Have you ever tried French Cream Puffs? Profiteroles, as they’re called in France, aren’t your ordinary cream puffs. Filled with ice cream and doused in warm chocolate sauce, there is nothing more irresistibly indulgent!
In France, you’ll find Profiteroles on almost every menu. These French Cream Puffs are made with a type of pastry dough called pate a choux, pronounced paht-uh-shoe. This is the same pastry dough that is also used to make eclairs, with the only difference being their shape (eclairs are log-shaped and cream puffs are mounds).
The pastry dough doesn’t look or taste like your typical pie dough or puff pastry dough. Instead, the dough is created in a saucepan over the stove, and it ends up looking more like a paste. The pate a choux dough is piped onto a baking sheet and baked until it’s puffed up and golden. Then the magic happens!
Profiteroles, French Cream Puffs
Once cool, the cream puffs are filled with luscious vanilla ice cream, which is fantastic for a home cook to replicate as all you need is a small carton of ice cream.
The cream puffs are then covered in warm chocolate sauce right before they’re served. The chocolate sauce could consist of a ganache, where chocolate and cream are warmed and mixed together, or simply melted chocolate on its own.
If the cream puffs are large, they’ll generally be plated two per serving. Smaller cream puffs, like these small bites, come in three.
These French cream puffs are also wonderful for entertaining. You can make everything ahead of time and then just assemble when you’re ready to serve. You won’t believe how excited people get for homemade cream puffs! Each bite delivers a taste of delicate, crisp pastry with that cool and creamy filling, and the bliss of rich, melted chocolate. The French sure do know how to do a cheat day!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- about 1 cup vanilla ice cream
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the water, butter, salt and granulated sugar until everything is melted and hot.
- Temporarily remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the all-purpose flour to combine. Once the flour is combined with the wet ingredients, move the saucepan back over to low heat and stir this newly formed pastry dough until it no longer sticks to the bottom of the pan - about 1 minute.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and set it aside for a minute. After a minute, add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat in the egg until its incorporated. It will be a bit difficult to mix the egg into the dough - this is normal.
- Transfer the paste-like dough to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a ziplock bag where one corner has been snipped to form a 1/4" wide opening. Pipe small mounds of pastry dough onto your prepared baking sheet. You should get about 14 pastry mounds, depending on how small you pipe your mounds.
- Bake the pastry mounds for 10 minutes at 425°F. Do not open the oven door at all during this time. After 10 minutes, lower the heat to 375°F and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden throughout. Remove the pastry puffs from the oven and baking sheet, and let them cool on a wire rack before filling.
- Once the pastry puffs are completely cool, slice into each of them, making a horizontal cut straight through the middle to create tops and bottoms. Add a tablespoon of vanilla ice cream to the bottom of each pastry puff. Place the tops onto the ice cream filling.
- Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, until melted and smooth. Spoon some melted chocolate over each cream puff. Serve immediately.
Notes
Home Chef Tip: It's extremely important that you do not open the oven door while the pastries are baking!
We hope you love these Profiteroles from SoFabFood Home Chef, Beeta from Mon Petit Four, as much as we do. If you love this delightful recipe, stop by our Desserts section to find more like it. For daily recipe inspiration, like us on Facebook and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
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