The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without profiteroles/cream puffs or eclairs. A couple of years ago on Teenie Cakes, I mentioned that eclairs became a dessert tradition in our family and that as a teen, I carried the torch to make those delectable pastry cream stuffed lovelies every year. This year I made them in the shape of profiteroles, also known as cream puffs. I’m almost ashamed to share how many I’ve eaten in the last couple of days and that my stomach is starting to look like a cream puff…BUT oh is it so worth it to me!
This pastry confection is light and airy with a firm shell. It’s smeared with the sweetness of chocolate glaze and chilled vanilla pastry cream. You’ll want to lick up any dribbles of custard that will likely ooze through the sides of the pastry as you sink your teeth through the shell and wash through the cream. Your taste buds will surrender to the delicate balance of texture and flavor combination perfection.
I think it’s time for another profiterole break!
I’m using a slightly different recipe here for the choux paste than the ones I used for the eclairs during my Darking Bakers Challenge in 2008. I’m including the Chocolate Glaze and Chocolate Sauce I’ve used and shared before.
There are four main components in the final assembly of these sophisticated pastries:
- Make the Choux pastry.
- Make the pastry cream.
- Make the chocolate sauce.
- Make the chocolate glaze (includes adding the finished chocolate sauce).
This is one of those recipes and desserts that whole-heartedly deserves the time and effort you invest in it. You won’t be disappointed homemaking all the components, familiarizing and perfecting working with choux pastry. If you haven’t worked with choux pastry before, I encourage you to do some further reading and watch some videos on the subject. Once you’re comfortable with the process, you’ll be armed to create more French pastry delicacies like eclairs, croquembouches, beignets and crullers/twisters.
The vanilla pastry cream uses 6 egg yolks. With all those leftover egg whites, store in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator. You now have egg whites for a batch of French macarons!
To assemble the Profiteroles/Cream Puffs
• Chocolate glaze (see below)
• Pastry cream (see below)
Pipe the pastry cream into the slits you created during baking. Make sure you fill the bottoms
with enough cream to mound above the pastry.
The glaze should be barely warm to the touch. Spread the glaze over the tops of
the filled puffs using a metal icing spatula.
If you are serving later in the day, let the chocolate cool after you’ve glazed the puffs. Use plastic wrap or a container with a lid and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water,
stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create
bubbles. - The cream puffs can be served as soon as they have been filled. However, I like to serve mine when the pastry cream is cold/chilled. Serving chilled brings out the flavors in the shells, chocolate and pastry cream.
Makes about 18-20 profiteroles/cream puffs
(Depending on the size of mounds you create)
Ingredients for Choux Paste
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
Directions
Prepare 2 large cookie sheets with non-stick spray OR silicon baking mats.
In a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, heat butter, water and salt until butter mixture boils. Remove from heat.
Add flour all at once. With wooden spoon, vigorously stir until mixture forms a ball and leaves side of pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Add eggs to flour mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until smooth. Cool mixture slightly.
Use a large spoon and rubber spatula, drop batter onto cookie sheets in large mounds, 3 inches apart, swirling top of each. Bake 50 minutes. Cut slit in side of each shell and bake 10 minutes longer. Turn off oven; dry shells in oven 10 minutes. Cool on rack.
Puffs can be stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Makes about 4 2/3 cups
Ingredients for Vanilla Pastry Cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream
Directions
In a medium sized saucepan, combine sugar, flour and salt; stir in the milk. Over medium heat, cook, stirring until mixture thickens and boils – about 10 minutes. Boil 1 minute.
In a small bowl with a fork, beat 6 egg yolks slightly. Beat a small amount of milk mixture into the egg yolks. Slowly pour egg mixture back into milk mixture, stirring. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until the mixture thickens and coats back of spoon, about 8-10 minutes (do not boil!). To check for correct thickness: Dip a spoon in the mixture and lift from mixture, holding for 15 seconds. The spoon should not show through the mixture. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Cover surface with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about 2+ hours.
