Profiteroles with pastry cream are the ultimate French dessert experience!
These delicate choux pastry puffs are filled with luscious vanilla custard and drizzled with rich chocolate sauce to boot!
They epitomize elegant simplicity, making them an ideal treat for special occasions.
Crisp on the outside, creamy inside, and topped with decadent chocolate – what’s not to love?
Why You’ll Love These Profiteroles
Decadent Taste & Texture: Each crispy choux puff is filled with homemade vanilla pastry cream for a rich, indulgent treat.
Elegant & Impressive: Perfect for parties, they’ll add a touch of Parisian charm to your day.
Customizable Flavors: Easily switch up fillings or toppings to suit your taste, from classic vanilla to fruit or caramel!
Make-Ahead Convenience: Prepare the choux, filling, and chocolate sauce in advance. Assemble before serving for easy yet fresh dessert preparation.
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: The backbone of perfect choux pastry. You also need it in the pastry cream and sauce.
- Granulated Sugar: Just enough to add a subtle sweetness.
- Salt: The secret flavor enhancer that balances sweetness.
- All-Purpose Flour: The structural hero of choux pastry, creating those signature crispy shells. If you have it, use bread flour. But APF is great too.
- Eggs: You’ll need yolks in the pastry cream and whole eggs in the choux.
- Whole Milk: The base of the luxurious pastry cream. Full-fat is non-negotiable here.
- Cornstarch: Ensures the pastry cream holds its shape and provides the perfect pipeable consistency.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure flavor magic. Use vanilla paste if you have it for an even more intense taste.
- Heavy Cream: For the chocolate sauce. It keeps the chocolate from hardening, giving you a smooth, creamy coating to bite in to.
- Semisweet Chocolate: Choose quality chocolate – it really makes a difference.
How to Make Profiteroles
Ready to transport yourself to a quaint French patisserie? Me too!
I know this may seem like a lot of steps, and there’s nothing too complicated here.
The key is to have everything ready and measured before you begin.
Here are the steps:
Make the Pastry Cream:
I suggest starting with the pastry cream, as it needs time to cool. That way, it’s ready as soon as the choux buns are!
1. HEAT the milk, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt until it simmers. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. WHISK the egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch until smooth. Temper the mix with the hot milk, then add it back to the pot.
3. COOK over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and begins to boil, about 2 minutes.
4. REMOVE from heat and whisk in the vanilla and butter until melted.
5. STRAIN through a fine sieve, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Make the Choux Buns:
Choux pastry can be tricky, but if you follow the steps, you’ll be fine.
As mentioned, you need to have everything ready before you begin. The reason? The flour must be added quickly.
Here’s what to do:
1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
2. BOIL the water, butter, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan. It should be a full, rolling boil, then remove from the heat.
3. POUR in the flour all at once, and stir vigorously until a soft dough forms, about 2-3 minutes.
4. COOL the dough by transferring to a large bowl for 10 minutes or mixing on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
5. ADD lightly beaten eggs in small amounts, beating well between each addition. The dough is ready when smooth, glossy, and falls in a thick, V-shaped ribbon from a spatula.
6. PIPE the dough into 2-tablespoon mounds on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
7. BAKE for 10 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350°F, and continue baking for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
8. PIERCE each puff with a paring knife and return to the turned-off oven for 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Make the Chocolate Sauce:
If you prefer, you can simply melt some chocolate and dip the buns. That will give you a shell that’ll crack when you take a bite.
But I prefer this chocolate sauce.
Why? Because it coats the buns in shiny goodness. Plus, you can take a bite without the filling squashing out the side!
Here’s how to make it:
1. HEAT the cream in a small saucepan until it simmers.
2. ADD the chocolate and butter, letting it sit for 2 minutes.
3. WHISK until smooth.
Assemble the Profiteroles:
Once you have all the elements ready, it’s time to assemble.
Crucially, the pastry cream and the choux buns need to be cold. If they’re not, the filling will seep out.
In contrast, the sauce should be slightly warm so it coats the top nicely.
Here’s what you need to do:
1. FILL a piping bag with chilled pastry cream. Pierce a hole in the bottom of each bun, then pipe in the filling.
2. SERVE with a drizzle of chocolate sauce or dip the tops. Enjoy!
Tips For the Best Profiteroles
There’s something so satisfying about watching these little guys puff up in the oven – it’s like kitchen chemistry at its finest.
Need some tips? I’ve got you covered.
- The perfect dough consistency. It should be slightly sticky but smooth and glossy. When you scoop some onto a spoon or spatula then hold it on the side, it should fall off in a slow “V” shape.
