Melanie Persson is a TV personality and food content creator.

Today, Mel will be cooking double chocolate choux pastry puffs which are completely gluten free.

Recipe below:

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DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHOUX PUFFS

Makes about 12

These choux puffs are a variation of the choux used on page 96, but they include what is called ‘craquelin’. This is essentially a simple biscuit layer that is baked onto the choux pastry, creating a sweet, crunchy layer. It not only adds flavour and texture, but helps the choux to rise into perfectly round, uniform buns. I love to add this to my sweet choux pastries as those fillings are often so creamy that they really benefit from the texture of a slightly crunchy topping. These double chocolate choux are rich and luxurious, with two types of chocolate filling to balance out the sweetness and complement the other, generally lighter flavours found in this feast.

1 quantity of choux pastry (page 96)

icing (powdered) sugar, for dusting

For the CHOCOLATE CRÈME PÂTISSIERE

200 ml (6¾ fl oz) single (light) cream

300 ml (10 fl oz) milk

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or extract)

4 eggs

75 g (2¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

40 g (1½ oz) gluten-free cornflour (cornstarch)

⅛ teaspoon salt

150 g (5¼ oz) dark (bittersweet) chocolate, chopped

For the craquelin

45 g (1½ oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature

50 g (1¾ oz) caster (superfine) sugar

40 g (1½ oz) basic flour blend (page 18)

10 g (⅓ oz) unsweetened cocoa powder

For the dark chocolate ganache

50 g (1¾ oz) dark (bittersweet) chocolate, chopped

2 tablespoons single (light) cream

Start by making the chocolate crème pâtissiere. Add the milk, cream and vanilla to a medium saucepan and set it over low heat, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, place the eggs, caster sugar, cornflour and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk vigorously until smooth and creamy. Place the chopped chocolate in a separate mixing bowl and set aside.

When the milk is just about to simmer, trickle it over the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Once fully combined, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over low heat, whisking constantly for 2–3 minutes until the crème pâtissiere has thickened considerably (and there is no floury taste). Transfer the crème pâtissiere to the bowl with the chocolate and allow it to sit for 1–2 minutes, before stirring until completely combined and even in colour. Cover with cling film (plastic wrap), ensuring the plastic is in contact with the surface of the crème pâtissiere (this will prevent a skin from forming). Allow to cool, then place in the fridge to chill completely.

Now prepare the craquelin. Combine the butter and caster sugar in a small bowl and mix well, then stir in the flour and cocoa powder until it forms a smooth dough. Place the dough between two large sheets of baking paper, then flatten it with your hands. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a thin layer, about 3–4 mm (1⁄8 in) thick. Keeping it within the baking paper sheets, transfer it to a baking sheet or chopping board and place it in the freezer. Keep it as flat as possible to make cutting easier later.

Preheat the oven to 190°C Fan (375°F Fan) and line a large baking sheet with baking paper.

Make the choux pastry according to the instructions on page 96 and transfer it to

a piping bag, then pipe blobs of choux pastry onto the prepared baking sheet. Each one should be roughly 1 tablespoon of mixture but a little more or less is fine. Make sure you space them 3–4 cm (1¼–1½ in) apart so that they won’t touch as they bake.

Remove the craquelin from the freezer and, using a cookie cutter that is slightly larger than the circumference of the choux pastry blobs, cut rounds out of the craquelin dough and place them gently on top of each choux pastry blob.

Bake the choux pastry for 30–35 minutes. When the choux pastries have fully puffed and are golden brown all over, turn the oven off but leave the door ajar for a further 10–15 minutes. This will help them dry on the inside and prevent possible collapsing.

When the choux have cooled and the chocolate crème pâtissiere has fully chilled, make the dark chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, add the cream and microwave on high (900W) for 30 seconds. Stir to combine, then microwave for a further 15–30 seconds if necessary to make the ganache smooth (you can also do this in a small saucepan – simply stir the ingredients over low heat until melted and combined). Set aside to cool while you start filling the choux.

Use a small, serrated knife to pierce the base of each choux pastry twice in an ‘X’ formation. This will allow you to fill the choux without cutting them in half, although you can simply halve them if you prefer and spoon or pipe in the two fillings.

Transfer the chilled chocolate crème pâtissiere to a piping bag, cut a 1 cm (½ in) hole in the end, and push the tip through the pierced hole to fill each choux pastry.

Transfer the cooled chocolate ganache to another piping bag, cut a 0.5 cm (¼ in) hole in the end, then pipe a small amount (about half a teaspoon) into each puff. If a little chocolate crème pâtissiere oozes out around the piping bag, that’s fine, you can easily wipe it away afterwards.

Each puff should now be filled with chocolate crème pâtissiere with a rich, ganache centre. Dust the choux puffs with a little icing sugar, then serve.

SUPPLEMENTARY RECIPES

BASIC FLOUR BLEND

This is the plain (all-purpose) flour blend I’ve created to be used in most of the recipes in this book. To convert this flour into a self-raising blend, simply add 1 teaspoon of gluten-free baking powder for every 100 g (3½ oz) of this mix (this is best added as needed on the day of baking).

Note that all starches used in this blend should be the super finely ground variety (see Important Notes on page 15 for more details). This recipe was developed in gram measurements, so I advise you to follow that set of measurements for the most accurate results.

Makes 1 kg (2¼ lb)

315 g (11¼ oz) rice flour

250 g (9 oz) tapioca starch

250 g (9 oz) gluten-free cornflour (cornstarch)

165 g (5¾ oz) potato starch

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Makes 2 kg (4½ lb)

630 g (22¼ oz) rice flour

500 g (17¾ oz) tapioca starch

500 g (17¾ oz) gluten-free cornflour (cornstarch)

330 g (11½ oz) potato starch

40 g (1½ oz) xanthan gum

Sift the ingredients into a large bowl and mix until well combined. Sift and mix again to ensure the starches and xanthan gum have been evenly distributed into a homogenous flour blend. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

For the choux pastry

125 ml (4½ fl oz) water

55 g (2 oz) unsalted butter

60 g (2¼ oz) rice flour

100 g (3½ oz) eggs, beaten (about 2 eggs)

Start by making the choux pastry. Add the water, butter and ⅛ teaspoon of salt to a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. When the water is simmering and the butter has completely melted, reduce the temperature to low. Working quickly, add the rice flour and mix with a sturdy spatula to bring the mixture together as a dough.

Continue mixing the dough over low heat for about 20 seconds, then transfer it to a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with the whisk attachment).

Using a hand-held electric beater or stand mixer, immediately start mixing the dough

on a medium-high speed. Trickle in the beaten eggs, mixing constantly and being careful not to pour too quickly (if the egg pools in the bowl it may get scrambled by the hot dough). Beat the dough until it is smooth and creamy, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary, then transfer to a piping bag.