Profiterole

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Profiterole

| image = Cream puff (cropped and edited).jpg

| image_size = 230px

| caption = A single cream puff

| alternate_name = Cream puff (US); ''choux à la crème'' (France)

| country = {{flag|France}}<br>{{flag|Indonesia}}<br>{{flag|Italy}}<br>{{flag|Netherlands}}

| region =

| creator =

| course =

| type = [[Custard]]

| served =

| main_ingredient = [[Choux pastry]]<br />Filling: [[whipped cream]], [[custard]], or [[ice cream]]

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

[[Image:Chou chocolat.JPG|right|thumb|Choux with chocolate [[ganache]]]]

A '''profiterole''' ({{IPA-fr|pʁɔfitʁɔl|lang}}), '''cream puff''' (US), or '''choux à la crème''' ({{IPA-fr|ʃu a la kʁɛm|lang}}) is a [[filling (cooking)|filled]] French [[choux pastry]] ball with a typically sweet and moist filling of [[whipped cream]], [[custard]], [[pastry cream]], or [[ice cream]]. The puffs may be decorated or left plain or garnished with [[Ganache|chocolate sauce]], [[caramel]], or a dusting of [[powdered sugar]]. Savory profiterole are also made, filled with pureed meats, cheese, and so on. These were formerly common garnishes for soups.<ref>Prosper Montagné, ''[[Larousse Gastronomique]]'', 1st edition, 1938, ''s.v.''</ref>

The various names may be associated with particular variants of filling or sauce in different places.<ref>{{cite book|author=Carole Bloom|title=The Essential Baker: The Comprehensive Guide to Baking with Chocolate, Fruit, Nuts, Spices, and Other Ingredients|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cyR9VsqMvJsC&pg=PA433|accessdate=15 June 2011|date=2 March 2007|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=978-0-7645-7645-4|pages=433–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Ruhlman|title=Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zGaRpi4YdIQC&pg=PA46|accessdate=15 June 2011|date=7 April 2009|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4165-6611-3|pages=46–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Good Housekeeping Magazine|author2=Good Housekeeping|title=The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook: America's Bestselling Step-by-Step Cookbook, with More Than 1,400 Recipes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TucnTDr5qdAC&pg=PA512|accessdate=15 June 2011|date=28 December 2001|publisher=Hearst Books|isbn=978-1-58816-070-6|pages=512–}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Glenn Rinsky|author2=Laura Halpin Rinsky|title=The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOA9n0XjlCgC&pg=PA228|accessdate=15 June 2011|date=14 February 2008|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=978-0-470-00955-0|pages=228–}}</ref>

==Preparation==

[[Choux pastry]] dough is piped through a [[pastry bag]] or dropped with a pair of spoons into small balls and baked to form largely hollow puffs. After cooling, the baked profiteroles are injected with filling using a pastry bag and narrow piping tip, or by slicing off the top, filling them, and reassembling. For sweet profiteroles, additional glazes or decorations may then be added.

==Presentation==

[[Image:Windbeutel.jpg|right|thumb]]

The most common presentations are pastry cream, whipped cream, or ice cream filling, topped with powdered sugar or chocolate ganache and possibly more whipped cream. They are also served plain, with a crisp caramel glaze, [[icing (food)|iced]], or with fruit.

Filled and glazed with caramel, they are assembled into a type of [[pièce montée]] called [[croquembouche]]s, often served at [[wedding]]s in [[France]] and [[Italy]], during the Christmas holiday in [[France]], and are served during important celebrations in [[Gibraltar]]. Profiteroles are also used as the outer wall of [[St. Honoré Cake]].

==History==

The word ''profiterole'' (also spelled prophitrole, profitrolle, profiterolle)<ref name=oed>{{OED|profiterole}}</ref> has existed in English since 1604, borrowed from [[French language|French]]. The original meaning in both English and French is unclear, but later it came to mean a kind of roll "baked under the ashes". A 17th-century French recipe for a ''Potage de profiteolles'' or ''profiterolles'' describes a soup of dried small breads (presumably the profiteroles) simmered in [[almond]] [[broth]] and garnished with [[Comb (anatomy)#In cookery|coxscomb]]s, [[truffle]]s, and so on.<ref>Alfred Franklin, ''La vie privée d'autrefois. Arts et métiers, modes, mœurs, usages des Parisiens du XII^e au XVIII^e siècle: La Cuisine'', Paris 1888, quoting from [[François Pierre La Varenne|La Varenne]], 1651</ref> The current meaning is only clearly attested in the 19th century.<ref name=oed/>

==Today==

The "cream puff" has appeared on US restaurant menus since at least 1851.<ref>[http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=269316&imageID=476896&total=23&num=0&parent_id=443920&word=&s=&notword=&d=&c=&f=&k=0&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&lword=&lfield=&imgs=20&pos=3&snum=&e=w "Revere House" restaurant, Boston, menu dated May 18, 1851: "Puddings and Pastry. ... Cream Puffs"]. Digitalgallery.nypl.org. Retrieved on 2011-06-15.</ref>

Profiteroles are a national dish of [[Gibraltar]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/travel/holidays/gibraltar-7-reasons-why-you-should-pay-it-a-visit-11364172075245|title=Gibraltar: 7 reasons why you should pay it a visit|work=BT.com|access-date=2017-05-20|language=en}}</ref>

==See also==

* {{portal-inline|Food}}

* [[Bossche bol]], a giant profiterole from the Dutch city of [[Den Bosch]]

* [[Éclair (pastry)]], a differently-shaped choux and cream pastry

* [[Gougère]], an hors d'oeuvre made with choux pastry

* [[List of French desserts]]

* [[Moorkop]], a similar Dutch pastry

==References==

{{reflist}}

==External links==

* {{Cookbook-inline|Cream Puff}}

{{pastries}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Custard desserts]]

[[Category:French desserts]]

[[Category:French pastries]]

[[Category:Stuffed dishes]]

[[no:Vannbakkels]]

[[pl:Ptyś]]

[[ja:シュークリーム]]