Friday, January 13, 2012

Profiteroles with Homemade Salted Caramel Ice Cream

I decided to make these for New Years this year, and it was a success. I made the ice cream from scratch, but it would be just as delicious with any of your favorite store bought ice cream. This is a great recipe for entertaining, because you can make all the components ahead of time and assemble them quickly when you are ready for dessert.

Profiteroles are basically cream puffs filled with ice cream instead of pastry cream. They are usually served with a warm chocolate sauce. You can find the recipes for the dough, ice cream and chocolate sauce below. You have to try these!






















Pate a Choux (Cream Puff Shells)
Makes 2 dozen


Ingredients:

1 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a small saucepan, heat water and butter,bring to a boil. Turn heat to low and stir in flour; stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat and beat in eggs one at a time. Continue beating until mixture is smooth. Drop dough using a spoon onto two ungreased baking sheets (1 dozen per sheet) Bake for 30 mins. If you are baking both baking sheets at the same time, switch half way through the baking time. Remove from oven and let cool completely on cooling rack.

3. Once the puffs are cool, cut them in half, place a small scoop of ice cream in the middle and replace the top. Top with warm chocolate sauce and a pinch of fleur de sel, or sea salt.



Salted Caramel Ice Cream: (Recipe from Barefoot Contessa)
Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar-divided intp 1 1/4 cups and 3/4 cup
2 3/4 cups heavy cream-divided into 2 cups and 3/4 cup
2 tsp sea salt, or fleur de sel
1 cup whole milk
4 large egg yolks
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1. To make the caramel:  Heat 1 1/4 cups sugar in a dry sauce pan over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly. Once the sugar has melted, stop stirring and swirl pan so sugar continues to melt evenly. Continue cooking until it is a dark amber color.

2. Carefully add in 3/4 cup heavy cream (mixture will splatter) and cook, until all the caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a heat proof bowl and stir in salt. Place the bowl of caramel over another bowl filled with ice water and stir until mixture cools to room temperature.

3. Meanwhile, prepare the ice cream base by heating the whole milk in a sauce pan over medium-low heat.

4. Prepare an ice bath by setting a bowl over a large bowl filled with ice water. Set strainer over smaller bowl and set aside.

5. In another bowl, whisk together egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar until pale yellow color. Gradually pour in warm milk in egg mixture, whisking the entire time. Pour mixture back into the sauce pan you used for the milk. Cook 3-5 mins, stirring constantly until the custard thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon.

6. Strain custard into bowl, over ice bath. Add in heavy cream and stir until cool.

7.  Combine the caramel mixture with ice cream base and add in the vanilla.

8. Cover the bowl with  plastic wrap and chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

9. Freeze ice cream according to ice cream machines instructions.


Warm Chocolate Sauce:
Makes 1 cup

6 oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. In a sauce pan over med heat, heat cream until scalded, before boiling point. Pour cream over chocolate chips and let sit one minute. Mix chocolate and cream together until combined. You can make this ahead of time and re-heat in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.




1 comment:

  1. I followed your recipe for the puff part of my cream puff!! I'll let you know how it turns out!

    ReplyDelete