Ingredients

Method

For the choux pastry:
• 2 cups milk
• 230 g butter
• 2 t caster sugar
• 280 g flour
• 10 free-range eggs
For the fudge sauce:
• 75 g butter
• 75 g treacle sugar
• 6 T cream
For the chocolate sauce:
• 1 cup cream
• 1 x 250 g packet Woolworths dark chocolate drops
For the chocolate curls:
• 2 x 100 g slabs good-quality dark chocolate, melted

Method

Ingredients

1. To make the choux buns, preheat the oven to 220°C. Heat the milk, butter and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat. Do not boil; this will lose moisture.

2. Whisk in the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously. Allow to cool slightly, then beat in the eggs.

3. Spoon the mixture onto a greased baking tray. Wet your hands and flick water over the puffs – this will make steam and help them rise. Bake for 20 minutes.

4. Turn off the oven and leave the choux buns inside for 10 minutes.

5. To make the fudge sauce, place all the ingredients into a saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes until smooth and slightly thickened.

6. To make the chocolate sauce, gently heat the cream in a saucepan, then whisk in the chocolate until smooth.

7. To make the chocolate curls, spread the melted chocolate over the back of a baking tray or onto a silicone baking mat and leave to set. Run the back of a knife down the hard chocolate to create curls.

8. To assemble the tower, pile the puffs onto a serving platter, drizzle over the sauces and decorate with the chocolate curls.

Cook's note: Don't want to make the choc curls? Simply crumble Flake chocolate bars over the tower instead

Find more Christmas recipes here.

Photographs: Jan Ras
Food assistants: Emma Nkunzana and Nicola Naude