Profiteroles

If there are profiteroles on a menu, I will order them. I love them! (La Sirène in Soho has the best profiteroles - so chocolaty and rich.) Jamie's and my parents met for the first time last weekend, very exciting, and I decided on profiteroles for dessert. They're actually pretty easy - I've been making them since I was 12 - and always look impressive, and better still, taste amazing. This is a basic recipe, but feel free to jazz it up with peppermint ice cream instead of vanilla and crushed peppermints on top, or different flavors or ice cream, etc. Yum! (Also, I forgot to take a picture of the finished product covered in chocolate because of all the fun we were having at dinner - everyone got along, phew! - so you'll just have to imagine them covered in warm, gooey chocolate sauce.)

Serves 8
Ingredients:
vanilla ice cream, softened a little
3/4 cups water
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt and additional pinch of salt
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
9 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp instant coffee