Profiteroles

Profiteroles are made from choux pastry and are piped out and baked until they’re tall and fluffy! I like to slice them in half, add a scoop of ice cream to the center and drizzle them with warm ganache! Yum.

Let’s make some Profiteroles! The first time I had a profiterole was in Paris, France. It was my most favorite francophile moment to date. I was in a cafe, drinking a latte and eating a profiterole with warm chocolate sauce poured on top. It was pure heaven. Have you ever made one?

What is the difference between a Profiteroles vs. Cream Puffs.

Well, they’re pretty similar. They’re made from a choux pastry. Very French! Choux pastry is a gateway to so many magical things. For instance, once you get this down you can make Profiteroles (see above), eclairs and even, churros. Or pumpkin churros.

Profiteroles have a gaping hole on the inside. Cream Puffs are profiteroles that have been filled with everything from whipped cream, diplomat cream or any sort of custard.

And surprisingly, these aren’t too difficult to make.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Profiteroles

• All-purpose flour. You’re gonna start with all-purpose flour. And I normally would demand you weigh flour but in this case it’s a must. If you don’t have a scale then sift the flour first AND then measure. Accuracy is important in this recipe.
• Unsalted butter. I like using unsalted because this way we can control the amount of salt in a recipe.
• Eggs! A very important ingredient in profiteroles. Maybe the most important. This will add leavening and flavor.
• Sugar. We don’t need a ton of sugar in this recipe because we’ll be filling them with something sweet, i.e., ice cream and topping them with warm chocolate sauce.
• Water. This will add our moisture to the dough.

How to Make Profiteroles

1. Melt the butter and water! Using a medium saucepan, add the butter, sugar, salt and water. Cook over medium heat until the butter has melted.
2. Then, we want to bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Immediately remove it from the heat.
3. Pour in the flour and mix until a paste forms. Place it back on the heat until a film develops on the side of the pan.
4. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand-up mixer. Using a paddle attachment, let it run for a minute. This will release some of the heat and cool it down. As a result, it won’t cook the eggs we’re about to add. 🙂
5. Add the eggs, one by one, until the mixture falls into ribbons onto itself.
6. Transfer it to a piping bag and pipe out choux balls.
7. Brush VERY lightly with egg wash.
8. And then bake!

What Makes a Profiterole Light and Tall

• The biggest secret to making profiteroles that as light as a feather: the oven temperature.
• We’re going to be preheating the temperature 350 degrees F. When we’re ready to put the profiteroles into the oven, we’re going to set the oven to 425 degrees F.
• We put the into the oven. This temperature increase will rise, in turn making the profiteroles rise to be light and tall.
• Then, we bring it back down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Tips and Tricks

1. Be sure that the flour mixture isn’t too hot before you add the eggs. We don’t want the eggs to cook.
2. Follow the oven instructions! 🙂 I really do believe that it helps make them rise. They’re similar to my blueberry muffin recipe.
3. Pierce the edge of each profiterol; this will help release some of the steam inside the profiterol. As a result, the inside won’t be super duper moist and doughy.
4. Freeze any extras. To freeze them, add them to a baking sheet. And then transfer to the freezer for 1 hour. When frozen solid, transfer to a freezer-safe bag of container. Thaw on the counter.

What to Serve with Profiteroles

Most often times, people stuff these with fluffy whipped cream. I like to place a scoop of ice in a profiterol and then top them with chocolate sauce. YUM! The warm and cold combination is delightful.

I’ve also seen people make a cake with these, and ummm, that’s a GREAT IDEA.

If you make these Profiteroles, let me know on Instagram! 

Looking for more recipes? Here are some favorites: 

• Basque Cheesecake
• Mocha Morning Rolls
• Easy Apple Cobbler 
• Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits 
• Olive Oil Berry Cake