Here in Saudi Arabia the dog days of summer are finally at an end and we find ourselves savoring the odd whisper of a cool breeze when tentatively emerging from our air conditioned confines. Life outdoors is suddenly a possibility once again – and it’s wonderful.

Basking in the sunshine, without the risk of instantaneous sunstroke, brings with it increased opportunities for gatherings and social engagements to make the most of this almost perfectly clement weather. And where there’s people, there’s food. Flo and I find ourselves whipping up offerings left, right and centre right through to Christmas and beyond… and of course, we love it.

My latest offering went down a treat at the weekend so I thought I’d share the recipe – dark chocolate and salted caramel profiteroles. It was an excuse to practice the choux pastry technique honed at Leiths and where there’s a chance to inject (literally in this case) some salted caramel into a dessert I will.

Choux is probably the easiest of all pastries to handle and work with. There are a few steps to follow but as long as you follow the rules (pastry chefs are fans of a rule or two) the resulting pastry can be stored easily and is exceedingly versatile for both savoury and sweet fillings.

Salted caramel profiteroles

For the choux:

220ml water
85g butter
105g plain flour
Pinch salt
3 eggs, at room temperature

For the cream filling:

50g butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
½ tsp sea salt
450 ml double cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped from the pod, or 1 tsp good quality vanilla extract

For the chocolate sauce:

250g good quality dark chocolate
2 tbsp water
15g butter

Making your choux (this follows the Leiths recipe):

Measure the water into a small saucepan. Cut the butter into 1cm cubes and add to the water. Place over a low heat and allow the butter to melt, without letting the water simmer or boil (which would result in less liquid, through evaporation, and a stiff mixture that won’t rise as well).

Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt 2 or 3 times to aerate it and remove any lumps. Do the final sifting onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Fold the paper in half and fold up the bottom edge a couple of times to create a pocket for the flour to sit in. (This will make it easier to add it all at once to the water and butter.)

Panade cooling

Once the butter has melted, increase the heat to medium high and have the pocket of flour and a wooden spoon close by. As the water begins to simmer, watch it carefully and, as it boils and rises up the sides of the pan, with the melted butter collecting in the middle, shoot the flour in all at once and turn off the heat.

Beat the flour in vigorously for just 20–30 seconds, getting the spoon into the corners of the saucepan, until the flour is fully incorporated, there are no lumps and the mixture is thick and a uniform colour. Spread this resulting 'panade' onto a plate and let it cool until tepid (about 38ºC). Cooling the panade will allow the incorporation of more egg, to ensure a greater rise.

Meanwhile, break the eggs into a bowl and whisk lightly with a fork. Once the panade is cool to the touch, return it to the saucepan (there’s no need to wash it), add about 1 tbsp. of the beaten egg and beat it into the panade with a wooden spoon (off the heat). Once the egg is fully incorporated, add a little more egg and beat again, adding about three quarters of the remaining egg in additions and beating well to incorporate each addition fully before the next. Initially, the panade will thicken, but as more egg is beaten in it will start to loosen and become smooth and shiny.

Once about three quarters of the egg has been added, check the consistency; you need a silky smooth pastry with a reluctant dropping consistency, which means that when you fill the wooden spoon with pastry and lift it up over the saucepan the pastry should fall back from the spoon into the saucepan to the slow count of six. Continue adding egg a little at a time until the correct consistency is achieved. The pastry can now be used, or covered and either stored in the fridge overnight or frozen.

Baking your choux:

You are now ready to bake your choux buns. Set the oven to 200c and very lightly oil a non-stick baking sheet. Put teaspoons of the choux mixture onto the sheet, leaving about 5cm in between each one. If you want a smooth finish you can also pipe the mixture.

Skewer holes in the bottom of the buns to ensure they dry out

Use a dampened finger to smooth out any spikes on the spooned mixture as these can catch in the oven. Bake in the top-third of the oven for 20-30 minutes until well risen and puffed, and a deep golden colour. Do not check before 20 minutes as they may collapse if the oven is opened too soon. After 20 minutes you can check if they’re done by gently pressing the bottom half of the choux buns – they should be very firm to the touch. Also, they will easily loosen from the tray when they are ready. If not, return to bake for longer.

When done, remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 170c. While the buns are hot, turn each over and skewer a hole in the bottom, the size of your piping nozzle. This will help the steam to escape and keep them crisp. Place the buns, base up, on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 5 – 6 minutes to fully dry out. Then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely before filling.

For the cream filling:

For the salted caramel simply put the butter, soft brown sugar, golden syrup and salt into a small saucepan and gently heat until all the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Whip up the cream with the icing sugar until it softly holds it shape, and add in the vanilla seeds. Fold through the cooled salted caramel and then chill until you are ready to pipe into your choux.

For the chocolate sauce:

While the choux buns are cooling, put the chocolate, water and butter into a small heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of just-boiled water, ensuring the bowl is not touching the water. Give it an occasional stir to encourage melting.

Assembly:

So this is the fun bit. Get yourself a piping bag (unfortunately I found myself without and had to improvise, resulting in an unplanned salted caramel cream hair mask). Pipe the cream into the hole you created at the base of the buns, making sure to generously fill each one. Wipe away any escaping cream. Then, holding onto the base of the buns with your fingertips, swirl each one in the melted chocolate, taking care to keep your fingers clear of the chocolate. Place back on the wire rack to set et voila… you are done!