Profiteroles

There are some foods which I am disappointed by every time I try, not matter how many chances I give them. One such food which falls into this category are profiteroles, of which I've tried quite a few versions- big, small, chocolate coated, chocolate flavoured, cream filled, custard filled etc.......and am disappointed every single time :(

The reason, though kind of silly, is my own fault because I always expect them to be crispy on the outside (because they look like they would be! or is it just me?), so when I bite into them and realise they're soft and airy, and then remember that the same thing has happened numerous times before, I can't help but feel disappointed. Chocolate coated ones are slightly better though- at least the chocolate layer is crispy (sort of)!

I decided to have a go at making them myself, thinking perhaps they'd taste better homemade. Whilst they were crispy straight out of the oven, they didn't have much flavour, so I had to wait til they cooled down to fill them, by which time they had softened, just like every other profiterole I'd ever eaten before. No surprises there huh?

They were quite fun to make though!!

Profiteroles Recipe
Recipe from 頂尖主廚 法式甜點代表作 (an Asian cookbook with no English name)

75g	Butter
9g	Oil
93g	Water
93g	Milk
5g	Sugar
1g	Salt
125g	Flour
1g	Baking Powder
4	Eggs

1. Preheat oven to 200degC. Heat together the butter, oil, water, milk, sugar and salt together until just boiling. Add in the flour and mix until combined. Cook over low heat, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture comes away from side of pan and forms a ball. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool slightly.
2. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until combined. The mixture should be glossy and should be able to drop from the spoon/whisk.
3. Using a piping bag, pipe the mixture onto a tray lined with baking paper (or greased tray) into your desired shape/size, or spoon them into round balls if you don't want to pipe. Bake for around 15 minutes (or more depending on the size of your profiteroles), until gold and crispy.
4. Let cool completely. You may also want to poke a hole on the bottom (right after you take it out of the oven) to allow steam to escape so the profiteroles don't collapse. Fill with your desired filling (I put custard in some and whipped cream in others)