Jeremy Lee’s profiterole tower

Method

1. Begin with the ice cream. Pour the milk into a heavy-based saucepan. Add the vanilla seeds and pod. Beat the yolks in a heatproof bowl with the sugar. Infuse the pan of milk over a medium heat. Once simmering, pour the milk slowly onto the egg yolks and sugar, stirring all the while. Once mixed, pour back into the pan and return to a moderate heat. Stir continuously until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Pour in the cream, remove from the heat and strain into a wide bowl to cool quickly.
2. Pour into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to churn. The ice cream will keep well in the freezer for 48 hours but is best within a few hours of churning.
3. To make the custard, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and increased in volume (4-5 minutes). Stir in the flours. Put the milk, scraped vanilla pod and seeds in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Lift out the vanilla pod (see tips). Pour the infused milk into the flour and egg mix, stirring well. Scrape it all back into the pan and return to the heat, stirring continuously. Bring to the boil and simmer, still stirring, for a minute or two until the custard is thickened and smooth enough to be poured through a sieve into a heatproof bowl. Continue whisking to dispel any lingering steam. Cool, then refrigerate until chilled (see Make Ahead).
4. Put the chilled, set custard in a food processor, add the cream and whizz for 15 seconds. Pour into a bowl, then cover and refrigerate until needed.
5. To make the choux pastry, put the milk, water, butter and salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Tip in the sifted flour, then beat continuously with a wooden spoon over a high heat until the dough comes away from the sides. Still on the heat, continue to beat vigorously for a minute.
6. Tip the dough into a bowl and smooth the pastry along the sides to cool. Crack the eggs into a jug and stir with a fork. Once the dough is cool, add the eggs a little at a time, beating until the dough is smooth. You can now put the dough in a bowl, cover and chill (see Make Ahead).
7. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4 and line a tray with baking paper. Use a teaspoon to make about 18 small, walnut-size rounds of choux dough on the tray, arranged in rows with room enough for each to expand and colour without invading any fellow profiterole’s space. Put in the hot oven and cook for 25 minutes (see tips). The profiteroles should be puffed and uniformly golden, so fear not cooking a few minutes longer if required. Set aside to cool.
8. While the profiteroles cool, make the chocolate sauce. Bring the cream to the boil in a small saucepan, then remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate, continuing until melted and smooth. Keep warm.
9. To assemble the profiteroles, decant the chocolate sauce into a jug. Split the profiteroles. Spread a spoonful of custard inside each, then add a scoop
   of vanilla ice cream on top of the custard. Replace the profiterole lid. To serve, build a mound of the filled pastries on a handsome dish, then quickly and carefully pour over the chocolate sauce in a steady fall.