“The first thing I taste is the chocolate, and then the lavender, and then the texture of the pastry, and then the blackberry, and then the chocolate again” -Pieter, walking me through the bite-sized experience.
Woke up this Valentine’s Day with one thing on my mind: these, for some reason. It quickly became a whole day affair complete with a trip to the grocery store, ice storm be damned. Somehow the flavours of lavender, honey, chocolate, and blackberries began to make sense together, and I ended up eating seven of them all before my first meal of the day.
[If you prefer a more classic rendition, omit the lavender oil and hold the blackberries]
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup water
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup + 2 tbsp all purpose flour
4 eggs room temperature
1 1/4 cup whipping cream
1 pint blackberries
1 tbsp confectioner’s sugar
6 oz chocolate of choice
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp honey
2 drops lavender oil
1/4 cup milk
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium pot bring water, sugar, salt and butter to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Once boil begins, remove from heat and immediately mix in flour. A thick dough will form.
Add eggs one by one, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Dough will become more like a paste and will fall off spoon in ribbons. This is called choux pastry.
Transfer pastry to a large ziploc bag (or if you’ve got a regular piping bag use that) and snip a centimeter-wide hole at the tip. Pipe 1-inch round mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Dipping tip of finger into a bit of water, tap down the tips of each mound so that surfaces are smooth.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until tops are cracked and golden.
When profiteroles are out of the oven, flip each roll over and use a paring knife to pierce a criss cross where the steam can escape, to facilitate cooling. The goal is that they should be hollow inside.
For the chocolate sauce, melt chocolate, butter and honey over a double boiler (place a heat-safe bowl over a pot filled with a few inches of water over medium heat). When fully melted, turn off heat and add 2 drops essential lavender oil (make sure it is fully pure so that it is safe to consume!) and gradually mix in milk. Transfer sauce into a little jar or pitcher of choice.
For the filling, chop up your blackberries into tiny pieces and toss them into an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Add whipping cream and confectioner’s sugar, and whip on high speed until medium peaks form. Transfer into another piping bag.
Once profiteroles have fully cooled, insert tip of blackberry whipped cream piping bag into the criss cross, filling each profiterole until it starts to puff up.
Keep chilled, and serve doused in chocolate sauce.
