Profiteroles (Mini Cream Puffs)

A stack of mini cream puff profiteroles filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate sauce.

5 from 1 vote

Profiteroles (Mini Cream Puffs)

This recipe walks you through making your own profiteroles, starting with airy choux pastry puffs, filled with a creamy pastry cream, whipped cream, or even ice cream, and topped with a smooth chocolate glaze.

Perfect for any gathering, these mini cream puffs are easy to customize with different fillings like buttercream, pudding, custard, fruit curd.

If you want to make homemade fillings like custard and pastry cream, make those first so they have a chance to chill and set up.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: French

Keyword: baking, pastry, profiteroles

Servings: profiteroles

Author: Dahn Boquist

Ingredients

Choose Your Filling

Vanilla pastry cream
Chocolate pastry cream
Store bought pudding
Whipped Cream
Ice Cream (you will need to keep the profiteroles in the freezer)

Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)

1 cup water (227 grams)
8 tablespoons butter (113 grams)
½ teaspoon salt
1-¼ cups all purpose flour (150 grams)
4 large eggs

For the Chocolate Glaze

½ cup heavy cream (113 grams)
¾ cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips (4.5 oz; 127 grams)
1 tablespoon corn syrup

Instructions

Choux Pastry (Pâte à Choux)

Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In a large saucepan, combine water, butter, sugar, and salt. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter has fully melted and the mixture reaches a boil.
Take the pan off the heat, then add all of the flour at once. Using a sturdy spoon or a stiff spatula, stir the mixture vigorously until well combined.
Place the saucepan back on medium heat and stir continuously for about one to two minutes. The mixture should become smooth and start to steam. At this point, the batter will appear quite thick and have a shiny texture.
Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The dough needs to cool down to between 125°F to 135°F so it doesn’t cook the eggs when you add them.
If you don’t have a thermometer, guess the temperature with your finger…the dough should feel hot but you should be able to hold your finger in it for a few seconds.
Once the dough reaches 125°F to 135°F, beat the eggs in (either by hand or with an electric mixer). Wait until each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next one.
After you add each egg, the pastry will look like it splits apart but it will eventually come together if you keep beating it. Once all the eggs are incorporated, scrape down the bowl and beat it for 5 to 10 more seconds.
Fit a pastry bag with a #6 round tip or cut the end of a pastry bag making a ½ inch cut. Spoon the pastry dough into the bag.
Holding the piping bag straight up and down, pipe small mounds (about the size of a tablespoon) onto the baking sheet. Space the mounds about 1-½ inches apart. You should get 24 to 30 mounds.
Wet your fingers and tap down any points on the mounds so they look like smooth, round balls.
Bake for 20 minutes to 30 minutes or until golden brown. If you pipe larger mounds, you will need to bake them longer. Keep an eye on them through the oven window and don’t open the door until they turn golden brown.
When they turn golden brown, you can open the door and check them. They should feel firm and hold their shape when you poke them with your finger. if they feel soft and sink when you poke them, let them bake a little longer.
Remove them from the oven and quickly poke a small hole in the bottom of each profiterole to let the steam out. Place them back on the baking tray and return them to the oven.
Turn the oven off and prop the door open with the handle of a wooden spoon. Leave them in the oven for 30 minutes with the door cracked. This will allow them to dry out and get crispy and have the right texture to hold up to the pastry cream.
Transfer the profiteroles to a cooling rack. Use the tip of a paring knife to enlarge the holes in the bottom of each profiterole.

Fill the Profiteroles

Get your filling ready (see the notes if you are using ice cream).
If you made a homemade custard or pastry cream, use a whisk to give it a good stir to loosen it up. Spoon the filling into a pastry bag fitted with a piping tip.
Poke the tip into the hole in the bottom of each profiterole and squeeze the pastry bag until you feel a slight resistance as if the profiteroles are ready to bulge.

Make the Glaze and finish the Profiteroles

Place the cream in a saucepan and heat it over medium high heat until it just starts to bubble. Remove it from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Whisk until smooth then stir in 1 tablespoon of corn syrup.
Dip the profiteroles in the chocolate glaze and place them in the fridge for 30 minutes or until the glaze sets up and gets firm.

Notes

Additional Filling Ideas for Profiteroles

Lemon curd
Dulce de leche or caramel mixed with whipped cream
Whipped cream cheese sweetened with sugar
Nutella folded into whipped cream

Filling the Profiteroles with Ice Cream

Slice each cooled pastry shell in half horizontally. Place a small scoop of your favorite ice cream onto the bottom half, then gently press the top half back on. Serve immediately or freeze until ready to enjoy.

You can make the choux pastry 1 day in advance if stored in the fridge inside a sealed pastry bag.

Choux pastry recipe adapted from King Arthur.

Nutrition