Celeste Mah and Ross Larkin’s Savoury Profiteroles

A perfect bite: salty, sweet, tart, crunchy and velvety smooth.

YIELD: 16-20 profiteroles

Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F).

Combine half the duck fat and the butter in a bowl and whisk until creamy. Transfer sherry to a saucepan on high heat until it boils, then light it and set aside until alcohol burns off. Transfer cream to a saucepan on medium until hot (do not boil). Combine cream with sherry and set aside. Transfer fat-and-butter mixture to a blender and, on medium speed, incorporate egg yolks one at a time. Add livers and blitz on high speed until smooth. Add the cream mixture, and then the salt and curing salt. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a terrine mould and cover. Transfer to a roasting pan half-filled with hot water and bake on middle rack for 25 minutes. Remove terrine pan from water, let cool on countertop, then transfer to the refrigerator. Once mousse is cool and set, add reserved duck fat and spread to cover. Chill for at least 12 hours.

Meanwhile, combine berries, sugar and a pinch of salt in a saucepan on medium and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves and berries burst. Set aside to cool. To make craquelin, combine sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; mix on medium until creamed. Incorporate the flour. Arrange a large sheet of parchment paper on a work surface, scrape mixture onto it, place another sheet of paper on top, and roll out mixture until about 3 mm (⅛ inch) thick. Place on a tray and transfer to freezer.

Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).

Combine butter, sugar, salt and 185 ml (¾ cup) water in a saucepan and bring to a boil on medium. Remove from heat, add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Return to medium heat and stir until mixture is homogenous. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low until mixture cools. Incorporate eggs one at a time. Once smooth, transfer mixture to a piping bag. Remove craquelin from freezer. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and pipe choux pastry into evenly spaced mounds about 5 cm (2 inches) wide. Use a 5-cm (2-inch) circle cutter to cut disks from the sheet of craquelin and drape one over each profiterole. Transfer to middle rack of oven and bake for 5 minutes, then lower heat to 175°C (350°F) and bake another 15 to 20 minutes — until bronzed and puffed. Set aside to cool. Remove fat from mousse and discard. Transfer mousse to a bowl and mix with a spatula to loosen. Cut profiteroles in half, spread a little compote on bottom halves, top with a spoonful of mousse and replace lids.

Photos by Johnny Lam