Chocolate profiteroles

To prepare the choux dough, first pour the water, milk, salt and sugar 2 into a saucepan. Add the diced butter 3

and bring it all to a boil. Now add the flour all at once 4 and stir with a spatula or wooden ladle. Don not worry about lumps and stir quickly, then cook the roux until a white patina forms on the bottom of the pan 5, it will take at least 2-3 minutes. Transfer the resulting dough into a bowl 6,

and add one egg at a time 7 stirring constantly with a spatula. Do not worry if the dough looks separate at first, just keep stirring. Only when it is completely absorbed do you add the next one 8. Continue stirring to obtain a smooth and consistent dough 9. Then transfer it inside a pastry bag, with a smooth 1/2" (12-13 mm) nozzle.

At this point, take a baking pan and line it with baking paper; to make the paper stick, squeeze a bit of the dough into the corners and center. Gently squeeze walnut-size dollops of dough, spacing them apart (10-11). Using a slightly wet spoon, lightly press the surface of the balls to flatten the top of each one 12.

Then beat the yolk in a bowl with a little water 13  and use it to brush the surface of the choux pastry 14; this will give it a uniform color. Cook in a static oven at 440° F (220° C) for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Avoid opening the oven at this stage; after this time, finish cooking at 350° F (180° C) for another 15-20 minutes, venting the stove a bit by inserting a small ball of aluminum foil between the oven door and frame. If you prefer to bake the choux pastry using a ventilated oven, you will need to heat the oven to 440° F (220° C), put the pastry in, reduce the temperature to 350° F (180° C), and wait about 20-25 minutes. Take out the choux 15 and let them cool before filling them.

In the meantime, make the chocolate sauce for the coating. First chop the chocolate 1, then pour the water 2 and sugar 3 into a saucepan. 

Bring to a boil 4 and as soon as it starts to boil add the cream 5. Let come to a boil again 6

and add half of the dark chocolate 7, then stir constantly with a whisk 8 while adding the remaining chocolate 9. 

Continue stirring and as soon as it starts boiling 10, transfer to a bowl and add a pinch of salt 11. Stir 12 and let cool at room temperature to about 85-90° F (30-32°) until it is thick enough to coat the choux. This will take about 15 - 20 minutes.

While the sauce cools, prepare the Chantilly cream for the filling. Pour the cream into a very cold bowl. Start beating the cream with an electric beater 1, or with the electric whisk if you prefer; as soon as it starts to thicken, add half of the powdered sugar 2 and the vanilla bean seeds 3.

Continue beating with a whisk 4 and before it has reached a very firm consistency, add the remaining powdered sugar 5. Continue beating until the cream is completely whipped 6. 

At this point everything is ready to assemble the chocolate profiteroles. Take the choux and pierce the base using a smooth nozzle 1. Transfer the Chantilly cream into a pastry bag 2 fitted with a smooth nozzle. Stuff the choux 3

and place them on a tray 4. Cover them with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Now all you have to do is to put the finishing touch on the dessert. Place a rack on a sheet of baking paper, then dip the profiteroles one at a time into the chocolate sauce 5. With the help of two forks, move the profiterole so that it is completely covered 6; 

then pull it out and place it on the rack 7; this way the excess coating will drip off. Once you have coated all the profiteroles 8, start placing them on a plate 9

in the form of a pyramid 10. Decorate with a few dollops of Chantilly cream, left over from the filling 11 and put in the refrigerator until serving 12.