In a small bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form. With a large rubber spatula, gently fold cream into the custard.
Makes 1 cup
1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature
In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
Notes
- If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.
- It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.
Makes 1½ cups
4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup (250 g) water
½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
Notes
- You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
- This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.
Related Entries
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Choux Pastry – Pâte à Choux Puffs |
 |
Chocolate Éclairs |
What to do with those leftover egg whites?
 |
Vanilla and Dulce de Leche (Cajeta) Macarons |
 |
Banana Macarons with Coconut Cream |
Roxan says
Yum, I love cream puffs! I love your photos, especially that first one where you can see the chocolate oozing off onto the baking sheet. These look amazing, Cristina! My friend made some nutella cream puffs the other week for our christmas party and now I am totally thinking back to them. Happy new year!
Christine @ Fresh Local and Best says
I love profiteroles and cream puffs! These look heavenly and dangerous!
Liana @ femme fraiche says
I do not blame you for overindulging in those pretty little things…they look unreal! Happy New Year to you and your family!
Biren @ Roti n Rice says
Those rpofiteroles with chocolate sauce looks yummy! I am also ashamed to say how much sweets I have eaten during the holidays. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and here is wishing you and yours a very Happy and Healthy New Year!
Monet says
I like my cream puffs chilled too! And I know I would have a hard time not eating the entire batch in one night. These are one of my favorite treats. Yours look just stunning, and I’m sure they tasted even better. Thank you for sharing, sweet woman. Happy New Year!
Magic of Spice says
These are the ultimate delight…and yours are so beautiful 🙂
Hope you had a lovely Christmas and wishing you a fantastic New Year!
Priscilla - She's Cookin' says
Profiteroles are the ultimate dessert in my book, what a delicious family tradition to have! Yours look absolutely perfect, I can imagine that they’re impossible to resist 🙂 I would never attempt to make them, so I’ll live vicariously through you. Happy New Year, Cristina!
ThatsHowIRoll says
Love love love profiteroles! Thanks for this recipe! It came to my mind the best profiteroles I ever had one beautiful day in Paris, in a lovely Cafe right beside the Eiffel Tower. Oh memories and sweet tastes yum yum.
Winelady Cooks says
Oh these are soooooooo delicious. I make them for special occasions (my son-in-law puts in his request for his birthday). Your photographs are so fantastic — you can just reach out and take one home.
Happy New Year and Happy Baking!
Joanne
GourmetGetaways says
These look gorgeous! I really like my profiterols with a toffee crunch so I tend to not used a chocolate suace but yours look so nice I think I will have to vary my recipe!
Viviane Bauquet Farre says
Oh… These little choux are sublime! You’ve inspired me to make some as soon as I return home after the holidays! Wishing you and yours a joyful, delicious and abundant New Year!
The Rowdy Chowgirl says
I’m so impressed! And I can see how hard it would be to stop eating your profiteroles!
Cherine says
They’re mouthwatering!!
Food Lover Kathy says
Carrying on the family traditions is such a great part of the holidays. My mom used to make cream puffs a lot for Christmas, and eclairs a little. Everyone else loved the cream puffs, but I always wanted the eclairs, solely for the “pudding” as I called it then and the chocolate glaze.
denise @ quickies on the dinner table says
These are my mum’s absolute favourite dessert ever!! Your profiteroles look perfect and it is understandable how these lovely morsels can melt away any willpower like snow in the sun LOL
I hope you and your family have a wonderful New Year, filled with blessings Cristina 🙂
redkathy says
Eclairs are my all time favorite pastry. I have yet to venture into the pastry area HOWEVER after seeing your fabulous display I just might be ready to move forward. Wishing you and yours a blessed, healthy, and prosperous 2011!
Lentil Breakdown says
Wow, these are gorgeous! You could teach Beard Papa’s a thing or two about making cream puffs!
Liz says
I have not made cream puffs in ages…I know my family would adore these with their chocolate glaze…lovely!