It is Mother’s Day at the weekend here in the UK. A nice idea for a present is to make an afternoon tea. We used to make afternoon teas to earn extra money and one of the favourite bakes that was asked for was profiteroles. They seem luxurious but they work out at less than £4 for 12. We use the recipe from the ‘Bero’ book as these seem to puff up more than other recipes he has used in the past.
RECIPE
50g butter
150ml water
110g plain flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten.
Carton of double cream (or you could use thick custard) for filling.
60g chocolate (or more) for decoration.
1. Place the butter into the water and melt over a gentle heat.
2 Bring to the boil and remove from the heat.
3. Quickly add the flour and stir quickly until the mixture forms a ball in the middle of the pan.
4. Transfer to a mixing bowl and let it cool for about 5 or 10 mins (or else the eggs will scramble).
6. Beat the eggs into the mixture, a little at a time, using an electric whisk.
7. Put the mixture into a piping bag (you don’t need a nozzle). We stand the bag in a jug to do this.
7. Pipe the choux pastry onto a tray or a silicone mat. We pipe it in 2 inch circles and make quite big ones, but you can pipe them smaller, or pipe long éclair shapes (you will need more topping if making the eclairs).
8. Bake for 20 minutes at 180⁰C (fan oven), until well risen and golden brown.
9. Immediately after cooking make a slit down one side.
10. Fill just before serving if you want the choux pastry to be crisp. I like it softer and so we whipped the cream and filled two hours before.
11. Decorate with melted chocolate either using a spoon or a small piping bag, flicking it back and forth across the bun. You could use glace icing instead if you have no chocolate. I sometimes add some butter to the melted chocolate to make it shine.
12. Keep in a cool place until served.
In the past I have served a few little ones of these in a small bowl with warm chocolate sauce (white or milk chocolate) made with 2 tbsp cream and 4oz chocolate melted together, rather than decorating. The choux buns freeze well, with or without cream in but if you like them crispy freeze with out cream and then crisp them up in the oven or air fryer and cool and fill with cream or custard. Sometimes I will fold home grown chopped strawberries or raspberries into the cream when filling them, or put thick chocolate custard inside.
These feel decadent but don’t cost much. You can also make a savoury choux bun by filling with cream cheese and some smoked salmon (you can buy the little bits cheaply) if you are having a special picnic, or as a starter, or as a snack with drinks, if you are having friends round. Being frugal doesn’t mean that you can’t serve nice food to friends or family. It might take some effort but you can still make things seem special for little money. What is your favourite afternoon tea item?
I love scones! Savoury ones with onion chutney and cream cheese on…or fruit scones with jam. I love this idea of an afternoon tea.
Scones are the favourite of Mr S. I like savoury ones and he likes sweet. Yes afternoon teas feel special even though they are just a bit of cake and a sandwich. It is the presentation that counts x