Profiteroles with Pastry Cream

This profiteroles recipe yields crisp, hollow choux buns filled with rich vanilla pastry cream and topped with a decadent chocolate sauce.

Why You’ll Love This Dish?

  • Elegant yet Simple: A classic French dessert that's easier than it looks, perfect for impressing guests.
  • Make-Ahead Friendly: Prepare the components in advance and assemble when ready to serve.
  • Deliciously Decadent: Crisp pastry, smooth cream, and luscious chocolate make for a crowd-pleaser.

Ingredients

Key Ingredients

  • Unsalted Butter: The backbone of perfect choux pastry. Also used in pastry cream and sauce.
  • Granulated Sugar: Just enough to add a subtle sweetness.
  • Salt: The secret flavor enhancer that balances sweetness.
  • All-Purpose Flour: Creates crispy shells. Bread flour works too.
  • Eggs: Yolks for the pastry cream, whole eggs for choux.
  • Whole Milk: Full-fat milk for rich pastry cream.
  • Cornstarch: Helps the pastry cream hold its shape.
  • Vanilla Extract: For flavor; vanilla paste also works.
  • Heavy Cream: For chocolate sauce; keeps it smooth.
  • Semisweet Chocolate: Use good-quality for best results.

Vanilla Pastry Cream

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
  • Pinch of salt
  • 5 large egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Choux Pastry

  • 1 cup water
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature

Chocolate Sauce

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Instructions

How to Make Profiteroles

Have everything ready and measured before you begin for best results.

Make the Pastry Cream

  1. HEAT the milk, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt until it simmers. Remove from heat.
  2. WHISK yolks, remaining sugar, and cornstarch. Temper with hot milk and return all to pot.
  3. COOK over medium heat, whisking, until thickened and starting to boil.
  4. REMOVE from heat, whisk in vanilla and butter.
  5. STRAIN through a sieve, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface, and chill 2 hours.

Make the Choux Buns

  1. PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Line trays with parchment or mats.
  2. BOIL water, butter, sugar, and salt until rolling. Remove from heat.
  3. POUR in flour, stir vigorously 2–3 minutes until dough forms.
  4. COOL dough 10 minutes in a bowl or beat in mixer for 2–3 minutes.
  5. ADD beaten eggs in small amounts until dough is smooth, glossy, and forms a "V" ribbon.
  6. PIPE 2-tbsp mounds spaced 1 inch apart on trays.
  7. BAKE 10 mins at 425°F, reduce to 350°F, bake 20–25 mins more.
  8. PIERCE each puff, return to turned-off oven 5 minutes. Cool fully.

Make the Chocolate Sauce

  1. HEAT cream until simmering.
  2. ADD chocolate and butter, let sit 2 minutes.
  3. WHISK until smooth.

Assemble the Profiteroles

  1. FILL a piping bag with cold pastry cream. Pierce the bottom of each puff and pipe in cream.
  2. SERVE with a drizzle or dip in warm chocolate sauce.

Tips For the Best Profiteroles

  • Dough should fall from spatula in a slow "V" ribbon.
  • Use room-temp eggs to avoid lumps.
  • Pipe dough evenly and tamp down tips with wet fingers.
  • Don’t open the oven during baking—steam is key.
  • Stop filling when you feel resistance to avoid overflow.
  • Best served within 2–3 hours of filling.
  • Experiment with caramel, curds, or ice cream filling.
  • Other sauces: caramel, berry coulis, white chocolate ganache.
  • Alternative: cut in half and spoon cream in if skipping piping.

How to Store

Profiteroles don’t store well after assembling. For best results:

  • Freeze baked, cooled buns for 2–3 weeks.
  • Refrigerate pastry cream and sauce separately for 2–3 days.
  • Thaw buns before serving. Warm sauce before use.


Recipe adapted from classic French techniques.