Preparation

Start to prepare the Cocoa puffs with Pecorino Toscano PDO cream the day before serving them.

First of all, put the diced, fresh Pecorino Toscano PDO in a saucepan and cover it with milk; set aside to let the cheese soften.
To make the puffs, put water, diced butter, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. In the meantime, sift flour and cocoa powder.
When the water boils, add flour and cocoa powder, then stir vigorously with a whisk for a few minutes.
Put the mixture in a bowl and keep stirring until it reaches room temperature.
Add an egg, stir until it dissolves, then do the same with the other egg.
Put the dough into a pastry bag with a plain nozzle of about 7-9 mm, then shape the puffs on a baking pan.
Put the puffs in the preheated oven (200° C) for 15 minutes, then slightly open the oven door and keep baking for about 5 minutes.
Once cooking is complete, remove the puffs from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool.

In the meantime, put the fresh cream into a bowl, add grated aged Pecorino Toscano PDO to taste, and whisk until not too firm. Transfer the cream to a pastry bag with a small nozzle and refrigerate it.
For the cheese fondue, let the milk-and-fresh-Pecorino-Toscano melt over low heat, adding more milk if necessary; it shouldn’t be too compact. Then, let it cool.

Fill your puffs with Pecorino Toscano fresh cream by making a hole in the bottom of each puff with the pastry bag nozzle and squeezing the filling inside.
“Frost” the tops of your puffs with a little cheese fondue and garnish sprinkling the grounded cocoa beans on top.

Let the filled puffs rest in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving.