Profiteroles are dollops of choux pastry piped out and served with chocolate fondant or glace icing on top. Profiteroles are made with all-purpose flour, butter, and eggs. Choux pastry is also used to make eclairs which are piped longitudinally.
My first exposure to choux pastry was when I took summer classes in baking in India. These baking lessons taught by experienced home cooks as a hobby introduced me to the fine art of French baking at the age of eleven. I am fond of baked goods that I could not wait to be older to try out for myself as I can enjoy these delectable baked goods whenever I had the craving.
Choux pastry is made with few and simple ingredients, but care should be taken to follow instructions and the timing of each step. I found this recipe to be perfect every time I made eclairs or profiteroles. They are not difficult as most people make them out to be. What they lack in the complexity of ingredients, the profiteroles make up in flavor with the added chocolate on top.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Why is it called choux pastry? Choux in French means cabbage, the profiteroles resemble small balls of cabbage.
- Are profiteroles different from eclairs? Eclairs, cream puffs, and profiteroles are made out of choux pastry. Profiteroles are usually frozen. All three desserts can be topped with chocolate, filled with custard or cream.
- What does profiterole mean? Profiterole is a miniature cream puff with a sweet or savory filling.
How to make Profiteroles:
- Dehydrate the flour using a skillet on low heat for 3 minutes or an oven for 3 minutes on low setting. Sieve the flour with the salt.
- In a heavy bottom saucepan or pot, melt the butter with the water. Remove from heat when it reaches boiling point, or when you see the bubbles.
- Quickly, add all the flour and whisk them together until smooth. The mixture will begin to leave the sides of the pan and form a ball.
- Cool this mixture a little (to blood heat) and then add the beaten eggs a little at a time. Beat well until glossy and smooth textured.
- Spoon or put in a piping bag and pipe out on a damp tray. Space out the profiteroles on the tray as they will get big and fluffy.
- Bake at 4000F until slightly crisp and golden brown for 25- 30 minutes.
1. Dehydrate the flour for just 2-3 minutes on low heat. Do not overdo this step or the flour will burn and turn brown.
2. Add the flour gently but quickly to the melted butter-water and keep stirring or it will start lumping.
3. Add the eggs only when the flour mixture has cooled to blood heat and not cooled completely. Some warmth in the flour mixture is essential for the eggs to be whisked into it.
4. Take care not to overcook or overbeat at step 3, else the butter will separate and you will not get a light, airy pastry.
5. Leave some room for the profiteroles in the baking tray or they will clump together during baking.
6. Pipe or spoon small balls as they will double in size.
How to serve Profiteroles:
I like to serve the Profiteroles with chocolate sauce or some times with glace icing. My husband likes it with whipped cream filling and melted chocolate on top. Some like to fill the shells with custard. You could even serve them with ice cream. These shells can be stored in airtight containers for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. Drizzle the chocolate sauce right before serving.
Other French recipes that might interest you:
Profiteroles
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2½ ounce all-purpose flour
- 1½ ounce unsalted butter
- 3 eggs
- ⅕ tsp salt
- 1/2 cup filtered water
Instructions
How to make choux pastry for the Profiteroles:
- Dehydrate the flour using a skillet on low heat for 3 minutes or an oven for 3 minutes on low setting. Sieve the flour with the salt.
- In a heavy bottom saucepan or pot, melt the butter with the water. Remove from heat when it reaches boiling point, or when you see the bubbles.
- Quickly, add all the flour and whisk them together until smooth. The mixture will begin to leave the sides of the pan and form a ball.
- Cool this mixture a little (to blood heat) and then add the beaten eggs a little at a time. Beat well until glossy and smooth textured.
- Spoon or put in a piping bag and pipe out on a damp tray. Space out the profiteroles on the tray as they will get big and fluffy.
- Bake at 4000F until slightly crisp and golden brown for 25- 30 minutes.
Notes
- You could use melted chocolate or chocolate sauce on top of the profiteroles instead of the glace icing that I have used.
- When the flour, water, and butter mixture leave the sides of the pan, press to ensure that it does not stick to your fingers.
Nutrition
This is a really easy-to-follow recipe, choux pastries are actually really complicated, but you’ve broken it down nicely.
yummy!