profiteroles.
note: the following pâte à choux/choux pastry recipe (steps 1-7) is claire saffitz’s recipe, featured in her book dessert person - it is paraphrased from pages 346-347 of dessert person. this makes about 14 choux cream puffs. for a video tutorial, reference claire saffitz’s youtube video: claire saffitz makes cheese puffs / pâte à choux part 1 | dessert person
ingredients
pâte à choux/choux pastry - source: dessert person by claire saffitz (pg 346-347)
1/4 cup (63g) whole milk
1/4 cup (59g) water
1/2 tbsp (7g) granulated sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3 1/2 tbsps (50g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (65g) all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, room temperature
vanilla ice cream
powdered sugar, for garnish (optional)
chocolate ganache
2 oz (60g) heavy cream
2 oz (~56g) semi-sweet chocolate
1 tbsp whole milk
tools
small stainless steel saucepan
wooden spatula/spoon
medium bowl
pastry bags
baking sheet
parchment paper
2” inch cookie cutter
pen
pastry brush
paring knife
hand mixer/stand mixer
small serrated knife
small pot
wooden spoon
whisk
serrated or paring knife
ice cream scoop
mesh sieve (optional to dust powdered sugar)
steps
make the pate a choux - source: dessert person by claire saffitz (pg 346-347)
1. in a small saucepan, combine milk, sugar, salt, butter, & water. bring mixture to a lively simmer over medium-low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon to melt butter. when you see active bubbling, add flour all at once and stir slowly to incorporate it into the liquid. once flour disappears, stir vigorously until all ingredients come together into a soft dough and a light film forms around the sides and across the bottom of the saucepan. continue to cook dough, using spoon to smack it against the sides, until dough is smooth & firm and holds together in a ball, about 3 minutes
2. transfer to a medium bowl and let rest about 5-10 minutes. add in about 2 1/2 eggs, one at a time, stirring thoroughly with wooden spoon after each addition. it will look separated at first but will smooth out with mixing. after each egg, dough should look glossier and looser than before. final mixture should be very glossy, smooth, and thick enough to hold its shape but loose enough that it leaves a thin V-shaped trail as it falls off the end of the spoon
3. scrape batter into a large pastry bag
4. preheat oven to 425F. line baking sheet with parchment paper. trace around a 2” cookie cutter, making rows of circles spaced about 1 1/2” apart (draw about 16 circles - 4x4. you may not fill in all 16). turn parchment over so the ink side is down
5. snip 1/2” opening in pastry bag filled with dough. center opening of the bag inside a circle and squeeze gently, without moving bag, to extrude mound of dough, filling circle. pipe until all the circles are filled
6. beat remaining 1/2 egg in a small bowl, then use a pastry brush to dab it gently over all dough mounds
7. once ready to bake, reduce oven temperature to 375F and transfer baking sheets to oven. bake until puffs are risen and deep golden brown, 25-30 minutes. turn off oven and allow puffs to cool inside with oven door propped open for 15 minutes. remove from oven and use tip of a paring knife to poke a small hole in bottom of each puff to allow steam to escape. let puffs cool completely on baking sheet
make the chocolate ganache
8. in a small pot,
combine mascarpone, vanilla bean extract, powdered sugar, & about 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream, and with hand/stand mixer, whip until mixture is smooth. then add in remaining heavy whipping cream and whip until medium-stiff peaks. do not overmix
assemble the profiteroles
9. once cream puffs are completely cool, use small serrated knife to slice top part of the choux pastry (about 1/3). fill bottom part of choux pastry with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream and cover with top, like a hat. optional garnish: dust with powdered sugar. pour chocolate ganache over choux puffs
10. enjoy!
notes
i highly recommend watching claire saffitz’s youtube video: claire saffitz makes cheese puffs / pâte à choux part 1 | dessert person before proceeding with this recipe
in step 2, before adding in the eggs, i beat the 2 eggs together, then pour into the batter, half at a time. then i beat the remaining egg and add in about half into the batter. i use the remaining half of the beaten egg as egg wash in step 6
for any leftover profiteroles, freeze them and let sit in room temperature for a couple before enjoying :)
videos
@_yu.jung profiteroles 🍫 choux puffs with vanilla ice cream & chocolate ganache, a simple but dreamy dessert ✨ #profiteroles #frenchdessert #choux #homebaking #baking #homecafe #aesthetic #foryou #fyp #easyrecipe ♬ Originalton - 🎶SpeedUp&Sia Sounds🎶
