Caramel Profiteroles with a White Chocolate Caramel Ganache

Choux pastry:

250ml water 120g salted butter 125g cake flour, sifted 3 whole eggs

Caramel cream:

250ml cream 60ml caramel

Caramelised sugar:

250g white sugar

White chocolate caramel ganache:

200g white chocolate 80ml caramel 80ml cream

Choux pastry:

Heat the water and butter in a small saucepan, allowing the butter to melt. As soon as the mixture comes to a simmer, remove from the heat.

With the pan off the heat, add all the flour at once, stirring with a wooden spoon to bring it together.

Place the pan back on the heat and cook the flour mixture for a minute or two, until the mixture comes away from the sides of the saucepan (this will indicate that it is ready).

Place the mixture in the stainless-steel bowl of a stand mixer and use a scraper or spatula to spread the dough around the bowl so that it cools quickly.

Insert the whisk attachment. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing a well between each addition. (You may not need all the eggs; aim for a thick, sticky pastry that holds its shape)

Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle and pipe small rounds on to a sheet of greaseproof paper set on a baking tray.

Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 15 minutes. Remove the profiteroles from the oven and reduce the heat to 180°C. Quickly make a small incision in the base of each profiterole to release steam. Place them back into the oven for another 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely.

Caramel cream:

Whip the cream to stiff-peak stage, and fold in the caramel. Fit a piping bag with a small round nozzle and fill with caramel cream. Just before serving the profiteroles, fill them with caramel cream, piping it in the base. Smooth the opening closed, making sure no cream is oozing out.

Caramelised sugar:

Heat the sugar slowly in a small saucepan. To ensure even caramelising, shake the pan gently, but do not stir. When most of the sugar has dissolved, remove the saucepan from the heat and use a brush to stir in the last few sugar crystals so they dissolve.

Carefully holding the top of each profiterole, quickly dip the base into the caramelised sugar, to seal the hole. Place upside down on a sheet of greaseproof paper until the caramel hardens.

White chocolate caramel ganache:

Place the white chocolate, caramel and cream in a double boiler or in a bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Allow to melt slowly, stirring until the ganache is smooth and glossy.

Pick up each profiterole by the sides and dip the top into the chocolate caramel ganache. Place upright on greaseproof paper until the ganache sets (this takes only a few minutes). Serve immediately.

Note:

To make caramel, place an unopened 385g can of condensed milk in a saucepan. Cover with water and boil for 4 hours. (Top up the water level with boiling water as necessary; don’t allow the pan to boil dry.) Remove the can from the water and set aside to cool slightly, then place in the fridge to cool down completely before opening.