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Published: Sep 12, 2022 by Sugar Geek Show · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

Profiteroles Recipe

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This classic profiteroles recipe is a staple in French pastry and is a great recipe to follow if this is your first time making pâte à choux. Each delightful bite-sized frozen treat is a crisp pastry shell filled with a scoop of homemade vanilla bean gelato and topped with a warm chocolate sauce. If you're a fan of cream puffs and ice cream sandwiches, then you will love this recipe.spoon dripping chocolate glaze on a profiterole

This profiterole recipe is courtesy of our Executive Pastry Chef, Christophe Rull, who will walk you through the basics of making pâte à choux. It's important to have crisp pastry shells with your choux recipes because a soggy profiterole isn't as good as a fresh one. Make the dough and freeze it ahead of time, or bake the choux buns in advance and fill them with vanilla ice cream when you're ready to serve!

Table of contents

  • Profiteroles Ingredients
  • Making Homemade Profiteroles
    • Making the Cream Puff Shells
    • Making the Gelato
    • Making the Chocolate Sauce
  • FAQ
  • Related Recipes

Profiteroles Ingredientsingredients for profiteroles laid out on a table

Vanilla beans give the ultimate flavor, but you may use vanilla paste or extract if you’d like.

Ice Cream Stabilizer is exactly what it sounds like. It keeps water crystals small and soft, making the gelato denser and smoother. This will help the gelato hold its consistency under frozen temperatures. We are using cremodan 30 in this recipe, but you can leave it out if you do not have it.

Glucose is widely used in Europe over corn syrup, but some glucose is made from different plant sources while corn syrup is made from corn starches. It can be hard to find glucose, so you can use corn syrup and it will have the same effect. It’s used to keep the chocolate glaze soft when you put it in the freezer, so you don't have a hard bite of chocolate with your profiterole.

Glucose Powder is used to sweeten and stabilize the gelato. Since this gelato is a cream base, it does not need any more moisture which is why we are using powder over corn syrup.  

64% Dark Chocolate will result in the best flavor for your chocolate sauce. You can use any type of chocolate you'd like, or even store-bought sauce if that is easier. The percentage you see on the chocolate package is the percentage of actual cocoa in it. The higher the percentage, the darker the chocolate. If you prefer milk chocolate, that would be delicious too!

Making Homemade Profiteroles

This choux pastry recipe comes together quickly, but try to plan ahead if you're making all of these components from scratch. The gelato base needs time to chill before churning it, the chocolate sauce needs time to cool before pouring it, and the cream puffs need time to cool down before filling them. Make the gelato first (preferably a day ahead), then the pastry shells, and finally the chocolate ganache sauce when you're ready to serve.profiteroles with ice cream and chocolate glaze

Making the Cream Puff Shells

  1. Add the milk, water, salt, sugar, and butter to a medium saucepan, then bring it to a boil. It is important to make sure that the butter is melting at the same rate the milk is heating so that the milk doesn't boil before the butter is melted. Slowly moving it around with a wooden spoon helps distribute the heat evenly. milk pouring into a pot over a stove
  2. Once the mixture has come to a boil, turn off the heat and add the sifted flour all at once. flour pouring into a pot of milk over the stove
  3. Begin stirring immediately with a wooden spoon, and continue to stir for 1 minute until the flour is fully incorporated, it will look a lot like mashed potatoes. combined ingredients for pate a choux, looks like mashed potatoes
  4. Turn the heat back on to medium-high heat and continue to stir and keep it moving to dry out the dough.pâte à choux cooking in a pot over the stove
  5. Once you see a browning layer on the bottom of the pan, the dough is dry enough and you can remove it from the heat. pâte à choux drying out in a pot over the stove with brown on the bottom of the pot
  6. Put the dough immediately into the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and begin to mix to cool it down, this should take about 30 seconds.pouring pâte à choux into a stand mixer bowl
  7. Add the eggs one at a time, letting each egg incorporate fully before the next. Mix on low until the dough is fully combined with no spots of dry flour, and stiff enough to hold its shape, but pull to a soft peak when picking up the spoon. pouring eggs into pâte à choux in a stand mixer bowlfinished pouring eggs into pâte à choux dough
  8. Prepare a pastry bag with a large round tip, Christophe is using an Ateco 809 tip. Fill the piping bag with the dough.pâte à choux going into a piping bag
  9. On to a prepared baking tray, pipe the pâte à choux rounds slightly smaller than your desired final size, as they will “puff” and expand in the oven. Chef Christophe is using a "silpain" baking mat, but parchment paper will work as well.piping cream puff dough onto a baking sheet
  10. Gently smooth the top of the cream puff with a wet finger.gloved finger touching the top of an unbaked cream puff to remove the point
  11. Bake at 350°F (176°C) for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack to room temperature for about 30 minutes.baking tray of finished golden cream puffsbottom of a golden brown baked cream puff

