Profiteroles with Caramel Drizzle

Profiteroles is a fancy name for choux pastry, baked into little buns then split open and filled with custard or sometimes even ice cream. A drizzle of caramel or chocolate sauce finishes this fancy dessert that can be made with ingredients most people keep on hand. 

Budget Friendly Recipes
This week our Sunday Supper group is sharing a wonderful varied bunch of budget friendly recipes. As I was browsing through my cookbooks and the internet, I was suddenly struck by the idea of profiteroles because, despite their fancy looks, they are made of choux pastry with normal ingredients most folks keep on hand anyway– butter, flour, water and eggs - that don’t cost a fortune. And if you fill them with traditional custard, that’s just milk, flour, sugar, eggs and butter - more staples that won’t break the bank. You certainly don’t have to, but if you top them with homemade caramel sauce, that’s easily made by caramelizing sugar and adding milk! I find it quite amazing that we can take pantry and refrigerator staples – none of them expensive items - and transform them with heat and time into something as special as profiteroles.

Make sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the links to all the other wonderful Budget Friendly recipes we are sharing today. Many thanks to our hosts for this great theme, T.R. of Gluten Free Crumbley and David of Cooking Chat.

Ingredients
For the vanilla custard:
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
5 tablespoons plain flour
1 good pinch salt
2 cups or 475ml milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons butter

For the choux pastry:
7 tablespoons or 100g butter
1 cup or 240ml water
1 cup or 125g plain flour
1 pinch salt
4 eggs, at room temperature

For the caramel sauce:
1 cup or 200g sugar
1 1/4 cups or 300ml milk
1/4 teaspoon salt

N.B. I won’t repeat the instructions for the caramel sauce since you can find them here on Confessions of a Bright-eyed Baker, whose recipe I used. Follow her directions to cook the sauce a little longer for a thicker caramel.

Method
Make your caramel sauce ahead of time to make sure you are not distracted by choux pastry baking in the oven or custard thickening on the stove. (See link in note just above.) It will require your complete concentration. Set it aside to cool.

Next comes the custard. In a small saucepan, either not on the stove or with the stove turned off, combine sugar, flour and the pinch of salt. Stir in your milk, a little at a time, whisking until smooth.

Turn on the stove and bring your mixture to the boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Boil 60 seconds and then pour about a 1/4 cup or 60 ml of the hot liquid into the two beaten egg yolks while you whisk constantly. This warms the egg yolks so they don’t cook when you add them to the saucepan.

Need a visual of how slow to pour and how fast to whisk? It’s not the best but it will give you a good idea.

Now add the heated egg yolks to the saucepan gradually, once again, stirring all the while and then keep stirring until mixture starts to bubble again.

Your custard should be quite thick now. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and butter. Stir well until the butter is melted and both are fully incorporated.

Put the custard in a bowl and cover the surface with cling film so a skin doesn’t form on top as it cools. Chill in a refrigerator.

Tip for making nice even profiteroles: Use a circle template or bottle cap that is about an inch or 2.5cm in diameter to draw circles with a pencil about an inch or 2.5cm apart on the back of your baking parchment. Turn the parchment over and stick it down to your baking sheet with a quick shot of non-stick spray.

Preheat your oven to 445°F or 230°C and prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper stuck down with a little non-stick spray – with or without circles drawn on the bottom. (See note just above.) I have a small baking pan so I had to prepare two.

Now let’s get on with the main attraction, the choux pastry. Sift together your flour and a pinch of salt and put the bowl right next to the stove in readiness.

In a medium pot, combine the butter and water and bring to the boil.

Pour the flour/salt mixture into the boiling water/butter all at once. Stir vigorously until the mixture forms a ball and pulls right away from the sides. This takes just a minute or two.

Now take the pot off of the stove and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with your wooden spoon in between. With each addition, it looks like the egg won’t mix in and the dough starts to fall apart but keep mixing and after a couple of minutes of hard labor, the dough comes together again in one big lump and it’s time to add the next egg.

