazing!