No. 121: Profiteroles
Cream puffs filled with ice cream (usually vanilla) and topped with hot chocolate sauce—that is what the French call profiteroles. Supposedly Catherine de Medici (wife of the French King Henri II) was the first to have a slightly more modest version of this dessert, a pastry puff filled with whipped cream, or as we Americans know them, cream puffs.
Over the centuries, ice cream and chocolate sauce were added to make this delicious and cold treat you will find on most French dessert menus.
The first time I lived in France, I took a course on making pate à choux, fell in love with it (mes petits choux) and since then, profiteroles have been a fan favorite chez nous.
Once you get the hang of it, it’s really not that hard. They are brilliant with coffee ice cream and caramel beurre à la fleur de sel sauce. For a savory twist, gougères, I make the choux with different types of cheeses (Comté & Bleu d’Auvergne, j’adore) and fresh herbs.
If you want to make Géraldine’s yummy recipes, click the links below:
Vocabulaire:
caramel beurre à la fleur de sel: buttered caramel with sea salt
chez nous: at our house
gougères: savory choux pastry mixed with cheese
j’adore… I love…
mes petits choux: my little cream puffs (a term of endearment not just for pastry)
pâte à choux: a standard puff pastry that can be either sweet or savory, literally cabbage dough; also know as pâte à chaud (heated dough)
365+ Things I Love About France 