Grandma Val's Hot Fudge Sauce and Profiteroles

I cruise the netosphere a lot looking for recipe ideas and came across this while looking to see if I could make profiteroles ahead of time (answer - yes, make them and freeze before cooking, bake from frozen and add 5 mins to baking time). Detailed instructions after I have saved this little gem:

From http://www.foodiewithfamily.com

Grandma Val’s Hot Fudge Sauce
Author: originally from The Houghton College Community Cookbook submitted by Janet Spegen (with a pinch of salt added.)
Recipe type: Dessert, Condiment
Prep time: 2 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 12 mins
Serves: 8

Seriously fudgy hot fudge sauce that firms up ever so slightly when poured over ice cream to form caramel-like ribbons of chocolatey goodness. Oh yes. It does.

Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup light corn syrup (Golden Syrup substituted)
¾ cup boiling water
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Instructions
Melt the butter and unsweetened chocolate together in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally.
Stir in sugar, corn syrup, and boiling water.
Increase heat to medium and stir mixture until it reaches boiling.
Boil without stirring for 8 minutes. Really. Do not stir that stuff.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and salt. It will bubble up violently, so be careful.
Let rest for 5 minutes before pouring into a heat-proof container with a tight fitting lid. (A canning jar works perfectly for this situation.) Be certain the container you use is small enough to fit into the microwave for reheating purposes.
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator.
To Reheat:
Remove lid from the jar and microwave for about 30 seconds.
Stir.
Heat in additional 10 second bursts until the hot fudge flows freely when poured.

Did you know you can freeze cream puff dough (choux paste) and bake cream puffs from the frozen dough any time you want? It's true. Bake them up and fill those crispy, brown, mostly-hollow poufs with your favourite ice cream then drizzle with warmed hot fudge sauce as the ultimate reward for having a well-stocked freezer. Happiness is a warm cream puff with cold ice cream!

Ingredients

For the Cream Puffs:
1 stick (4 ounces by weight) butter
1 cup (8 ounces by weight) water
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces by weight) all purpose flour
4 large eggs (preferably at room temperature)
For the Profiteroles:
Ice cream
Hot Fudge Sauce

To Make the Cream Puffs:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet (or two) with silpats or parchment paper.

Bring the water, butter and salt to a rapid boil in a heavy-bottomed, 2 quart capacity saucepan over high heat. Remove the pan from the burner and add all the flour at once. Stir strongly until the flour is completely wet. Return the pan to medium high heat and continue stirring strongly until a light film forms over the bottom of the pan and the dough is smooth and soft and forms a ball when stirred. Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or to a large, heat-proof mixing bowl if a stand mixer is unavailable.) Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. After the final egg is added, beat on high for at least 2 minutes, but not more than 4. (If beating by hand, you can count this as a large part of your daily workout. Beat it into submission!)

You must pipe or scoop out your cream puff dough immediately, but there are two options for after you portion them out. Either way, begin by using a pastry bag with a large plain tip or spoons to portion the dough into 16 equally sized rounds on the prepared pan(s). I use a pastry bag to pipe circles, piping in smaller toward the top. Traditionally, you tap down the little peaks that form, but my kids like to bite those off, so I leave them. Alternatively, you could use two large tablespoons portion it out, using one spoon to scrape the dough from the other over the pan.


At this point you can put the pan directly into the freezer, transferring the cream puffs to a resealable zipper top bag or freezer safe container with a tight fitting lid for up to 3 months.

~or~

To Bake the Cream Puffs:
(If preparing from frozen, simply add 5 minutes to the baking time at the end.) Place pan in the oven, bake for 15 minutes. Do not open that door! After 15 minutes, lower the heat to 375°F and cook for an additional 15 minutes. When the time is up, turn off the oven and stick the handle of a wooden spoon in between the body of the stove and the door to hold it open just a little and let the cream puffs cool in the oven like that for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. You can serve them immediately or cool to room temperature.


To Make Profiteroles:
Break open a cream puff at the midline (much like a muffin). Place the bottom on a plate, put a good sized scoop of ice cream on the base, add the top part of the cream puff and drizzle with warmed hot fudge sauce.


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