Enormous Cream Puff au Chocolat

I had my eye on a recipe for a while, and I was pretty much one ingredient short. Heavy Cream. It isn't something I keep on hand, but really I should. I am certain I would get a lot of use out of it, if I did.
This recipe is a basically one giant cream puff, similar to the little freezer guys you can buy...but sooo much better. But, I am getting ahead of myself.
First step is to make a Choux Pastry. This is a very basic old school recipe. It consists of butter, flour, and eggs and it makes a light, airy pastry.
I made the pate-a-choux and piped it out on to a floured sheet pan. This was more difficult than it should have been due to a rip in one of my piping bags. Well, a move to a different piping bag and a big mess later...I did get a nice ring of choux pastry. I topped it with a little egg wash and popped it in the oven at 450. I baked it until it had risen and gotten nice and golden. I gradually brought the temp down and baked it for a bit longer. I also poked some holes in the crust once it had risen, in order to let some steam out. The goal is to dry the pastry out a bit.
The chocolate sauce. Made with corn syrup, cocoa, dark chocolate, sugar, butter and cream. Very good!

After the pastry came out of the oven, I split it in half and scooped out the middle dough. I put the pastry back in the oven for a few minutes to dry it even more.

I whipped up some heavy cream with some sugar and I was ready to assemble!

This dessert was rich and decadent, but it was also light and sweet. I loved the balance. I could have licked the plate clean!

There is another variation with a custard filling. Maybe I will try that next time. Thanks Julia!!