Profiteroles with Green Tea Ice Cream & White Chocolate

My passion for pâte à choux is no secret! It's hard to bungle, and can be made in roughly 30 minutes; perfect for last-minute gatherings. Did I mention that pâte à choux can be made into savory appetizers or sweet desserts? It's a delicious blank canvas just waiting for artistry!

I craved something light and unique to end an Asian-influenced dinner with friends. Anything too sweet, too heavy, or overwhelming would conflict with the theme of the dinner. Japanese matcha green tea ice cream compliments airy pâte à choux beautifully. Slightly sweet, slightly bitter green tea flavor is balanced nicely by a tiny drizzle of sugar-laden white chocolate.

Enjoy!

Makes about 20-30 pate choux
INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 4 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk 
• Green tea ice cream (matcha, preferrably)
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 
2. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. 
3. Bring 1/2 cup water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt to boil in heavy large saucepan. 
4. Stir in flour; cook over medium-high heat, stirring vigorously, until dough is smooth and pulls away from sides of pan, about 1 minute. 
5. Transfer hot mixture to standing mixer (or bowl and use an electric hand-mixer). 
6. Beat dough with paddle attachment at medium speed until slightly cool, about 3 minutes. 
7. Add 3 eggs, a little at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in egg yolk until blended.
8. Scoop batter into a zip-loc bag and snip a small triangle of the corner off. Squeeze rounds of batter about the size of small eggs onto prepared sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. 
9. Beat remaining egg in small bowl to blend. Brush tops of profiteroles lightly with beaten egg. 
10. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 375°F. Continue baking until puffed and dark golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.  
11. Reduce heat to 325 and continue to cook until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Check often and slice one open as a test. it should have plenty of airy hollows, but not be wet inside. 
12. Transfer to rack to cool completely. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container in freezer. Remove from freezer a few hours before continuing.)
13. Melt white chocolate in microwave by heating in small bowl at 30 seconds, stirring and then 30 more seconds, until smooth.
14. Slice profiteroles in half. Top bottom half with a scoop of ice cream. Place top half of profiterole on ice cream and drizzle with white chocolate.