Profiteroles

1.    Heat the oven to 200C fan. To make the profiteroles, put the butter and 2 tsp of caster sugar in a saucepan with 150ml water. Place the pan over a low heat until the butter and sugar have melted, then bring to the boil. Take off the heat, add the flour all at once and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan.

2.    Leave to cool for 5 mins, then beat in the eggs bit by bit until you have a stiff, glossy mixture (much easier in a food processor). Take two baking trays and using 2 teaspoons, spoon blobs of the mixture onto the trays. Place in the oven and cook for about 18-20 mins until well risen and brown. Remove the profiteroles from the oven and cut a small slit in the base of each one so they don’t collapse. Cool on a wire rack.

3.    When they’re cold, whip the cream lightly until just holding its shape. Sweeten to taste with remaining sugar and a few drops of vanilla extract. Cut the profiteroles in half, fill them with the sweetened cream and pile them up on a plate. You can refrigerate them for 1-2 hrs at this point but not for any longer as the pastry will go soggy.