Making the Gelato

  1. Add the milk, cream, half of the sugar, glucose powder, and the vanilla bean to a medium saucepan over the stove, stir with a spatula and cook it over medium heat until the mixture reaches 80°C (175°F).adding vanilla bean seeds to a pot of milk
  2. Mix about half of the remaining sugar into the ice cream stabilizer, and stir it together well to avoid lumps. We're using cremodan 30, but you can leave it out if desired.
  3. At 80°C (175°F), add the sugar and stabilizer mixture to the pot and whisk constantly.adding ice cream stabilizer to a pot of milk
  4. Mix together the rest of the sugar (¼ of the total sugar) into the egg yolks.pouring sugar into a bowl of egg yolks
  5. Bring the milk mixture to a simmer and turn off the heat.pot of simmering milk
  6. Add about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture to the eggs and stir it together until combined. This is called tempering the eggs and will help prevent lumps in your gelato.pot of steaming milk being poured into a small bowl of eggs
  7. Add the egg and milk mixture back into the pot and cook over medium heat until it reaches 83°C (181°F). Stir around the bottom and sides of the pan in a figure-eight shape to prevent burning.pouring tempered eggs into a pot of steaming milk
  8. Pour the ice cream base into a medium bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour until completely cooled, or place it in an ice bath to cool it down faster.pouring ice cream base into a bowl on top of an ice bath
  9. Add ice and ice cream salt around the outside of your ice cream machine bowl. I'm using a Bosch universal plus stand mixer with an ice cream attachment in the center.pouring ice cream salt on top of ice into an ice cream maker
  10. Pour the base in the center and mix on high for about 20 minutes until the ice cream is thick. Churn the cooled-down ice cream base in an ice cream machine.pouring ice cream base into an ice cream makerspatula with homemade gelato in an ice cream maker

Making the Chocolate Sauce

  1. Heat the glucose in the microwave for about 15 seconds until it is very liquid.
  2. Add the glucose and milk to a small saucepan over the stove, stir with a spatula and bring it to a simmer over medium heat.pouring a container of milk into a pot over the stove
  3. Fill a large measuring cup with the chocolate and pour the milk mixture over the top. Wait for about 1 minute until the chocolate melts.pouring hot milk over chocolate in a mixing cup
  4. Blend the chocolate sauce with an immersion blender until smooth and fully combined. You can use a whisk if that's all you have.mixing chocolate glaze with an immersion blender
  5. Refrigerate the sauce until it's completely cold, about 30 minutes.
  6. Fill a pastry bag with the sauce and snip off the tip.

Assembling the Profiteroles

  1. Take your gelato (or ice cream) out of the freezer to start warming up so that it's easy to scoop.oval bowl filled with vanilla gelato
  2. Slice the fully cooled cream puff in half with a serrated knife, this will avoid crushing the hollow shell. serrated knife cutting through a cream puff
  3. Place a small scoop of ice cream on the bottom half of the cream puff and add the top lid.placing a scoop of gelato onto the bottom of a cream puff
  4. Keep the profiteroles on a baking sheet and move them in and out of the freezer as you're assembling to keep the ice cream from melting.
  5. Pipe the chocolate sauce on top when you're ready to serve.profiteroles with ice cream and chocolate glaze
  6. Freeze the profiteroles in an airtight container for 1-2 days.

