These traditional French desserts, known as “pate au choux“, are delightfully airy and piped with an even lighter, whipped cream filling. If you’d asked us a few years ago whether we would ever attempt making these heavenly, bite-sized treats, we probably would have laughed it off and thought, “are you kidding?!”
But now we’ve seen the light: there’s just nothing like homemade profiteroles! And they’re not all that difficult to make. If your adventurous spirit is satisfied with store-bought chocolate sauce as the topping, we’re not judging. You can also fill them with ice cream or instant vanilla pudding as a shortcut. These puffs are the perfect vessel for just about anything, so you can’t go wrong!
Profiteroles
Yields 14-18 puffs
Ingredients
Profiteroles:
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1 stick butter
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup water
Chocolate Sauce:
- 12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons coffee
- 2 tablespoons honey
Whipped Cream Filling:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425 º F, place rack in the middle of oven and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, milk, sugar and salt, and bring to a boil.
- Turn heat down to low and, stirring constantly, add flour all at once, until well incorporated.
- Stir until dough is shiny and smooth to the touch, and there is a fine film of flour on the bottom of the pan. 5-7 minutes.
- Turn dough out into a large bowl or mixer and mix in eggs one at a time. Beat until everything is combined and mixture is thick and glossy.
- Spoon mixture into a pastry bag and pipe dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet in 1 1/2-inch wide, 1-inch tall mounds.
- Dip your finger in water and gently press down the top each puff so they don’t burn.
- Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until puffs are lightly browned. Leave in oven (do not open door) for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cut a small slice in the bottom of each puff to allow steam to escape. Let cool completely.
- Set up a double-boiler with a heat-proof bowl set over a saucepan with 2-3 inches of water over medium-low heat.
- Add cream and chocolate chips to the bowl and stir until melted. Then stir in honey and coffee.
- In a large bowl or mixer, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form, then add vanilla extract and powdered sugar.
- Beat until stiff peaks form and spoon mixture into a piping bag (or plastic Ziploc bag with the corner cut off.
- Poke a hole in each puff and pipe whipped cream filling into it. Then drizzle chocolate sauce over the top.
Recipe adapted from Karen In The Kitchen