Salted Caramel Profiteroles - No New Year diet here !!

It maybe January but I still had my last bit of Christmas entertaining to do - 6 adults and 4 kids for lunch !! Decided, however, that main course needed to go back to basics and made a large Cottage Pie....

Delicious for a cold, windy day and so refreshingly normal after all the rich food of Christmas and New Year !!!
However you know me - I couldn't skimp on the pudding or should I say Puddings !!!
The first was Salted Caramel Profiteroles......
I love the old classic chocolate profiteroles but wanted something a little different and spotted some Dime bars at the supermarket and the result were these......

Added the salt as it's seems to be the trend but it also takes away some of the sweetness and really worked - people could manage 4 !!!!

200g Plain flour
350ml water
150g  unsalted butter - diced
pinch of salt
4 lge eggs - beaten
2 baking sheets - oiled or use silicon sheets

filling

125ml milk
125ml double cream
3 lge egg yolks
50g caster sugar
30g plain flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
200ml double cream - whipped to soft peaks
2 Dime bars - crushed very small

sauce

150ml double cream
50g unsalted butter
3 tsps salt - or to your taste
80g light muscovado sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 190oC
Sieve flour into a bowl.
Put water, butter and salt in a large saucepan and heat until the butter has melted and the water's just begun to boil - take off the heat and beat in the flour with a wooden spoon.
Now beat in the eggs a bit at a time until you have a smooth dough - soft enough to pipe but stiff enough to hold it's shape ( you may not need all the eggs ).
Using a plain nozzle - or just a spoon - pipe rounds onto the oiled baking sheets and bake for about 20 mins until golden and crisp.
Remove to a cooling rack and pierce each one with a pin to let the steam out and prevent them going soggy.

Filling

Warm the milk and the 125ml double cream in a saucepan.
While you're waiting, beat the egg yolks and sugar till creamy and then whisk in the flour.
Stir the heated milk into the egg mixture and whisk smooth.
Pour back into the saucepan and whisk gently over a low heat until the custard thickens - leave to cool in a jug with a piece of clingfilm directly on the custard to stop a skin forming.
When completely chilled add the whipped cream and fold in the crushed Dime bars.

Sauce

In a saucepan melt the butter, cream, sugar and salt - then bring to the boil.
Cool completely !!

To assemble

Cut a small slit in a profiterole and pipe in the cream mixture - place on a serving plate.
Repeat to form a pile and then pour over the COLD sauce keeping some back for serving. ENJOY !!!!