Don't be scared of choux pastry - it's really easy. But it's bound to impress your Valentine, especially sandwiched with cream and slathered in chocolate
I first made choux pastry last summer. I did a few shifts in a restaurant to learn some new skills, and it was quite the baptism of fire. "Recipes" were scant lists of ingredients, half methods, several things on the go at once - fine for the practised chef, but brand new to me. I worked it out, researching methods surreptitiously online, studying for hours after my shift. Then along came choux and I panicked. "I can't do this," I wailed. "It's easy," the head chef soothed. "Of course you can." And I did. Because, in fact, it is easy.
(Makes approximately 10)
You will need a piping bag and nozzle, or a heart-shaped cookie cutter.
150g plain flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
250ml cold water
100g butter
4 eggs
For the topping:
100g dark chocolate, in chunks
A generous knob of butter
For the filling:
500ml double cream
Seeds from 1 vanilla pod (or a few drops vanilla essence)
2 tbsp icing sugar (or caster, at a push)
Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and give them a quick stir.
Bring the water to the boil in a good-sized saucepan and add the butter. When it has melted, remove the pan from the heat. Add the flour mix and beat quickly to form a smooth paste that will come away from the sides of the pan. Set to one side for a few minutes to cool. Heat your oven to 180C/350F/gas mark four.
When the mixture has cooled slightly, add the eggs and mix well. The finished dough should be glossy and soft, dropping extremely slowly from a wooden spoon. Either spoon it into a piping bag to pipe into heart shapes, or press gently into a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Repeat until all the dough is used up. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes, until risen and golden - do not be tempted to open the door.
For the topping, heat a small saucepan of water and place a bowl on top. Add the chocolate and butter and stir as they melt.
For the filling, beat the double cream with the vanilla and icing sugar, until stiff and doubled in size.
Remove the pastries from the oven, allow to cool, then slice in half horizontally. (Don't leave them whole - the steam that causes them to rise and puff will make them soft and soggy.)
Smear the cream filling generously on to the bottom halves of your hearts, and sandwich back together. Spoon your chocolate ganache on top, and pop the hearts into the fridge for a quick set. Stored in an airtight container, they'll last for three days in the fridge. Mine didn't.
For more recipe ideas, see agirlcalledjack.com or follow @MsJackMonroe on Twitter.
Jack Monroe's choux pastry hearts. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian
