Michelle Darmody: How to bake profiteroles and the mistakes to avoid

Irish Examiner

03-05-2025

A tower of profiteroles, or croquembouche, makes a great centrepiece on any occasion. You can also make a smaller batch and have them at home as a very tasty dessert.
Once you know how to make choux pastry you can use it in many ways. There are endless combinations of flavours that can be piped into profiteroles. You can also make elongated eclairs or a Paris-Brest, which has a wreathlike shape and is traditionally filled with a praline mousse.
The strong flour is quite important in the recipe as it has a higher gluten content than regular flour. which helps to bind the dough and allows gives a good rise when baking. Making choux pastry does require a bit of elbow grease, as you have to first fold in the flour quite vigorously, then do the same when adding the egg.
You can use a food processor, but I prefer to make the pastry by hand as I can keep a close eye on changes in texture and consistency.
Once a shine becomes apparent as you are adding the egg you keep beating until the dough comes away completely into a smooth but firm ball.
Some recipes recommend milk in place of water, but I find that water works better with the higher oven temperature needed to bake the choux.
The higher temperature helps to form a strong shell and prevents the inside of the buns from softening which can cause collapse.
Profiteroles
recipe by:Michelle Darmody
Once you know how to make choux pastry you can use it in many ways
Servings
24
Preparation Time 
25 mins
Cooking Time 
20 mins
Total Time 
45 mins
Course 
Baking
Ingredients 50g butter
9g golden caster sugar
150ml water
75g strong flour, sieved
1 large egg, lightly beaten
For the filling:
250ml cream
2 tsp maple syrup
For the icing:
½ tbsp cocoa powder
10g caster sugar
1½ tbsp water
85g icing sugar
25ml cream, whipped to stiff peaks
Method
Line a large flat baking tray with parchment.
Preheat your oven to 220 °C/gasmark 7.
Add the butter, sugar, and water into a saucepan and gently heat until all the ingredients are melted together.
Bring the mixture to the boil.
Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in the flour. Stir vigorously until combined and the dough starts to come away from the sides of the saucepan.
Leave the mixture to cool for five minutes, then add in the egg and beat until you have a glossy mixture that forms a firm dough.
Add your dough to a large piping bag with a round nozzle.
Splash some water onto the parchment on your baking tray.
Pipe 12 circles or oblongs of dough on each tray leaving room for them to rise.
Bake in the centre of your oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and make a small slit in each roll as you are placing them onto a wire rack to cool.
Whip your cream with the maple syrup until stiff peaks form.
To make the chocolate sauce, gently melt cocoa powder, caster sugar and water together. Take them off the heat and stir in the icing sugar. Allow to cool for 20 minutes then fold in the whipped cream.
Fill a piping bag with the cream and insert the nozzle into the slit in each profiterole. Pipe in the cream until each roll is full.
Spoon the sauce over each profiterole and serve.
Baker's tips
You need enough egg to form a stiff and shiny dough. I find one large egg sufficient. If you do not have one large egg, one and a half medium eggs should do. You can use the remaining egg to make an egg wash to get a shine on the buns. Beat the egg and after piping the pastry on the tray brush each profiterole with the egg wash. This will give them a golden colour as well as a shine.
Splashing the trays with water helps to create steam in your oven to allow a good rise. Alternatively, put an oven-proof bowl of water into the oven as the buns are baking.
If you feel that the inside of the profiteroles are a little sticky when you are making the slit in them, you can place them back into a warm oven. Turn the heat off and allow them to dry out for ten or fifteen minutes as you would a meringue.
If your profiteroles fall flat, it is usually because the egg has been added to the flour mixture too soon, before it has had a chance to cool sufficiently. Make sure to wait the five minutes before adding the eggs. But even if they collapse, they will puff up when the cream is piped into them
When using a piping bag to place the pastry on the tray there is often a little spike on the top of each bun. To ensure a nice round bun. you can wet your finger with some warm water and gently press the spike down before placing them into the oven.
You can freeze the unfilled profiteroles. When defrosting, place them on a wire rack to help prevent them from becoming soggy. You can crisp them up in a hot oven for just under ten minutes. If you decide to do this, allow them to cool completely before filling.
Once you have filled the buns, it is best to eat them within a few hours as they begin to get soft and squishy.
Two delicious variations
Custard filled choux buns
Cut each profiterole in half and fill with a thick custard. Place the top of the bun onto the custard. Sprinkle some toasted slivered almonds and icing sugar on top.
Raspberry cream buns
Mash 100g of ripe raspberries with one teaspoon of honey and fold this through stiffly whipped cream. Use this to fill the choux buns.
If you want a bit of added glamour, you can make a white chocolate ganache and drizzle it over the buns. I like to sprinkle edible rose petals and some chopped pistachio nuts onto the ganache. To make the ganache melt 150g of white chocolate chips in 150ml of hot cream.
Read More
Michelle Darmody: How to bake the perfect crisp but squishy custard slice