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If you’ve never made profiteroles at home, you’re in for a treat—crisp pastry shells, cool ice cream, and warm chocolate sauce come together in one melty, irresistible (and surprisingly easy) dessert.
Profiteroles are the kind of dessert you might order at a French bistro, but they’re totally doable at home. The puffs are made from classic French choux pastry—a simple dough that bakes into crisp, airy shells with hollow centers. Traditionally, they’re filled with ice cream and drizzled with warm chocolate sauce. I usually go with good store-bought ice cream to keep things easy, but if you’re up for it, my homemade vanilla ice cream makes them extra special. You can also fill the shells with vanilla pastry cream, like cream puffs, or even whipped cream—it’s less traditional, but just as delicious.
Profiteroles are one of my favorite make-ahead desserts—they’re perfect for parties, holidays, or anytime you want to bring a little fun to the table. Bake the puffs a day ahead, then fill and drizzle with warm chocolate sauce just before serving.
What You’ll Need To Make Profiteroles
- Water and Milk: These moisten the dough and help create the steam that makes the pastry puff up light and airy.
- Butter: Adds richness and flavor to the dough, plus it helps the pastry bake up tender and golden.
- Sugar: Just a touch to sweeten things slightly and help the pastry get that beautiful golden color in the oven.
- All-Purpose Flour: The foundation of the dough—it gives the pastry its structure and helps it hold its shape.
- Large Eggs: The magic ingredient that makes the choux pastry rise. Eggs add structure, richness, and keep everything light and airy.
- Vanilla Ice Cream: The classic filling that’s creamy and sweet—perfect against the crisp pastry shell. Feel free to swap in any flavor you love, or even use pastry cream or whipped cream.
- Heavy Cream: This is the base of the chocolate sauce, making it smooth, rich, and pourable.
- Semisweet or Bittersweet Chocolate: Adds deep chocolate flavor to the sauce. (Good chocolate, like Ghirardelli or Guittard, really makes a difference!)
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 2: Finish choux pastry dough. Once the dough is ready, give it one more mix—it should be smooth, thick, and pipeable. Fit a piping bag with a ½-inch round tip. Then place the bag in a tall glass or measuring cup to hold it steady while you fill it. It makes the whole process much less messy.
Step 3: Pipe and bake. Pipe 1¾-inch mounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. If little peaks form as you lift the bag, just dip your fingertip in water and gently smooth them out—those tips can burn.
Bake in a 400°F- oven for 22 to 25 minutes, until the puffs are golden and nicely risen—resist the urge to peek, or they might collapse before they’re set. Once they’re done, turn off the oven, crack the door, and let them sit inside for 30 minutes to dry out.
Step 4: Make the chocolate sauce. In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the cream until it’s steaming but not boiling. Take it off the heat, add the chocolate and a pinch of salt, and stir until smooth. (You can also do this in the microwave—just heat the cream, then stir in the chocolate.) Let it cool a bit before drizzling.
Step 5: Assemble the profiteroles. Once the puffs are cool, slice them in half with a serrated knife, place a scoop of ice cream on the bottom half, and top with the other half.
Step 6: Serve. Drizzle the ice-cream-filled cream puffs with warm chocolate sauce and serve. You can eat profiteroles with a fork and knife—or just pick them up and go for it. There’s no wrong way…just don’t forget plenty of napkins!
More Ice Cream Desserts You May Like
Profiteroles
Profiteroles may look fancy, but they’re simple, joyful, and totally make-ahead friendly.
Ingredients
For the Choux Pastry
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
For the Filling
- Vanilla ice cream (or any flavor of choice; you’ll need to buy a quart but you won’t use all of it) or vanilla pastry cream
For the Chocolate Sauce
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
- Pinch salt
Instructions
Make the Choux Pastry
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Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter is fully melted.
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Reduce the heat to low, add the flour all at once, and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a smooth ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute.
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Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Let it cool for 5 minutes, then beat on low speed for 30 seconds to release steam.
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With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides as needed. Once all the eggs are incorporated, continue mixing for 1 minute more, until the dough is smooth, thick, and pipeable.
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Transfer the dough to a piping bag fitted with a ½-inch (1.25-cm) round tip. Pipe 1¾-inch (4.5-cm) mounds onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 2 inches (5 cm) apart. Wet your fingertip and gently press down any pointed tips to prevent burning.
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Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, without opening the oven until near the end of the baking time, until the puffs are golden and well-risen. Turn off the oven, crack the door open slightly, and let them sit inside for 30 minutes to dry out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Chocolate Sauce
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In a small saucepan, heat the heavy cream over medium heat until steaming (do not boil). Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate and salt, stirring until smooth. (Alternatively, you can heat the cream in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, then stir in the chocolate.) Let it cool slightly before drizzling over the profiteroles.
Assemble the Profiteroles
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For Ice Cream-Filled Profiteroles: Before assembling, scoop small balls of ice cream (a 1½ oz or 3 tablespoon cookie scoop is ideal) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. (If you need to freeze them for longer than 2 hours, cover them with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn.) Once the profiteroles are completely cool, slice them in half horizontally using a serrated knife.Place a frozen ice cream ball onto the bottom half of each profiterole, then place the top half back on. (An offset spatula helps lift the ice cream quickly without it melting all over your hands.) Drizzle generously with the warm chocolate sauce and serve immediately.For Pastry Cream-Filled Profiteroles: Before filling, whisk the chilled pastry cream until smooth. Using a small knife, poke a ¼-inch (6-mm) hole in the bottom of each profiterole. Transfer the pastry cream to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip and pipe into each puff until almost filled. Drizzle with warm chocolate sauce and serve.
Notes
- Profiterole shells can be made a day ahead and stored, unfilled, in an airtight container at room temperature. To re-crisp, bake at 300°F (150°C) for 5 minutes before filling. Let cool completely before filling. They can also be frozen for up to a month. To freeze, place the completely cooled shells on a baking sheet in a single layer and freeze until firm. Then, transfer them to a zip-top freezer bag or airtight container. To refresh, bake straight from frozen at 300°F (150°C) for 5 to 7 minutes, then let cool before filling.
- Filled ice cream profiteroles can be assembled ahead of time and frozen. Just add warm chocolate sauce before serving. Place the assembled profiteroles on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn. Let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving, then drizzle with warm chocolate sauce.
Note: Nutritional Information was calculated assuming the profiteroles were filled with vanilla ice cream and that all the chocolate sauce was used.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1 profiteroleCalories: 196kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 4gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 66mgSodium: 110mgFiber: 1gSugar: 12g
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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