- Use room-temperature eggs. This prevents the dough from becoming lumpy or separating.
- Precise piping. Pipe dough mounds at a 90-degree angle and maintain consistent size for even baking. Wet your finger and pat the top if it has a peek.
- Control the steam. DO NOT open the oven door during baking. This maintains proper steam and rising. Otherwise, your choux will not puff properly.
- How to control the filling. Pipe the puffs from the bottom, stopping when you feel a slight resistance to prevent overflow.
- Timing matters. Serve within 2-3 hours of filling to maintain the perfect crisp-to-creamy texture ratio.
- Filling variations. Experiment with fillings like chocolate pastry cream, caramel, or fruit curds. You can also use ice cream! Just cut the choux in half, add a small scoop, then serve right away.
- Sauce options. Consider warm caramel sauce, berry coulis, or white chocolate ganache.
- Alternative filling method. No time to pipe pastry cream? Cut them in half horizontally and spoon the filling into the center.
How to Store
These airy, delicate puffs filled with silky vanilla cream and drowned in warm chocolate sauce are pure magic.
Unfortunately, they don’t store well.
That said, you can make and store the elements separately before assembling.
To Store: Freeze baked and cooled choux buns in a freezer bag for 2-3 weeks. Store the filling and sauce in separate airtight containers for 2-3 days.
Thaw the choux buns until soft, then fill and coat with the sauce to serve. You’ll need to warm the sauce in the microwave for 30-60 seconds to make it smooth.
Note: I don’t recommend making profiteroles ahead. The longer they sit, the soggier the pastry will become.
More Incredible Bite-Sized Desserts to Try
Mini Cannoli Bites
No-Bake Cookie Dough Bites
Raspberry Truffles
Homemade Churros
Profiteroles with Pastry Cream
15-20
servings40
minutes40
minutes266
kcalThis profiteroles recipe yields crisp, hollow choux buns filled with rich vanilla pastry cream and topped with a decadent chocolate sauce.
Ingredients
- Vanilla Pastry Cream
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
pinch salt
5 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Choux Pastry
1 cup water
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, room temperature
- Chocolate Sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Instructions
- Make the Pastry Cream
- In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, 1/4 cup of sugar, and salt over medium heat. Warm, stirring often, until simmering. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large, heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and cornstarch until smooth. Then, very carefully stream or ladle about half of the hot milk into the bowl. Whisk constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs.
- Pour the tempered yolk mixture back into the saucepan and whisk to combine. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and just begins to boil, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla and butter until melted. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a heatproof bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until cool, at least 2 hours.
- Make the Choux Buns
- Preheat the oven to 425°Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside. Before you begin, have all the ingredients measured and ready.
- In a large saucepan, combine the water, butter, sugar, and salt over medium-high heat. Stir often until the butter melts and the liquid reaches a rolling boil.
- Turn off the heat (leave the pot on the stove) and immediately pour all of the flour into the liquid. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a large bowl and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Alternatively, transfer the dough to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed with a paddle attachment for 2-3 minutes to release some of the heat.
- In a measuring glass with a spout, lightly beat the eggs until smooth.
- Add the beaten eggs to the bowl in small amounts, beating very well between additions (see note). You likely won’t need all the eggs. The batter is ready when it’s smooth and glossy and falls from a spatula in a thick, V-shaped ribbon when lifted.
- Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe about 2 tablespoon-sized mounds onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350°Fahrenheit (do not open the door). Continue baking until puffed and golden brown, about 20-25 minutes more. Turn off the oven. Quickly pierce each puff with a paring knife and return to the turned-off oven for 5 minutes to dry out.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
- Make the Chocolate Sauce
- In a small saucepan, heat the cream until simmering. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate and butter.
- Let stand for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Assemble the Profiteroles
- Transfer the chilled pastry cream to a piping bag with a small plain tip. Use a paring knife to make a small hole in the bottom of each puff.
- Insert the tip of the pastry bag and pipe the pastry cream into the center of each puff until filled. It should feel heavy, but try not to pipe so much that it squeezes out.
- Dip the profiteroles in the chocolate sauce or drizzle it over the top. Chill for 10 minutes, then serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If using a stand mixer, add the eggs a little at a time with the mixer running on medium speed. Stop after half is incorporated, then check frequently until ready.
- If mixing by hand, use a wooden spoon and be ready to put in some elbow grease. It will look like it’s curdled, but it will come together eventually.
- Pipe a small dot of batter on the corners of each baking tray, under the parchment, so it sticks and holds down.