FAQ

What is the difference between a cream puff and a profiterole?

The main difference is the filling. Cream puffs are typically filled with vanilla pastry cream or whipped cream, while profiteroles are filled with ice cream and topped with a chocolate glaze.

Can I make profiteroles a day ahead?

Yes, pipe your choux dough into balls and freeze them on a sheet pan, then let them thaw out and bake when you're ready to serve. You can also bake them, store them in an airtight container and re-crisp them in the oven before filling.

How long will profiteroles keep?

 Once you fill them with ice cream, freeze them right away and they can keep up to 1-2 days.

How do you keep profiteroles crisp?

Sadly profiteroles are made with pate a choux which tends to go soggy once refrigerated or frozen. After baking, make sure to let them cool fully on a wire rack so that they dry out. Before filling them, you can re-crisp cream puffs by placing them in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes on the day you intend to use them.

Why didn’t my profiteroles puff?

The eggs must then be added little by little, while you beat the batter as vigorously as possible, both to incorporate them and to add air to help it rise. The dough also needs to be dried enough so that they develop a hollow inside.

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Recipe

spoon dripping chocolate glaze on a profiterole

Profiteroles Recipe

Learn how to make classic profiteroles with homemade choux pastry balls, creamy vanilla gelato from scratch, and a soft chocolate glaze. Profiteroles can also be filled with pastry cream or whipped cream and topped with a caramel sauce or a dusting of powdered sugar. Use store-bought ice cream and pre-made chocolate sauce for easy profiteroles on a hot summer's day.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe
Prep Time: 1 hour hour
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Chilling Time: 3 hours hours
Total Time: 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Servings: 36 profiteroles
Calories: 130kcal
Author: Elizabeth Marek

Equipment

  • emersion blender optional
  • Piping Bags
  • Silpain baking mat optional

Ingredients

Cream Puff Shells Ingredients

  • 160 grams whole milk
  • 160 grams water
  • 4 grams salt
  • 6 grams granulated sugar
  • 140 grams unsalted butter European, like plugra
  • 180 grams all-purpose flour sifted
  • 200 grams large eggs

Vanilla Gelato Ingredients

  • 500 grams whole milk
  • 170 grams heavy cream
  • 130 grams granulated sugar
  • 30 grams glucose powder
  • 4 grams ice cream stabilizer cremodan 30
  • 1 whole vanilla bean
  • 30 grams egg yolks

Chocolate Sauce Ingredients

  • 220 grams whole milk
  • 120 grams glucose
  • 180 grams 64% dark chocolate

Instructions

Making the Cream Puff Shells

  • Add the milk, water, salt, sugar, and butter to a medium saucepan, then bring it to a boil. It is important to make sure that the butter is melting at the same rate the milk is heating so that the milk doesn't boil before the butter is melted. Slowly moving it around with a wooden spoon helps distribute the heat evenly. 
  • Once the mixture has come to a boil, turn off the heat and add the sifted flour all at once. 
  • Begin stirring immediately with a wooden spoon, and continue to stir for 1 minute until the flour is fully incorporated, it will look a lot like mashed potatoes. 
  • Turn the heat back on to medium-high heat and continue to stir and keep it moving to dry out the dough.
  • Once you see a browning layer on the bottom of the pan, the dough is dry enough and you can remove it from the heat. 
  • Put the dough immediately into the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and begin to mix to cool it down, this should take about 30 seconds.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, letting each egg incorporate fully before the next. Mix on low until the dough is fully combined with no spots of dry flour, and stiff enough to hold its shape, but pull to a soft peak when picking up the spoon. 
  • Prepare a pastry bag with a large round tip, Christophe is using an Ateco 809 tip. Fill the piping bag with the dough.
  • On to a prepared baking tray, pipe the pâte à choux rounds slightly smaller than your desired final size, as they will “puff” and expand in the oven. Chef Christophe is using a "silpain" baking mat, but parchment paper will work as well.
  • Gently smooth the top of the cream puff with a wet finger.
  • Bake at 350°F (176°C) for 25-30 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool on a wire rack to room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Making the Gelato

