Profiteroles Recipe

Prepare and cook dough

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment and fit a piping bag with a 1/2" plain round tip. In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup water, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup butter, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Heat over medium until the butter melts and mixture comes to a rolling simmer.

Remove pan from heat and add 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture pulls away from the pan and forms a smooth ball (about 30 seconds). Return pan to low heat and cook, stirring, 1–2 minutes to dry the dough slightly. Transfer dough to a bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and cool 2–3 minutes.

Beat in eggs one at a time: using a paddle on medium speed or a wooden spoon, add one large egg and mix until fully incorporated before adding the next. The final dough should be glossy, thick but pipeable—when you lift the paddle it should fall in a thick ribbon. You may not need all 4 eggs or you may need a bit more; use texture as guide.

Pipe rounds about 1 1/4"–1 1/2" (3–4 cm) in diameter spaced 2" apart onto prepared sheets. Smooth any peaks with a wet fingertip. Brush lightly with egg wash for a golden finish if desired. Reduce oven to 375°F (190°C) and bake for 10 minutes at 425°F then immediately reduce heat to 375°F (190°C) without opening the door and bake 15–20 more minutes until puffed and deep golden brown. For crisp shells, turn oven off, crack oven door and let puffs dry in oven 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. Using a small knife, make a small slit in the side or bottom of each puff for filling.

Infuse milk and temper eggs

Pour 2 cups milk into a saucepan. Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into milk (or add 1.5 tsp vanilla extract later). Heat milk over medium until just simmering; remove from heat and let infuse 10 minutes if using bean. In a bowl whisk together 4 egg yolks, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup cornstarch until pale and smooth.

While whisking the yolk mixture, slowly stream about 1/2 cup of the hot milk into the eggs to temper. Then pour the tempered eggs back into the saucepan with the remaining milk, whisking constantly.

Return pan to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and comes to a full boil (about 1–2 minutes). Boil gently for 30 seconds while whisking to cook the cornstarch. Remove from heat. If using vanilla extract, stir it in now.

Stir in 2 tablespoons cold cubed butter until smooth. Strain pastry cream through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl to remove any lumps and vanilla pod. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface to prevent skin forming and chill until cold, at least 2 hours.

Measure 1 cup of the chilled vanilla pastry cream into a small saucepan over low heat or microwave briefly until warm (not hot). Add 4 oz chopped semisweet chocolate and stir until completely melted and incorporated, creating a chocolate pastry cream. Chill to cool, about 30–60 minutes, before using to fill puffs.

Place 4 oz chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat 1/2 cup heavy cream just to a simmer and pour over the chocolate. Let sit 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter for shine if using. Keep warm or at room temperature for dipping or drizzling; reheat gently if it thickens.

Fill the profiteroles

Fit a piping bag with a small plain tip and fill with chilled vanilla pastry cream. Fit a second bag or use same bag with chocolate cream and vanilla cream separately if you want half chocolate-filled. Insert tip into the slit on the bottom of each cooled puff and gently pipe until puff feels slightly heavy. Alternatively, split puffs, spoon filling, and reassemble.

Place filled puffs on a serving plate. For mixed presentation: dip half of each puff in chocolate ganache or drizzle ganache over puffs and leave some plain or dusted.

Dust with powdered sugar just before serving. Serve immediately or refrigerate assembled profiteroles up to 6 hours (ganache may set firmer when chilled).