After the fourth egg has been thoroughly incorporated, put the dough into a piping bag with a large tip, about 1/2 in or 1 cm wide.

Pipe the soft dough on the parchment paper in 1 inch or 2.5cm circles about an equal measure apart from each other.

Poke down any pointy tops with a damp finger.

Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes then turn the temperature down to 400°F or 200°C and bake for a further 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. The dough makes about 50 choux buns.

When you are ready to serve the profiteroles, cut the completely cooled choux pastry buns in half with a serrated knife and fill them with the chilled vanilla custard. I used a piping bag for this as well but you could also just spoon it in. Pop the tops back on the choux buns.

Drizzle with a little of your caramel sauce. You may now call them profiteroles!

Store any unfilled choux buns in an airtight container where they will stay nicely for several days.

Enjoy!

Looking for tasty recipes that won’t empty your wallet? This is your Sunday Supper week!

Scrumptious Mains (Breakfast and Dinner)

• Curry Baked Chicken Wings from Chocolate Moosey
• Shrimp Fried Rice from The Redhead Baker
• Spicy Marinated Steak Tacos from Nik Snacks
• Vegan Black Bean Soup from Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Slow Cooker Swiss Steak from Nosh My Way
• Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili from Peaceful Cooking
• Curry Veg Soup from Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Beef from Noshing With The Nolands
• Tortelini and Cannelini Minestrone with Spinach from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Addictive Korean Beef Bowl from A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Grilled Lemon Chicken with Corn Salad from Brunch with Joy
• Five Bean Chili from The Foodie Army Wife
• Vaca Frita from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers from The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch
• Spaghetti Squash Nests with Meatballs from Curious Cuisiniere
• Chicken Meatballs and Spaghetti from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Cauliflower Chowder from Flavor Mosaic
• Individual Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Cups from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Casserole from Yours And Mine Are Ours
• Mac, Veggie and Cheese Casserole from Cooking Chat
• Loaded Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili from Sue's Nutrition Buzz
• Chicken Pot Pie Cupcakes from Having Fun Saving
• Vegetable Fried Rice from Basic N Delicious
• Comforting White Bean-Pancetta Soup from The Weekend Gourmet
• Mujadara with Lebanase Salata from Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Hunters Stew from Simply Healthy Family
• Brats and Kraut from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Beef Taco Soup from Fit Foodie Runs
• Slow Cooker "Hash Brown" Breakfast Casserole {#lowcarb #glutenfree} from Cupcakes and Kale Chips
• French Toast Pigs in a Blanket from Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
• Orecchiette Pasta with Brie, Broccoli and Tomatoes from Family Foodie
• Gluten Free Spinach and Feta Frittata from Gluten Free Crumbley

Satisfying Sides

• Tender Whole Wheat Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Austin-Style Black Beans from The Texan New Yorker
• Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls w/Creamy Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce from Daily Dish Recipes

Sweet Treats

• Apple Blackberry Crisp from Hot Momma's Kitchen Chaos
• Brown Sugar Shortbread from Shockingly Delicious
• Rock Cakes from Happy Baking Days
• Incredible White Chocolate Brownies from The Perfect Brownie
• Rocky Road Brownies from Wallflour Girl
• Autumn Spice Truffles from Desserts Required
• Profiteroles with Caramel Drizzle from Food Lust People Love
• Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake Donuts from NinjaBaking.com
• Carrot Cake Sheet Cake from Pies and Plots
• Risalamande (Danish Christmas Eve Rice Pudding) from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Sips, Spreads, and Snacks

• Pumpkin Spice Roasted Pumpkin Seeds from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Tex Mex Chicken Salad Spread from Momma's Meals
• Budget Friendly Wines for Budget Friendly Recipes  from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog

Homemade Vanilla Custard

So easy to make and much more delicious than the box, homemade vanilla custard is a great dessert itself, or heap it in a baked pie crust with bananas and top with whipped cream for something really special.

