Homemade Chocolate Profiteroles Recipe
These delightfully light French Profiteroles are filled with a creamy vanilla Pastry Cream and covered in glossy chocolate sauce!
Ingredients
French Pastry Cream
- 500 g whole milk not skim
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract or vanilla bean paste
- 20 g all-purpose flour plain flour
- 30 g corn starch corn flour
- 40 g caster sugar superfine sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 egg yolks
- 125 g unsalted butter cubed and cold
Choux Pastry
- 185 g water
- 52 g unsalted butter
- 8 g granulated sugar optional
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 112 g bread flour spooned and levelled (see notes)
- 3 large eggs 55g each, room temperature (see notes)
- 50 g powdered sugar to dust
Chocolate Sauce
- 200 g dark cooking chocolate see notes
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 10 g brown sugar see notes
- 125 g heavy cream see notes
Instructions
How to prepare a vanilla bean (if using)
- Use a sharp knife to cut the bean in half longways. Then use the sharp end of the knife to scrape away the little vanilla pods inside the bean. You’ll use the vanilla pods and scraped bean.
French Pastry Cream
- Heat milk and vanilla - Add the milk and vanilla bean paste or vanilla bean (pods and bean) in a saucepan and heat on medium heat, stirring continuously until bubbles begin forming around the sides. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Combine dry ingredients and eggs - To a large heat proof bowl add the flour, corn starch, sugar and salt and whisk to combine. Add the egg yolks and a splash of the warmed milk (about 3 tbsp) and whisk until smooth.
- Add the milk - Slowly add the milk, about 1/4 cup at a time and stir each time until half the milk is in there. Whisk to combine.
- Heat custard - Place back in the saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until it begins to bubble. When bubbles start making their way through the thickened pastry cream turn the heat off.
- Add butter - Add 1/2 the cold butter. Whisk until well combined. Then add the remaining butter and repeat. You want to do this slowly, so the custard doesn’t split.
- Get rid of lumps - Pour through the sieve into a large bowl to ensure no lumps are in it. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for a couple hours or overnight. Use a whisk to mix until smooth before using. To make a Chocolate version of this, check out my Chocolate Pastry Cream recipe here!
Choux Pastry
- Preheat a fan forced oven to 180C / 355F (200C/400F for no fan). Line two half sheet baking trays with baking paper or (for best results) silicone baking mats. If using baking paper stick some of the choux pastry under the baking paper to help it stick to the baking tray.
- Heat butter in water - Add the water, butter, and sugar to a large saucepan. Place on medium heat and stir until the butter has melted and it begins bubbling around the sides.
- Add flour - Once bubbles appear, turn off the heat and add the flour. Stir immediately using a wooden spoon until a dough forms.
- Cook dough - Turn the heat back on medium high and mix continuously for 2-3 minutes. If using a stainless steal pan you’ll notice a film of dough forming on the bottom. This won’t happen with a non-stick pan.
- Add eggs - Take off the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. In the meantime, whisk the eggs together. Add 1/4 of the eggs into the cooled dough and mix until well combined. Add the next 1/4 and continue until all eggs are in the dough. The dough will be sticky to the touch and when stretched in between two fingers, won’t break. If the dough breaks, add another tbsp of whisked egg and test again. If the dough is runny, there are too many eggs, start again.
- Pipe dough - Add the filling to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe 2 tbsp blobs onto lined baking trays. You’ll get 18 blobs on each tray. These will puff up and spread into decent sized profiteroles.
- Smoothen out profiteroles - Dip your finger into some water and dab the pointy end of the choux pastry to smoothen it out. This will help them rise properly and not burn.
- Dust with sugar - Dust the tops with powdered sugar (this helps them keep their shape and slightly sweetens them).
- Bake - Bake both trays for 40 minutes. Allow to cool in the oven with the door slightly open for 10-15 minutes before taking them out so they hold their shape and don’t deflate.
Chocolate Sauce (Microwave Method)
- Add the dark chocolate, butter, brown sugar and heavy cream to a large, microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high, for 20 seconds at a time, mixing well between each interval until smooth. Allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes, before pouring on top of some desserts. Goes nicely on top of ice-cream when it's warm.
Chocolate Sauce (Double Boiler Method)
- To make the chocolate sauce over a double boiler, simply add the dark chocolate, butter, brown sugar and heavy cream to a large heatproof bowl. Place the bowl on top of a pot of gently simmering water making the sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Stir until melted. Take off the heat and allow to cool completely.
- To thin the sauce - if your sauce sets you can thin it out before dipping the tops of your profiteroles by popping in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time, stirring between each interval until it’s smooth and pourable.
Let’s Put Them together!
- Use the end of a fork to create a small hole at the bottom of each choux pastry. Add pastry cream to a piping bag and snip a small piece of the end off. Fill each ball with pastry cream until it’s full. Dip the tops in the freshly made chocolate sauce and allow excess to drip off. Repeat this until all profiteroles are finish and allow to set for 10 minutes before serving. Store in the fridge for 3 days.
Video
Notes
Bread Flour - Bread flour is a high protein flour that is often used for making crusty, chewy breads. I use it in this recipe because it helps the profiteroles rise in a nice ball shape while still being light in texture. Surprisingly, it doesn’t cause them to be chewy. If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour (plain flour) instead.
Eggs - make sure you use room temperature eggs. The number of eggs you’ll need will depend on your dough. You’re looking for a stretchy dough that doesn’t break but isn’t too soft. If you need to use more than 4 eggs, whisk another egg and add 1 tbsp at a time until you reach the right texture. A smooth and shiny dough. When stretched between two fingers it shouldn’t break.
Fillings - you can fill these macarons with any number of things. I have a great Chocolate Pastry Cream for a more chocolatey flavor. However I like filling it with Chantilly cream for a much lighter experience!
Chocolate - make sure you use good quality dark chocolate. Something with at least 70% cocoa solids in it. I use the Nestle Bakers' Choice Dark Choc Melts. A Lindt chocolate bar would also work but it’s much more expensive.
Brown sugar - you can use dark or light in this recipe. Both will work. If you’re making a white chocolate sauce with this recipe using white chocolate, swap the brown sugar out for caster sugar or leave it out. For a white chocolate sauce use the same amount of chocolate but use
Storage - Profiteroles can be stored in an airtight container, in the fridge for up to three days.
Nutrition - is based on per profiterole with filling and sauce.
A note on measurements – This recipe uses weight measurements for the most accurate results. Cup measurements can vary depending on where you are, which affects the precision needed for a recipe like this. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales.
Nutrition
Calories:216kcal | Carbohydrates:14g | Protein:4g | Fat:16g | Saturated Fat:9g | Polyunsaturated Fat:1g | Monounsaturated Fat:5g | Trans Fat:0.3g | Cholesterol:112mg | Sodium:53mg | Potassium:122mg | Fiber:1g | Sugar:7g | Vitamin A:472IU | Vitamin C:0.03mg | Calcium:52mg | Iron:1mg
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