Espresso Profiteroles

By norsegal8

A classic combination - espresso, cinnamon and chocolate - in an almost classic concoction. In these profiteroles - small ice cream puffs of pâte a choux - the water that is normally part of the pâte a choux's liquid is replaced by strong coffee punched up with a tablespoon of ground espresso. Pack them with cinnamon ice cream (or the flavor of your choice), drizzle with homemade chocolate sauce, and don't ever expect to have leftovers.

Ingredients

• THE ICE CREAM
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• THE PROFITEROLES
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely ground espresso beans
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 5 to 6 large eggs
• 1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon cold water, for egg wash
• THE SAUCE
• 11 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 6 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoon Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

Preparation

Step 1

THE ICE CREAM
Half-fill a large bowl with ice cubes and water; set aside.
Put the milk, cream, and cinnamon into a medium saucepan. Split the vanilla bean, scrape the seeds into the liquid, toss in the pod, and bring the mixture to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar together in a medium bowl until they thicken enough to form a thin, quickly dissolving ribbon when you lift the whisk.
Continuing to whisk, gradually add the boiling milk mixture to the yolks. When everything is well-blended, return the mixture to the saucepan and, still whisking, cook over medium heat until thickened, taking care not to allow it to boil. Remove the pan from the heat, pour the custard through a strainer into a clean bowl, and cool quickly by placing the bowl in the ice-cube filled bowl. When cool, freeze according to the directions for your ice cream maker. The ice cream can be made a week or two in advance, and store tightly covered, in the freezer.

THE PROFITEROLES
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 400°F.
Put the milk, coffee, butter, sugar and espresso into a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until the butter melts. Still stirring, add the flour all at once. Stir energetically without stopping until the flour is thoroughly incorporated, then continue to cook and stir for another 30 to 45 seconds, or until the dough forms a ball and a light crust is visible on the bottom of the pan.
Remove the pan from the heat and scrape the paste into a medium bowl. Immediately while the dough is still hot, beat in the eggs one at at time, stirring vigorously with the wooden spoon or spatula to incorporate each one before adding the next. The first couple of eggs are the hardest to mix in, but as the mixture loosens it softens, smoothes, and becomes easier to blend. (If you want, you can use a mixer with the paddle attachment - just keep the speed low and take care not to beat too much air into the dough.)
After you've incorporated 5 eggs, take a good look at the mixture - it might not need the remaining egg. You'll know the dough is perfect when , as you lift the spoon or beater, it pulls up some of the dough that then detaches and forms a slowly bending peak. If the dough is too thick and doesn't yet peak, add the remaining egg.

PIPING THE CHOUX PASTE
To make profiteroles, you must use the pâte a choux paste while it is warm. Spoon the choux paste into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip and pipe quarter-sized puffs onto parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between puffs. Finish piping each puff with a quick twist, as if you were writing the letter 'C', so that a tail or point is not formed. (Don't worry if your puffs end up with tails - you can poke them down and adjust small imperfections with a moistened fingertip.) Brush each of the pastries with a little egg wash.

BAKING THE PUFFS
Bake for 20 minutes, lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for 5 to 7 minutes longer, or until the pastries are golden brown and feel hollow. Halfway through the baking period, rotate the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back. Transfer the sheets to cooling racks and allow the puffs to cool to room temperature before cutting and filling.

THE SAUCE
Put the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and set close by. Put the milk and corn syrup in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Simply pour the boiling liquid over the chopped chocolate and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is melted. Add the butter and continue to stir until the butter is melted and thoroughly incorporated into the sauce. Stir in the liqueur, and serve while warm. The sauce can be made up to 1 week advance and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator. To serve, warm the sauce in a double-boiler or microwave.

ASSEMBLING THE PROFITEROLES
To serve, cut each profiterole in half crosswise and fill with cinnamon ice cream. Serve a generous three to a person, arranging the profiteroles on dessert plates and drizzling chocolate sauce over each puff.

STORING
All of the ingredients can be made ahead of time, but the assembled profiteroles must be served as soon as they are made.