I first made choux pastry at the age of about 11, in my technology lesson at school. It was – what would now be considered absolutely model – a diverse curriculum that also included making a wooden box, an electric switch connected to a 5V battery, knitting a scarf and learning road signs. I know, some say it was not all bleak in the Eastern Bloc.
The diversity would now be applauded; everything else would not: we freely used screwdrivers and knives for chopping veg; had to boil water and bring cooking ingredients to class regardless of household income. And it was severely sexist: apart from the first couple of years, the curriculum segregated boys with their hammers and soldering irons from the girls’ sewing kits and baking tins.
I do not owe my cooking skills to my primary school teacher (and couldn’t embroider to save my life), but I don’t recall the profiteroles as a traumatic experience. Still, for one reason or another I never made the choux pastry again until the other week. And then it transpired how easy it is and how difficult to mess it up; no wonder they picked the recipe for kids to make – and who doesn’t love profiteroles filled with whipped cream?
It occurred to me that the pastry is also the ticket for ice cream sandwiches coming back into fashion, hooray. It’s quite similar to the wafers cones are made from; it’s sturdy-ish and won’t dissolve even in sticky little paws. Homemade ice cream is optional, but you MUST have sprinkles.
It’s bliss – but I must note that back at school I was far more sophisticated. As I recall, we filled our profiteroles with crème patissiere. Refined or what?