  • Add the milk, cream, half of the sugar, glucose powder, and the vanilla bean to a medium saucepan over the stove, stir with a spatula and cook it over medium heat until the mixture reaches 80°C (175°F).
  • Mix about half of the remaining sugar into the ice cream stabilizer, and stir it together well to avoid lumps. We're using cremodan 30, but you can leave it out if desired.
  • At 80°C (175°F), add the sugar and stabilizer mixture to the pot and whisk constantly.
  • Mix together the rest of the sugar (¼ of the total sugar) into the egg yolks.
  • Bring the milk mixture to a simmer and turn off the heat.
  • Add about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture to the eggs and stir it together until combined. This is called tempering the eggs and will help prevent lumps in your gelato.
  • Add the egg and milk mixture back into the pot and cook over medium heat until it reaches 83°C (181°F). Stir around the bottom and sides of the pan in a figure-eight shape to prevent burning.
  • Pour the ice cream base into a medium bowl and place it in the refrigerator for 1 hour until completely cooled, or place it in an ice bath to cool it down faster.
  • Add ice and ice cream salt around the outside of your ice cream machine bowl. I'm using a Bosch universal plus stand mixer with an ice cream attachment in the center.
  • Pour the base in the center and mix on high for about 20 minutes until the ice cream is thick. Churn the cooled-down ice cream base in an ice cream machine.

Making the Chocolate Sauce

  • Heat the glucose in the microwave for about 15 seconds until it is very liquid.
  • Add the glucose and milk to a small saucepan over the stove, stir with a spatula and bring it to a simmer over medium heat.
  • Fill a large measuring cup with the chocolate and pour the milk mixture over the top. Wait for about 1 minute until the chocolate melts.
  • Blend the chocolate sauce with an immersion blender until smooth and fully combined. You can use a whisk if that's all you have.
  • Refrigerate the sauce until it's completely cold, about 30 minutes.
  • Fill a pastry bag with the sauce and snip off the tip.

Assembling the Profiteroles

  • Take your gelato (or ice cream) out of the freezer to start warming up so that it's easy to scoop.
  • Slice the fully cooled cream puff in half with a serrated knife, this will avoid crushing the hollow shell. 
  • Place a small scoop of ice cream on the bottom half of the cream puff and add the top lid.
  • Keep the profiteroles on a baking sheet and move them in and out of the freezer as you're assembling to keep the ice cream from melting.
  • Pipe the chocolate sauce on top when you're ready to serve.

Notes

Important Things To Note Before You Start
1. Bring all your ingredients to room temperature or even a little warm (eggs, buttermilk, butter, etc). 
2. Use a scale to weigh your ingredients (including liquids) unless otherwise instructed (Tablespoons, teaspoons, pinch etc). Metric measurements are available in the recipe card. Scaled ingredients are much more accurate than using cups and help ensure the success of your recipe. 
3. Practice Mise en Place (everything in it’s place). Measure out your ingredients ahead of time and have them ready before you start mixing to reduce the chances of accidentally leaving something out.
4. What is the difference between cream puffs and profiteroles? Cream puffs are typically filled with vanilla pastry cream or whipped cream, while profiteroles are filled with ice cream and topped with a chocolate glaze.
5. Profiteroles are made with pate a choux which tends to go soggy once refrigerated or frozen. After baking, make sure to let them cool fully on a wire rack so that they dry out. Before filling them, you can re-crisp cream puffs by placing them in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes on the day you intend to use them.

Nutrition

Serving: 1profiterole | Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 68mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 249IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg
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