My children love chocolate profiteroles especially when there is extra sauce, however with a few twists you can also make profiteroles into a real grown up dessert.

If you have never made choux pastry before it is quite unusual that you cook it in a pan then spoon it out onto baking trays. Fill with plain cream or ice cream – I have added citrus fruit and vanilla for my filling which is sometimes affectionately called confectioners cream or plain cream. The chocolate sauce is really simple – I hope you enjoy making this recipe.

CHOUX BUNS WITH CITRUS FRUIT CREAM AND GINGER CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Ingredients For choux buns

65ml of water

65ml of milk

50g of butter – diced

Pinch of sea salt

Half a teaspoon of sugar

75g of plain flour – sifted

2 eggs

For citrus fruit cream

3 yolks

65g of castor sugar

20g of plain flour – sifted

250ml of milk

Half a vanilla pod – split and seeds scraped out

Icing sugar

75ml whipped double cream

Finely grated zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon

For chocolate sauce

100g of good chocolate (70%)

75ml of milk

25ml of cream

½ teaspoon ground ginger

20g of sugar

Method

1. First make the buns. Set the oven to 200 centigrade, gas mark six and grease metal baking tray.

2. Bring the water, milk, butter, salt and sugar to the boil until the butter has melted; beat in the flour vigorously until whole of the mix is coming away from the sides of the pan.

3. Allow to cool until warm but not hot, crack the eggs in a bowl and whisk. Add a little of the eggs to the flour mix and beat in well in stages.

4. Either pipe onto the baking sheet or use a teaspoon to drop a small spoonful of the mix approx 1.5 cms wide, very gently flatten slightly with the back of a fork, bake for 15-20 minutes until risen and crisp. Chef’s tip: after five minutes open the door for 30 seconds to allow some of the steam to escape.

Cream filling: method

1. To make the cream filling, whisk the egg yokes and castor sugar until creamy white in colour and then whisk in the flour.

2. Bring the milk and vanilla pod to the boil and remove the pod before adding a little of the hot milk to the yoke mix – whisk vigorously before adding the remaining liquid in a couple of stages.

3. Return to the pan and stir over a low heat with a wooden spoon until the mix becomes thick, taking caution that it does not burn, add the zest..

4. Place in a bowl, sprinkle over icing sugar (this prevents a skin forming) and allow to cool.

5. Finally, gently fold in the 75 ml of whipped cream.

For the chocolate sauce

1. Melt the chocolate in a microwave on a low heat for a minute or so. Meanwhile bring the milk, cream, ginger and sugar to the bowl and remove from the heat. Pour over the chocolate and whisk well.

2. Finally to put together – place the citrus fruit cream inside the choux buns by inserting a little hole and piping into the centre, alternatively cut in half and spoon in, serve three or four as a portion and pour on the chocolate sauce.