Profiterole is a French spoon dessert, of Italian origins, famous all over the world! Delicious choux puffs filled with Chantilly cream and covered with chocolate glaze!
Usually served in a pyramid shape and decorated with wisps of Chantilly cream.
The obtain the perfect Chantilly cream it must be very fresh and cold from the refrigerator. To mount it, it is best to start at a low speed and then, when bubbles appear on the surface, you can increase the speed. Be careful, it is a delicate cream, if you whip it too much you risk turning it into butter.
Every year for my birthday, I like to have a cake different from previous years, such as the delicious pistachio and ricotta cake that was so successful among the guests at my birthday party. This year I wanted to take a trip back in time to the 70s and 80s. The legendary profiterole was made and gifted a lot during those times and so, even though I didn’t have a party due to the covid, I also indulged in this throwback dessert and I’m glad to say it was a success!
Profiterole Origins
Although born in the court of France, it seems that the profiterole draws its origins from the Italian Renaissance.
It was Caterina de ‘Medici, queen consort of the French King Henry II, who brought some of the tastiest Italian recipes across the Alps. In addition to the well-known bechamel sauce, it seems that one of her personal chefs, named Popelini, created cream puff pastry for the first time in 1540.
Classic Profiterole – Throwback Dessert
Ingredients
Bigne (choux pastries)
- 240 ml water 1 cup
- 100 g butter ~ 8 tbsp
- 4 eggs
- 130 g flour 00 ~ 1 cup
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
Chocolate Glaze
- 150 ml whipping cream ⅔ cup
- 350 g milk chocolate 12.35 oz
Italian Chantilly Cream
- 250 ml whipping cream 1 cup
- 50 g powdered sugar 4 tbsp
- Vanilla bean seeds
Instructions
- Bigne (choux pastries)
- Pour the water into a saucepan.
- Add the butter, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the flour, stirring continuously avoiding lumps.
- Place the pot back on low heat and stir vigorously slamming the mixture with a wooden spoon, until the dough combines and begins to come away from the sides of the pot (you will see a white film on the walls of the pot).
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200° C)
- Add the eggs one by one to the cool mixture and mix well before adding the additional eggs, one at a time.
- Spoon the dough into a "sac a poche" (pastry bag) and pipe the desired shape onto the baking sheet.
- Then with a damp finger, flatten the apex.
- Bake until the choux pastry shells puff up and are golden brown on top (35-40 minutes).
- Chocolate Glaze
- Finely chop the chocolate and gradually pour the hot cream (92 ° C) over it.
- Mix gently with the spatula, trying to incorporate as little air as possible.
- Stir until the chocolate melts completely becoming a compact and shiny cream.
Italian Chantilly Cream- Pour the cold cream into a container that must be equally cold and add the vanilla seeds.
- With an electric mixer, whip the cream at medium-high speed until it is semi-whipped.
- At this stage, add the sifted icing sugar.
- Continue to whip until the desired consistency is reached.
- Transfer the Chantilly cream into a pastry bag with a smooth nozzle.
- Assembling
- As soon as the puffs are cold, make a hole in the bottom of each with a small knife.
- Fill each puff with the Chantilly cream.
- Dip each puff in the chocolate glaze until they are well covered and place them in a pyramid shape on a plate.
- Make, with the leftover, Chantilly cream a few sprigs for decoration.
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