profiterole party!
the occasion is special, but time is short. cream puffs to the rescue!
when receiving a gift of glorious caramel and hot fudge from franklin fountain, one faces a delicious dilemma. store bought ice cream didn't seem worthy, and time did not allow for self churning. it just had to be profiteroles.
the puffs:
there are a ton of online tutorials for choux pastry, so i'm not going to subject you to my terrible food photography (i'm working on it). la fuji mama has a great recipe and step by step instructions. it's amazing how little time and effort it takes. while they're in the oven, whip up the filling.
the fluff:
this is not a custard (if i had that much time, i'd make ice cream). it's a just basic filling that's a touch more substantial than plain whipped cream.
- 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese) at room temp
- 3 Tbl powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
mix these together until totally smooth in a big bowl
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
beat with an electric mixer until thick, soft peaks form. alternately, you could buy whipped cream, and adjust the amount of sugar and vanilla in the cheese to compensate. it's all a matter of taste- i prefer less sweet (it's getting drowned in sugar)
fold half of your whipped cream into the cheese mixture, in as few strokes as possible to combine. add the rest of your whipped cream and fold gently, trying to keep as much air in the fluff as you can. cover and refrigerate for about 1/2hr until firm
the sauces:
go out and get yourself some good quality caramel and hot fudge. you just baked choux pastry and made fluff- you've earned it!
the presentation:
stack 'em up high on a cute platter (this one is from fishes eddy) along with the sauces and a spoon of nice chunky salt for those who like their caramel with a kick. with the bowl of fluff on the side, everyone can help themselves. use the jars with their labels proudly displayed- don't pretend that you made them, just play up the fact that you support local culinary artisans (no one needs to know it was a gift). now that you've baked and helped the economy, it's time for a celebratory cream puff!
