This easy profiteroles recipe is the epitome of French indulgence. The chocolate sauce for profiteroles alone will make you swoon at the sight of this dessert, and the creamy cool profiterole filling just clinches the deal.
Classic Profiteroles Recipe
While I had enjoyed simple cream puffs before, I had never had chocolate profiteroles like these. This easy profiterole dessert had been inspired by an experience I had at a classic French bistro near Place des Victoires. It was a picturesque restaurant in the 1st arr. and looked exactly like what you’d envision a French bistro to look like.
While the restaurant didn’t boast the best French food I ever had, the menu featured a lot classic bistro items like steak frites and soupe à l’oignon, so I knew that I definitely wanted to pop in. The restaurant served a decent steak, but what’s always stood out in my memory from that night was the profiteroles pastry I ordered for dessert.
The chocolate profiteroles were so wildly decadent that I just couldn’t help but clap my hands in glee over the dessert presented before me. They were some of the best profiteroles I ever had.
Chocolate Sauce for Profiteroles
While you may have seen choux pastry profiteroles in recipes like a profiteroles tower or profiteroles cake, this classic profiteroles recipe is distinguished by its indulgent profiterole filling of ice cream and topping, warm chocolate sauce.
The chocolate sauce for profiteroles is simply made with melted chocolate and heavy cream, and it’s pure heaven.
Before the profiteroles pastry came out served on a plate to me,I remember looking at the dessert menu and feeling entirely intrigued. Pate a choux pastry filled with ice cream and drenched in warm chocolate sauce.
Who could say no to anything covered in warm chocolate sauce?
After the storm that I had walked through that night to get to the restaurant, I felt like I deserved a sinfully good treat like profiteroles. Obviously, it was a fantastic choice as I haven’t been able to forget it.
The two profiteroles that were served to me that night definitely wiped away any previous sorrow I felt for my broken umbrella and frizzy hair. Moreover, they left a lasting impression on me that inspired me to make my own easy profiteroles recipe at home.
Profiteroles Filling
These profiteroles are just as delicious as the ones I enjoyed in Paris. They’re made with delicate pate a choux pastry, which is easier to make than you probably think.
A simple combination of staple ingredients in a small saucepan will yield the pastry dough you need for the base of the profiteroles.
The pastry dough is then piped out into mounds on a baking sheet, baked for approximately 30 minutes, then cooled until ready to be filled.
Profiteroles can be filled with pastry cream, whipped cream (like they are in this Paris Brest), or ice cream as they’re shown here.
A horizontal slice through the pastry leaves the perfect opening for sweet vanilla ice cream. And then as if these profiteroles weren’t tantalizing enough, they’re doused in warm chocolate ganache for pure indulgence.
As the French would say, c’est la vie!
Profiteroles Recipe
Yield: 8
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Pastry puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with melted chocolate.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 2 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- vanilla ice cream, for filling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the water, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and salt. Warm until the butter has melted.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the all-purpose flour. Once the flour has been mixed in, move the saucepan back over the heat and reduce the heat to low. Stir the dough until it's smooth, shiny, and doesn't stick to the bottom or sides of the saucepan (about 1-2 minutes). It's very important to make sure the dough is not sticking at all, as this ensures that you've removed much of the moisture in the dough.
- Turn off the heat and move the saucepan onto your counter. Add in your eggs, one at a time, mixing them into the dough well before adding the other egg. It may seem a bit difficult to mix the egg into the dough but after several seconds of vigorous beating, they'll get mixed in and the dough will look smooth and paste-like again rather than glossy and clumpy. Once the eggs are incorporated, you can fill a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe the batter out in medium size mounds (about 1 1/2 inches wide).
- Place the baking sheet in the oven at 425°F for 10 minutes. Then, WITHOUT opening the oven door, lower the heat to 375°F and continue to bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the pate a choux is a deep golden hue. Once the pate a choux has finished baking, open the oven door and gently pierce each mound with a sharp knife to let out steam. Let the puffs rest in the oven, with the oven door slightly ajar and the oven completely turned off, for another 15 minutes. Finally, remove from oven and let completely cool on a wire rack. Once cool, take a serrated knife and make horizontal cuts through each puff to split each puff into two halves (top and bottom).
- Warm the heavy cream in a small bowl in the microwave for approximately 10 to 15 seconds, until steaming. Add in the chocolate and stir until it's melted and smooth.
- Place a couple of mini scoops of ice cream over each pastry puff's bottom half, then cover with the top half. Pour ganache over profiteroles.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8Serving Size: 8 Servings
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 195
