What Are Profiteroles? Choux Buns, Cream and Chocolate

Profiteroles are small choux pastry buns filled with cream or ice cream and served with chocolate sauce. A guide to their history and how to serve them.

Profiteroles are small round choux pastry buns filled with whipped cream, pastry cream or ice cream, usually piled on a plate and covered in warm chocolate sauce. They use the same pastry as éclairs, in a round shape. They are a classic of French brasseries and of Mediterranean patisseries.

History

Choux pastry is often credited to the Italian cook Popelini, said to have come to France with Catherine de' Medici in the sixteenth century, but that story is not well documented. The word profiterole first meant a small reward or gift, and later became the name of the cream-filled bun.

The pastry

Water, butter, flour and eggs are cooked into a paste, piped into small mounds and baked until puffed and hollow. Pricking each bun after baking lets steam out so the shells stay crisp.

Fillings and sauce

In France, profiteroles are often filled with vanilla ice cream and served with hot chocolate sauce poured at the table. Elsewhere they hold whipped cream or crème pâtissière. Stacked into a tall cone and bound with caramel, they become the croquembouche, a celebration centrepiece.

Cold inside, warm chocolate on top.

Serving

Fill profiteroles as close to serving as you can so the shells don't soften, and add the sauce at the last moment.

Ask Délices

We bake by the season, so call us to ask what's on the counter today, or to plan a dessert table for an occasion: +20 3 486 1432. You'll find us at 46 Saad Zaghloul Street, Raml Station, open daily 8 AM – 1 AM.