Chocolate Pate A Choux Dough, for Chocolate Profiteroles with Pistachio Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a heavy bottomed 1-quart saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar and salt. Bring to a rolling boil . Remove from the heat and add all of the flour and cocoa powder , at once, to the pan and quickly stir vigorously to incorporate the flour into the liquid.

Return the pan to the stove, and over a medium-low heat, continue to cook and stir the dough over the fire. Do this until the dough pulls away from the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Remove the dough from the saucepan, and place in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix the dough on low speed until the dough is cooled down to about 140 degrees F, which is still quite warm to the touch, but cool enough to prevent the eggs from cooking if added to the dough .

Raise the speed of the mixer to medium, and add 1 of the eggs to the dough and mix until completely incorporated. Continue adding the remaining eggs, 1 at a time, waiting until each egg is incorporated before adding the next egg.

Immediately transfer the dough to a piping bag with a round tip.

Pipe small mounds of choux pastry onto the prepared baking sheet that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Do not pipe them too closely together as they will need space to expand as they bake. Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake the profiteroles for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and continue to bake the profiteroles until they are dried out, about 22 minutes longer. Turn the oven off and remove the profiteroles from the oven. Using the tip of a paring knife, cut a small slit in the side of each puff, near the bottom. Place the profiteroles back on the baking sheet and place back in the oven, propping the oven door open so the choux can dry out as they cool, about 1 hour or until oven is cool.

Cut the cooled profiteroles horizontally, and place a scoop of the pistachio ice cream in between each half. Serve the profiteroles immediately, drizzled with chocolate sauce and garnished with confectioners' sugar, or freeze them to serve later.