Vegan Dark Chocolate Profiteroles

Refrigerate two 400 ml cans of full-fat coconut cream for a minimum of 12 hours, or up to 48 hours, to allow the cream to solidify fully.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C or 400°F). Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Sift the flour and baking powder together into a bowl and set aside. Finely chop the dark chocolate and set aside in a heatproof bowl.

Combine the water, vegan butter, caster sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat and bring to a vigorous boil, stirring until the butter is fully melted.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the sifted flour mixture all at once, and beat immediately with a wooden spoon until the dough pulls cleanly away from the sides of the pan and forms a smooth ball.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes until the dough has cooled to just warm to the touch.

With the mixer running on medium speed, add the aquafaba a tablespoon at a time, beating well between each addition, until the dough is glossy and falls from the paddle in a slow, ribbon-like V-shape — you may not need all of the aquafaba. Beat in the apple cider vinegar.

Transfer the choux dough to a piping bag fitted with a 1.5 cm round nozzle and pipe 24 rounds of approximately 3 cm diameter onto the lined trays, leaving 4 cm between each.

Bake at 200°C for 25 minutes without opening the oven door, until the profiteroles are deep golden brown, hollow-sounding when tapped on the base, and fully puffed.

Remove from the oven and immediately pierce the base of each profiterole with a skewer to allow steam to escape. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes to dry out the centres completely, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully.

While the profiteroles cool, make the ganache: heat 180 ml coconut cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it just begins to simmer at the edges.

Pour the hot coconut cream over the chopped dark chocolate and golden syrup, leave undisturbed for 2 minutes, then stir from the centre outward until the ganache is completely smooth and glossy. Season with a pinch of flaky salt and set aside.

Open the chilled coconut cream cans without shaking and scoop only the solidified cream into a chilled mixing bowl, discarding or reserving the liquid. Add the icing sugar and vanilla bean paste and whip with an electric hand mixer on high speed for 3–4 minutes until light, stiff peaks form.

Transfer the coconut whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a small star or plain nozzle and pipe the filling into each cooled profiterole through the steam hole in the base until you feel slight resistance.

Arrange the filled profiteroles in a stack on individual serving plates or a platter, then spoon or pour the warm ganache generously over the top. Serve immediately.