Say it with me: pro-feeeeet-er-rolls. Very good! We’re going to make profiteroles (AKA cream puffs) for Valentine’s Day, ok? They’re French, so you know this recipe will impress your Valentine. If there’s one thing men like it is delicious things stuffed inside other delicious things with delicious sauce on top. You can trust a woman who is getting married in 16 days. Six.teen! Profiteroles are made with the French dough, pate a choux. It’s the same dough used for eclairs, because as it bakes, the water in the dough evaporates and leaves a hollow center inside the pastry. You can stuff them with custards, whipped cream, or fruit sorbets. If you have leftover sorbet from my Champagne Sundaes, use it for this recipe. I also think chocolate whipped cream would be great with a fresh raspberry sauce. Or, this vanilla custard with Frangelico. Or whiskey-ed cherries. Or this butter whiskey sauce. Or anything else your little heart desires. Cream puffs are a romantic dessert for Valentine’s Day because you can feed each other these little bites between sips of bubbly. (Did you see my post on champagne tips)?
The process of making the dough feels odd. It goes against everything you would think about a light and fluffy pastry. The first step is melting the butter in water over low heat. It’s important to prevent the water from boiling because then it will evaporate and alter the liquid ratio in the dough. Next, flour is added directly to the butter and water mixture. Weird, right? Finally, you whip the dough to cool it off before adding the egg, pipe it onto a baking sheet, and bake. You’ll squeal with delight when you cut them open and find a hollow shell. Now, go on! Bake delicious things to stuff inside other delicious things with delicious sauce on top. Your Valentine will thank you for it.
