Profiteroles(Puff pastry) with Vanilla Ice Cream

Choux Pastry:
Serves 8:
50g Butter or Margarine
150ml Water
65g Sifted Plain Flour
2 Eggs, beaten

1) Melt the fat in a large pan, add the water and bring to the boil.
2) Add the flour all at once and beat until the mixture forms a mass that leaves the sides of the pan and moves freely with the wooden spoon. Cool slightly, then add the eggs a little at atime, beating well after each egg is added. The finished paste should be thick, smooth and shiny.
3) Put the mixture into a piping bag, fitted with a plain round/star nozzle, and pipe small mounds on a dampened baking sheet.
4) Bake in a preheated hotoven, 220°C for 10 minutes,then lower the heat to 190°C, and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes until golden. The profiteroles should have doubled in size.
5) Make a slit in the side of each bun with a small sharp knife. Cool on a wire rack.
6) Fill the bottom with a scoop of ice cream. Or with whipped cream, replace the top and gently press the profiterole together again. Dust the top lightly with confectioner's sugar. Or pour a little with melted chocolate sauce on top.

Vanilla Ice Cream:
2 Eggs
2 Egg yolks
75g castor
450ml Single Cream
2-3 drops of vanilla essence
284ml double cream, whipped

1) Mix the eggs egg yolks and sugar together.
2) Bring the single cream gently to the boil and por onto the egg mixture, stirring vigorously.
3) Strain, then stir in the vanilla essence. Leave to cool, then fold in the whipped cream.
4) Pour into a rigid freezerproof container. Cover, seal and freeze for 1 hour. Remove and stir well, then re-freeze until firm.
5) Transfer to the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving to soften.
6) Scoop into chilled glasses and serve.

Variations of Ice cream:
Chocolate: Break 250g plain chocolate into pieces and melt with the single cream.

Praline: Place 50g blanched almonds and 50g castor sugar in a pan and heat gently until the sugar melts. Cook, stirring, until nut brown. Turn onto an oiled baking sheet and leave until hard. Crush with a rolling pin and add to the custard with a double cream.

Coffee: Dissolve 2 tablespoons instant coffee powder in 2 tablespoons bioling water, cool and add the custard with the double cream.

Ginger: Finely chop 125g preserved stem ginger. Add to the eggs and sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of the ginger syrup to the custard with the double cream.