Cream Puffs With Dark-Chocolate Sauce

265 calories per serving

Active time 15 minutes

Total time 55 minutes plus cooling

Makes 10 Servings

6 Tbsp. butter or margarine

¼ tsp. salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate

½ cup half-and-half or light cream

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 quart light vanilla ice cream

1.    Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease and flour large baking sheet (or coat it with nonstick cooking spray with flour).

2.    In 3-quart saucepan on medium, heat 1 cup water, butter, and salt to boiling; cook until butter melts. Remove from heat. Vigorously stir in flour all at once until mixture forms ball and comes away from side of pan.

3.    Add eggs, one at time, beating well after each addition, until batter becomes smooth and satiny.

4.    Drop batter by scant ¼ cups into 10 large mounds, 2 inches apart, onto prepared baking sheet. With fingertip moistened with water, gently smooth tops to round.

5.    Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until puffs are deep golden-brown. Remove baking sheet from oven; with knife, poke hole in 1 side of each puff to release steam. Turn off oven. Return baking sheet to oven and let puffs stand 10 minutes to dry out slightly. Transfer puffs to wire rack to cool completely.

6.    With serrated knife, slice each cooled puff horizontally in half. With fingers, remove and discard any moist dough inside.

7.    Meanwhile, coarsely chop chocolate. In 1-quart saucepan on medium-high, heat half-and-half and sugar just to boiling. Remove saucepan from heat; add chocolate and let stand 1 minute. Whisk until smooth.

8.    To serve, place 1 scoop ice cream in each cream puff base; replace cream puff top, then drizzle with warm chocolate sauce.