Quick answer: bake small choux buns until crisp and hollow, cool, and fill with sweetened whipped cream. Stack three or four on a plate and pour warm chocolate sauce over them.
Choux pastry (about 24 small buns)
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
- 4 tbsp (55 g) butter
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ cup (65 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking sheet.
- Bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a boil. Add the flour all at once and stir hard over the heat until the dough forms a ball and leaves a film on the pan.
- Cool for 5 minutes, then beat in the eggs a little at a time until the dough is smooth, glossy and drops slowly from the spoon.
- Pipe or spoon walnut-sized mounds onto the sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and deep golden. Do not open the oven for the first 15 minutes.
- Pierce each bun with a skewer and return to the switched-off oven for 5 minutes to dry. Cool on a rack.
Whipped cream filling
Whip 1½ cups of cold heavy cream with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla to stiff peaks. Pipe it in through a hole in the base, or split the buns and spoon it in. A whipped cream dispenser with a filling tip fills a tray in a minute. Other fillings are in the cream puff filling guide: pastry cream, diplomat cream and mascarpone cream.
Chocolate sauce
Heat ½ cup of heavy cream until steaming, pour over 4 oz of chopped dark chocolate, wait a minute and stir until glossy. Serve warm. More on ratios: chocolate ganache.
Variations
- Ice cream profiteroles: fill with small scoops of vanilla ice cream and serve at once.
- Coffee: 1 tsp instant espresso in the cream.
- Caramel: caramel sauce instead of chocolate.
- Tower: stack filled buns into a cone for a celebration.
Frequently asked questions
What are profiteroles?
Small hollow buns of choux pastry filled with whipped cream, pastry cream or ice cream and served with chocolate sauce.
What is the difference between profiteroles and cream puffs?
They are the same pastry. Profiteroles are usually smaller, served several to a plate, and always come with chocolate sauce.
Why did my choux buns collapse?
They were under-baked or the oven door was opened too early. Bake until deep golden and dry, then pierce each bun to let the steam out.
Can I make profiteroles ahead?
Yes. Bake the shells up to 2 days ahead or freeze them, and re-crisp in the oven for 5 minutes. Fill shortly before serving.
