Enormous cream puff au chocolat

Trace a 12 to 14 inch pot lid onto parchment paper as a guide, then flip the paper over.

Blend five eggs, about one cup or 250 mils.

Bring 250 ml water, six tablespoons of unsalted butter, a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt to a boil in a sauce pan.

As soon as the butter has melted, off the heat, beat in 125 g flour vigorously until it smooths out and balls up away from the sides of the pan, about a minute.

Transfer the paste to a bowl, make a well in the centre and beat in a quarter cup of the blended eggs; repeat with another quarter cup, then beat in the rest by dribbles so the pastry is not too loose.

With the parchment guide on a baking sheet, pipe a circle of the warm choux paste along the guide, a second circle inside or outside it, and a third on top of the two.

Beat one egg with a little salt and water and paint it over the ring, evening out bumps with the flat of the brush.

Bake in the lower half of the oven at 450F for 20 to 25 minutes -- he went 22 -- until puffed to almost triple in height and nicely browned.

Turn the oven down to 400F and pierce the sides to let steam out.

After another 10 minutes turn it down to 350F, and after another 10 minutes turn the oven off and leave the door ajar 10 more minutes to dry the puff out.

Cut the ring in half horizontally. Julia scrapes the uncooked pastry out of the top and bottom; on the second attempt he skips this because the pastry was cooked and removing it meant needing more cream.

With the insides facing up, return it to a 350F oven for five minutes to crisp.

Chill the bowl and beater in the freezer about five minutes, then set the bowl in ice water.

Whip the heavy cream super stiff with sieved icing sugar and vanilla, and keep it in the fridge until needed.

Bring two thirds of a cup of white corn syrup to a boil in a sauce pan, turn off the heat and stir in two thirds of a cup of water.

Stir together half a cup of cocoa powder and one and a half cups of granulated sugar and add them, simmering and whisking until the sugar has dissolved.

Whisk in 57 g chopped unsweetened baking chocolate, six tablespoons of butter and half a cup of heavy cream.

Bring to a full boil for 15 seconds, turn off the heat and add a pinch of salt and two teaspoons of vanilla.

Fill the bottom ring with whipped cream, put the top on, and drizzle the warm chocolate sauce over.

Second attempt: a roux of about a quarter cup each of flour and butter was cooked into the chocolate sauce to thicken it, since the first sauce was thin enough to see through and ran straight off. Reheated in the microwave to serve.