Religious pastry cream and chocolate

One of the desserts that makes me travel back in time and take me back to Sunday family celebrations is the tray of profiteroles or various Lyonnaises that, when they took center stage on the table, became a reason for applause. These pastry cream and chocolate nuns would have been my salvation, because when I had to choose between cream, truffle or cream profiteroles, they all seemed delicious and it was impossible for me to decide on my favorite.

The choux pastry is amazing. This blanched dough gives you some wonderful fritters, like some very artistic eclaires or some double profiteroles, like these pastry cream and chocolate nuggets that I bring you today and that are a delicious snack at any time of the day. But it is also great for creating savory appetizers that are as delicious as they are surprising. Its neutral flavor gives it great versatility.

The most complicated part of this recipe may be pouring the profiteroles. But even if they are not perfect, they will be delicious for sure, so it will not be something that stops you from enjoying this delicacy. I recommend the Le Tube pressure gun from De Buyer , which for these things (and many more!) is a wonderful assistant, since, among its many virtues, it allows you to adjust the amount of dough to be sprayed each time you apply pressure. .

Take note of this religious recipe for pastry cream and chocolate, because I assure you that it will give you a luxury dessert for any occasion.

Ingredients

For the choux pastry

• 1/4 liter of milk
• 125g butter
• 5g sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 200g flour
• 6 eggs

For the pastry cream

• ½ l of milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 120g sugar
• 50g flour
• Pinch of vanilla

For the butter cream

• 160 g soft butter
• 150 g icing sugar
• 10 g cocoa

For the glaze

• Pastry fondant or melted chocolate

Elaboration

Step by step to make the choux pastry:

1. Boil the milk together with the butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan.
2. Add the flour off the heat and stir well until completely incorporated.
3. Return the saucepan to the heat and let the dough dry for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally.
4. When it is done, put the mixture in a bowl and add the eggs one by one. You must add an egg, stir well to integrate it into the dough and, when it is integrated, add the next egg. Do it this way with all the eggs.
5. Put the dough in the tank of the Le Tube De Buyer pressure gun , with a smooth nozzle, and form 8 large profiteroles, about 4 cm in diameter and about 2 cm high, and 8 small profiteroles, about 1.5 cm in diameter and 1 cm in height. If possible, place the large ones on one tray and the small ones on another, since the latter will bake first.
6. Bake for 20 minutes at 180°C, open the oven door briefly to let the steam escape and quickly close it again.
7. When you see that the small profiteroles are golden, take them out of the oven.
8. When the large profiteroles take on color, remove them as well.

For the pastry cream

1. Bring the milk to a boil.
2. Beat the yolks with the sugar in a bowl and add the flour.
3. Pour a small amount of the boiled milk over this mixture to loosen it.
4. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan with the milk and boil for 2 minutes.
5. Let the cream cool, covering it with skin-friendly film (in contact with the cream).

For the butter cream

1. Mix the pomaded butter with the cocoa until it is perfectly integrated.
2. Add the icing sugar until well integrated.
3. Put the cream in a refill tank of the Le Tube pressure gun with curly nozzle.

Mounting

1. Stir the pastry cream with a whisk once it is tempered and put it in the Le Tube pressure gun with a smooth nozzle .
2. With a sharp knife, make small holes in the center of all the profiteroles and fill them with the pastry cream.
3. Glaze the profiteroles in the fondant or melted chocolate. To do this, hold each profiterole by the base, turn it and dip it lightly into the chocolate or fondant. Turn them over immediately and leave them on a tray as they are.
4. Make a collar of buttercream on the large profiteroles, right on top of the chocolate or fondant.
5. Finally, place each small profiterole on top of a large profiterole.

Grades

• Pastry fondant is not the same sugar paste fondant. It can be difficult to find, which is why it is indicated that you can use unmade chocolate (and with a thick texture).
• The step of drying the choux dough well (point #3) is very important. It eliminates moisture and steam, and, in addition to helping the eggs integrate better, this way the dough lasts longer without softening once baked.
• For this same reason it is also important to open the oven very briefly when the profiteroles have already risen . The excess accumulated steam is released and the dough appreciates it.
• Although in the recipe they are filled with pastry cream, you can fill the profiteroles with whatever you like the most (with cream they are a divine bite). It is a dough with a neutral flavor, so you could even make savory nuggets, for example filled with Russian salad, using mayonnaise instead of chocolate.
• Clarification between religious and profiteroles: both recipes are variants of choux dough, but they are distinguished by their shape and size. The religious ones are larger, with an elongated and striated shape, generally filled with pastry cream or chocolate. On the other hand, profiteroles are smaller and shaped like balls, allowing a variety of fillings, from chantilly to chocolate creams. While religious ones can be glazed or sprinkled with icing sugar, profiteroles are usually accompanied by chocolate or caramel toppings.