Last March I shared a story with you about a lovely man and his love of banana cream pie. But it occurred to me that the vanilla custard itself deserved its own post so folks can find it with a quick search. It's simple to make and you can use it in a trifle or as filling between layers in a special cake or even just eat it with a spoon.

Sure you can use custard powders but they have negligible nutritional value and some odd sounding ingredients, as well as sugar. This custard, on the other hand, has fresh egg yolks, so it would helpful if you are trying to boost the protein in someone's diet. But MOST importantly, it tastes delicious!

The following amounts make a little more than 1 3/4 cups or 425ml of custard. Just so you know.

Homemade Vanilla Custard

The eggs you use make all the difference to the color of the custard. For the photo at the top of this post, I made the custard with the wonderful, almost orange yolked eggs I could buy in Dubai. If your egg yolks aren't so spectacular, and color matters to you (It doesn't to me!) you can always add a little yellow food coloring.

Ingredients
1⁄2 cup or 110g sugar
1⁄3 cup or 42g all-purpose flour
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
2 1⁄4 cups or 530ml milk
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon or 15g butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method
In 2-quart saucepan (no heat!) mix sugar, flour and salt. Stir in milk until smooth.





Make sure you get ALL the lumps out before turning on the heat.

Over medium heat, cook mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and begins to boil (about 10 minutes). Boil one minute. Remove immediately from heat and set aside.





See the tiny bubbles? It's gently boiling.

Separate your egg yolks from your whites, by gently transferring the yolk from one half of the shell to the other, putting the whites directly into a sealable plastic container for the refrigerator. (Later, you can make something lovely with these!) Put the yolks in a bowl with enough room to whisk.





Beat egg yolks quickly with a whisk, while drizzling in about a 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture. Quick beating and slow drizzling are essential so that you don’t end up with cooked eggs.

Slowly pour egg mixture into the saucepan, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping.

I know it doesn't look like I was quickly stirring but that is just because I fake poured for the camera and then really poured and stirred like crazy after. 

Occasionally, scrape the saucepan with a rubber spatula. 

Over low heat, cook, stirring constantly, until very thick (do not boil) and mixture mounds when dropped from spoon.

Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. 

Congratulations, you have made homemade vanilla custard. Once the butter has melted, pour the custard into a metal bowl. Cover its surface with plastic wrap to prevent skin forming. Refrigerate until set, about four hours. This delicious homemade custard can be used in a variety of desserts when fully set or simply eaten with a spoon when soft set, after it cools.

Enjoy! 

Birthday Crème Brûlée

Some people want carrot cake. Some people want banana cream pie. My mom asked for crème brûlée.

Anthony Bourdain's Crème Brûlée

from his Les Halles Cookbook*

Ingredients

1 quart/900 ml heavy cream

1 vanilla bean

6 ounces/168 g sugar

10 egg yolks

6 tb/84 g brown sugar

This makes six 8oz ramekins. I halved the recipe to make five 5oz crème brûlées, still using one whole vanilla bean.

Method

Put the heavy cream in large pot. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise- scrape the insides into the cream. Put in empty pod as well. Add half of the sugar to the cream, stir well. Bring to boil.

Preheat your over to 300 °F/150 °C.

Whisk egg yokes and remaining sugar, until pale yellow and slightly foamy. Remove cream mixture from the heat and SLOWLY, gradually, whisk it into the yolk mixture. Make sure to whisk constantly to prevent the hot mixture from curdling your eggs. Remove the vanilla bean and discard.

Place ramekins in the baking pan and fill the pan with water so it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Divide the custard evenly among the ramekins and cook them in the oven for 45 minutes or until the top is set but still jiggly. Remove ramekins from the oven and let cool to room temp. The custards can be placed in the refrigerator overnight- cover in plastic.

When you are ready to serve, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of brown sugar over the top of each custard. Carefully run the propane torch's flame over each custard to caramelize the sugar. Wait a minute then serve the custards with spoons.

Happy 73rd birthday, Mom!

Yeah, we didn't bother to put candles. 

Enjoy!

 




* Disclaimer:  This is an affiliate link.  I will earn some small change if you buy after following this link*