A profiterole (), ''chou à la crème'' (), also known alternatively as a cream puff (US), is a filled French

choux pastry Choux pastry, or (), is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. The essential ingredients are butter, water, flour and eggs. Instead of a raising agent, choux pastry employs its high moisture content to create steam, as the water in ...

ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of

whipped cream Whipped cream, also known as Chantilly cream or (), is high-fat dairy cream that has been aerated by whisking until it becomes light, fluffy, and capable of holding its shape. This process incorporates air into the cream, creating a semi-soli ...

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

pastry cream Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from ...

, or

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

. The puffs may be embellished or left plain or garnished with

chocolate sauce Chocolate syrup, sometimes called chocolate sauce, is a sweet, chocolate-flavored condiment. It is often used as a topping or dessert sauce for various desserts, such as ice cream, or mixed with milk to make chocolate milk or blended with milk ...

caramel Caramel ( or ) is a range of food ingredients made by heating sugars to high temperatures. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons or candy bars, as a topping for ice cream and custard, and as a colorant ...

, or a dusting of

powdered sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar and icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent—such as corn starch, potato ...

. Savory profiterole are also made, filled with pureed meats, cheese, and so on. These were formerly common garnishes for soups. The various names may be associated with particular variants of filling or sauce in different places.

Preparation

Choux pastry Choux pastry, or (), is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. The essential ingredients are butter, water, flour and eggs. Instead of a raising agent, choux pastry employs its high moisture content to create steam, as the water in ...

dough is piped through a

pastry bag A pastry bag (or piping bag in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth) is an often Cone (geometry), cone- or triangular-shaped bag made from cloth, paper bag, paper, plastic bag, plastic, or the intestinal lining of a lamb, that is squeezed b ...

or dropped with a pair of spoons into small balls and baked to form largely hollow puffs. After cooling, the baked profiteroles are injected with filling using a pastry bag and narrow piping tip, or by slicing off the top, filling them, and reassembling. For sweet profiteroles, additional glazes or decorations may then be added.

Presentation

The most common presentations are pastry cream, whipped cream, or ice cream filling, topped with powdered sugar or chocolate ganache and possibly more whipped cream. They are also served plain, with a crisp caramel glaze, iced, or with fruit. Filled and glazed with caramel, they are assembled into a type of

pièce montée A ''pièce montée'' (, ; plural ''pièces montées'') is a kind of decorative confectionery centerpiece in an architectural or sculptural form used for formal banquets and made of such ingredients as "confectioner’s paste" (also known as ''p ...

called

croquembouche A croquembouche () or ''croque-en-bouche'' is a French dessert consisting of choux pastry puffs piled into a cone and bound with threads of caramel. In Italy and France, it is often served at weddings, baptisms and First Communions. Etymolog ...

s, often served at

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

s in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, during the Christmas holiday in

, and are served during important celebrations in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. Profiteroles are also used as the outer wall of a St. Honoré cake.

History

The French word ''profiterole'', 'small profit, gratification', has been used in cuisine since the 16th century. In the 17th century, profiteroles were small hollow bread rolls filled with a mixture of

sweetbread Sweetbread is a culinary name for the thymus or pancreas, typically from calf or lamb. Sweetbreads have a rich, slightly gamey flavor and a tender, succulent texture. They are often served as an appetizer or a main course and can be accompani ...

s, truffles, artichoke bottoms, mushrooms, pieces of partridge, pheasant, or various poultry, accompanied by garnish. They could also be served in a soup.

François Massialot François Massialot (1660, in Limoges – 1733, in Paris) was a French chef who served as ''chef de cuisine'' (''officier de bouche'') to various illustrious personages, including Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the brother of Louis XIV, and his so ...

in ''Le Cuisinier royal et bourgeois'' (1698) gives several recipes for profiterole soup, with fillings of minced ham and poultry on a stew of mushrooms, asparagus, artichoke bottoms, rooster crests, sweetbreads, and truffles. The profiteroles are made of bread dough. Joseph Menon in his ''Traité de cuisine'' (1732) and François Marin in ''Les Dons de Comus'' (1750) give other examples of savory recipes while keeping the same principle. The profiteroles we know today, using choux pastry, were created in the 19th century. Jules Gouffé in his ''Livre de cuisine'' (1870) explains that a profiterole is a small choux pastry. Gustave Garlin in ''Le Cuisinier moderne'' (1887) mentions profiteroles filled with cream and glazed with chocolate or coffee, worked to be smooth and shiny. A widely-repeated legend claims that choux pastry, the key ingredient of profiteroles, was invented by the head chef to the court of

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...

. But this is a 19th-century invention. The pastry cook's art of choux pastry began to develop around the 17th century. The patissier Jean Avice developed the pastry further in the middle of the 18th century and created choux buns, with the dough becoming known as 'pâte à choux', since only choux buns were made from it. In the 19th century,

Antoine Carême Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is most common in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, Frenc ...

developed the recipe used today. Image:Profiteroles by Star5112.jpg, Single profiterole with ice cream and chocolate ganache Image:Windbeutel.jpg, A German version, known as a Image:VĚTRNÍK +šXéřXěéěé.jpg, A Czech version with chocolate Image:İnci Pastanesi Profiterol.jpg, A Turkish version Image:ホイップクリームたっぷり (48154860687).jpg, Japanese cream puffs at a

Fujiya () is a nationwide chain of confectionery, confectionery stores and restaurants in Japan. Its first shop was founded in 1910 in Yokohama. Fujiya is credited with introducing the Christmas cake#Asia, Christmas cake to Japan. In 2016, the compa ...

store in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

U.S.A.

Cream puffs have appeared on U.S. restaurant menus since at least 1851. The

Wisconsin State Fair The Wisconsin State Fair is an annual event held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The modern fair takes place in August (occasionally beginning late July) and lasts 11 days. History The first ...

is known for its giant cream puffs. In

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, coco puffs (not to be confused with Cocoa Puffs) made by Liliha Bakery are a popular dessert. They are filled with chocolate

creme patissiere Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from ...

and topped with a frosting known as "chantilly" (similar to German chocolate cake sans coconut and nuts).

References

External links